Mark Cossar and Liam Brown once again proved their dominance of sidecar speedway last night at Coventry as they raced to an excellent flawless win, in what was a highly entertaining speedway event. A large crowd provided a great atmosphere inside the stadium and racing, as is often the case when sidecars clash on the shale, was fast and ferocious.
For Cossar, teaming with Brown for the first time since their winter Australia trip, it was particularly pleasing, given that he and his family and friends had put so much effort to get this event organised in a very short space of time. What occurred was a slickly organised, innovative sidecar event. More on the innovations later.
In the qualifying heats, Cossar had by no means had it all his own way. He was made to fight for victory by his major adversaries this season Gareth Winterburn and Billy Winterburn when the pair clashed in the second group of heats. Paul Whitelam and Kizz Ivy also got the jump on Cossar in their third heat in a race where it was difficult to know where to look. As Whitelam/Ivy duelled with Mark at the front, the ever-improving younger Cossar, Tom, chipped away at Peter Lloyd/ Fraser Sutherland for third place. In the end, although Whitelam was able to push Cossar the elder, he couldn't keep in front of him, and Cossar picked up another win.
Perhaps the race of the night involved Tom Cossar and his passenger Haydn Evans. The young pairing had looked quick in their opening ride aboard their Grasstrack machine. In their second ride, a fantastic move by the pair saw them sneak up the inside of early leaders Mick Stace and Joshua Edwards and Shaun Harvey and Daniel Hogg in one move. A tremendous effort met with cheers from the sizeable crowd on hand. Cossar/Evans earned themselves plenty of fans for their style of racing on the night.
The qualifying heats culminated in a last chance 'semi-final' or 'repercharge' as our Antipode counterparts refer to it. The winner of the race would qualify for the main event final. The Winterburn brothers had dropped a chain whilst leading their opening ride and from there had only been beaten by Cossar/Brown and so started as favourites to graduate to the final, but it was going to be tough in such a strong field. Lining up next to the Yorkshire brothers was sidecar speedway legend Paul Pinfold and Sam Heath. They had ridden well all evening, picking up a win earlier in the night. Also putting in some good rides were Robbie Wilson and Jordan Smith. The Kent pairing once again had been consistent, finishing in the top 2 in each of their rides, winning one in front of father Rob Wilson and Terry Saunters. Completing the semi-final lineup was Pete Lloyd and Fraser Sutherland. They too had won a heat earlier in the night and looked on good form.
As it transpired, it was Pinfold who managed to hit the front in the opening lap. But as the first lap finished, The WInterburns found a gap up the inside of Pinfold, and took over the lead. Pinfold held a comfortable second for the following lap, but then pulled into the centre of the circuit, allowing Wilson/Smith to take up the second. Winterburn looked super-fast in front, hitting the corners with tremendous speed and bravery.
The Main Event final saw maximum men Cossar/Brown joined by another crew with plenty of speedway experience; Matthew Tyrrell and Mark Courtney. The Cornish pairing had only been beaten once all evening and looked in great form. Their only defeat had come at the hands of the Winterburns. This accomplishment was even more impressive given that the pair had had an awkward looking tumble in practice where the outfit swapped ends on the slippery surface, Matt coming off the worse from the incident. They had shown no ill effects when it came to racing however.
Whitelam/Ivy had ridden well all evening and were the other crew qualifying for the final, and Gareth and Billy Winterburn completed the lineup after their semi final victory.
A clever first corner from Cossar saw him block the outside run of the Winterburns, allowing Tyrrell/Courtney up the inside. Throughout the race, Cossar's wide line into the dirt was providing a tantalising opportunity for Tyrrell, who looked equally as quick on his much tighter line, but just didn't have enough speed to make a move on Cossar, who confidently raced off to victory. Tyrrell/Courtney finished a highly creditable second, keeping Cossar/Brown in very close quarters for the entire race, whilst The Winterburns would have to settle for third.
