Round 2 of the 2024 Sidecarcross British Championship at Canada Heights was another exciting weekend full of action!
The weather was perfect, the sun was out, there was no rain forecast, and it was not too hot, just right! The track looked fantastic. A professional standard, it was great for Sidecars to be back.
So let’s start off with the latest info.
No.2 Dan Foden began the season with Ryan Humphrey; however, a few things changed, and Dan started the day with Steve Kirwin. Steve’s last season as a passenger was 2018! Further down the field, another passenger change- Taylor Whitt was riding with Jake Grahame this weekend, too, instead of the usual Blake Stevens. Matthew Connor has made a return after a few years out, and Anthony Millar & Mike Curnow joined the championship after sustaining an injury at the beginning of the year.
To kick things off on the track, we had qualifying: Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard 1st, Dan Foden and Steve Kirwin 2nd, Stuart Brown and Lewis Gray 3rd, George Kinge and Scott Grahame 4th, Mike Hodges and Ryan Henderson 5th, Lee Foyle and Jack Wilkinson 6th, Tony Grahame and Harley Lloyd 7th, Anthony Milliar and Mike Curnow 8th, Liam Mudie and Chris Booth 9th, and Matt Connor and Guy Eastman 10th.
Race 1 soon got underway. The gate dropped, and into the first corner, Dan Foden & Steve Kirwin took the holeshot swiftly, followed by Mike Hodges & Ryan Henderson, Stuart Brown & Lewis Gray and the championship leaders Brett Wilkinson & Joe Millard in 4th! Foden & Kirwin didn’t hold back and took a gap from the rest of the field. It wasn’t long and after a few laps Wilkinson/Millard got to work slowly making their way past Brown/Gray and eventually overtook Hodges/Henderson. Now, their main target was reaching Foden/Kirwin in the 1st place spot.
Brown/Gray in 4th kept the pressure on Hodges/Henderson in 3rd, chasing his tail all race long! Kinge/Grahame were in their own race in 5th, no pressure around them just make it to the end. Foyle/Wilkinson 6th, Grahame/Lloyd 7th, Rogers/Beavis 8th, Milliar/Curnow 9th & Osbaldiston/Mckay 10th.
Just over the halfway point, Wilkinson/Millard made their move and took the first-place spot. Foden/Kirwin expectedly dropped off the fast race pace, and Hodges/Henderson started chasing them down, with Brown/Gray swiftly following. But before long, the dusty 25-minute + 2-lap race was over!
In the end it was 1-Wilkinson/Millard, 2-Foden/Kirwin, 3-Hodges/Henderson, 4-Brown/Gray, 5-Kinge/Grahame, 6-Foyle/Wilkinson, 7-Grahame/Lloyd, 8-Rogers/Beavis , 9-Milliar/Curnow & 10-Osbaldiston/Mckay.
Brett and Joe took an extra point away as they set the fastest lap time!
In Race 2 there were 22 bikes on the line, ready to go. The gate dropped, and once again, Foden/Kirwin were 1st around the first corner. Kinge/Grahame got a flying start in 2nd, Hodges/Henderson 3rd, Wilkinson/Millard 4th & Brown/Gray 5th.
It was to be another busy race for Wilkinson / Millard.
Foden / Kirwin took the lead, with Kinge / Grahame chasing them. Hodges / Henderson kept their third for a few laps, but before long, Wilkinson / Millard worked their way past. Once again, Brown/Gray were putting the pressure on Hodges.
Once again, Wilkinson/Millard made their way past Kinge/Grahame, and they had their eyes on the number 1 spot.
Foden and Kirwin chose the wrong line around a corner, which meant that Wilkinson and Millard had the speed going up the hill and flew past Foden. But the race wasn’t over. The front pack was close together—Kinge and Grahame had Hodges and Henderson on their tail, and Brown and Grey were also chasing them down. A single mistake, and it was fatal!
After a gap it was Foyle/Wilkinson, Grahame/Lloyd, Milliar/Curnow, Connor/Eastman & Rogers/Beavis taking up 10th.
Unfortunately, at around the 20-minute mark into the race, the race was red-flagged, ultimately finishing the race early!
Thankfully nobody was injured. Race 2’s top 10 was: 1-Wilkinson/Millard 2-Foden/Kirwin, 3-Kinge/Grahame, 4-Hodges/Henderson, 5-Brown/Gray, 6-Foyle/Wilkinson, 7-Grahame/Lloyd, 8-Milliar/Curnow, 9- Connor/Eastman & 10-Rogers/Beavis.
Wilkinson and Millard once again set the fastest lap and took home an extra point!
The podium looked to have Hodges/Henderson third, Foden/Kirwin second, and Championship leaders Wilkinson/ Millard first.
The Expert Championship podium had Murch/Murch in 3rd, Connor/Eastman 2nd and Milliar/Curnow 1st.
A successful day of racing at Canada Heights this weekend. A massive shout out and a massive thank you to everybody at the Canada Heights club for running a fantastic day on a professional track with a professional atmosphere. Thank you to all those who helped get involved to make these events happen and run smoothly.
Congratulations to all the teams.
We look forward to Round 3 in Duns in 2 weeks’ time.
British Championship Standings - HERE
Expert Championship Standings - HERE
Race Report by Heidi Foden – Images by Nigel Franklin & Ralph Peedell