For Whitelam/Ivy, all seemed lost from the start as an unfortunate touch unsettled the outfit, leaving them at the back of this very strong lineup. Although they looked quick, they couldn't find a way past.
Two separate classes were run on the evening, and provided some great action. An innovation straight from Australia saw a reserve race organised. Initially, it was to be four outfits who would race each other in between heats, giving the main event riders some time in between races. This meant that should any of the main event crews be unable to take their place in a race, a reserve could be called upon. As it happened, it was only two reserves who competed in this 'beginner' class. Tom Cossar/Haydn Evans were called upon to replace another rider in the main event. What this reserve class meant was that throughout the night, a full complement of four outfits contested every heat (a criticism in the past of sidecar speedway has been that this doesn't always happen). With the reserves able to race amongst themselves, they too had a good night, and were able to learn in much less hostile conditions. It was Grasstrack rider Gareth Tregilgas and Daniel Prescot who won each of these heats, with Prescot lucky to stay on the machine in their opening ride. Sam Snowden and Tom Smith also competed, getting quicker with every heat.
The other class which provided a 'filler' during the breaks in the main event was the 500cc sidecar class. As always, this highly competitive class provided some fantastic racing with plenty of overtaking. After two heats, it looked like David Carvill and Kai Noble might be the crew to beat, but drama in their third ride caused their evening to take a turn for the worse. On leaving the start, they clashed with Scott Dunn and Scott Goodwin coming off the start and turned the outfit over. The referee controversially excluded Carvill, meaning he would score no points in his third ride. It was Dan Berwick and Mark Hopkins who were able to take full advantage of Carvill's misfortune, taking the first of their two wins which saw them win the event overall. For Carvill, it was more misery in their fourth ride. Another clash with Dunn/Goodwin exiting the second bend saw both crews head in-field and again it was Carvill who was deemed to have caused the incident and was once again excluded for leaving the circuit.
The whole event proved a rousing success and many are hoping for a mini-revival of sidecar speedway in this country as thoughts begin to turn to the restaging of the World Sidecar Speedway Championships to be held at Gillman in March. Brandon Stadium had a very good sized crowd in to watch the action and hopefully many will return again in the future.
Main Event Final: 1st. Mark Cossar/Liam Brown, 2nd. Matthew Tyrrell/Mark Courtney, 3rd. Gareth Winterburn/Billy Winterburn, 4th. Paul Whitelam/Kizz Ivy.
Main Event Semi Final: 1st. Gareth Winterburn/Billy Winterburn, 2nd. Robbie Wilson/Jordan Smith, 3rd. Pete Lloyd/Fraser Sutherland DNF. Paul Pinfold/Sam Heath.
Points:
Mark Cossar/Liam Brown 12pts
Matthew Tyrrell/Mark Courtney 11pts
Paul Whitelam/Kizz Ivy 10pts
Gareth Winterburn/Billy Winterburn 9pts
Robbie Wilson/Jordan Smith 9pts
Paul Pinfold/Sam Heath 8pts
Peter Lloyd/Fraser Sutherland 7pts
Will Offen/Nicky Owen 7pts
Rob Wilson/Terry Saunters 6pts
Simon Beaney/Gareth Bemister 4pts
Mick Stace/Joshua Edwards 4pts
Tom Cossar/Haydn Evans 3pts
Shaun Harvey/Danny Hogg 3pts
Joe Mogg/Jake Cutler 2pts
Charles Ridley/Harry McQuirke 1pt
Rob Heath/Paul Smith 0pts
500cc Sidecars
1st. Dan Berwick/Mark Hopkins 9pts, 2nd. Scott Dunn/Scott Goodwin 6pts, 3rd. Dave Carvill/Kai Noble 4pts, 4th. Barrie Bennett/Eifion Hughes 3pts, 5th. Aaron Vale/AN Other 2pts.
Report by Gareth Bemister