The fifth and final round of the 2024 Sidecarcross British Championship was held at Wakes Colne. It was definitely a weekend to remember; they saved the best for last.
It was a day full of action from the start to the very end. A great track, well set up, professionally prepared, and perfect weather—sunshine and a light breeze—all made for a great day of racing.
Here’s a quick update on the teams: Dan Foden teamed up with Josh Chamberlain. George Kinge and Scott Grahame returned from injury, and Tony Grahame and Harley Lloyd also returned from injury.
Practice/Qualifying saw Foden/Chamberlain put a fantastic lap in early. Wilkinson/Millard also eventually put a lap in after seeming to have some issues, but they could match Foden’s lap time. Swiftly followed by Brown/Gray, Hodges/Henderson nipped in 4th just ahead of Kinge/Grahame in 5th.
Unfortunately, we saw Jack Wilkinson have a heavy tumble in Qualifying, which resulted in a concussion.
Race 1 saw Wilkinson/Millard take the holeshot just ahead of Foden/Chamberlain, Grahame/Lloyd 3rd, Kinge/Grahame 4th, Brown/Gray 5th, Rogers/Beavis 6th, Foyle/Wilkinson 7th, Hodges/Henderson 8th, Ozzie/Mckay 9th & Milliar/Curnow 10th out the gate and round the first corners.
It didn’t take long for the action to take place. Hodges/Henderson quickly made some passes on a few of the teams. Out front, the top 2 were extremely close and had gapped the rest of the field within the first few laps. Grahame/Lloyd held 3rd for a few laps, but before long, Brown/Gray came through.
Kinge/Grahame took a small diversion and ended up off the track, but once back into the race, they got their heads down and passed Grahame/Lloyd to get into 5th. Hodges/Henderson were on a mission and made their way into 4th.
The Racing was intense throughout the whole pack, but ultimately it was a fantastic race between the top 2 teams of Wilkinson/Millard & Foden/Chamberlain. Getting to the halfway point of the race and Foden/Chamberlain were still on the heels of Wilkinson/Millard but not enough to get past. Brown/Gray had a comfortable 3rd position with a gap between themselves and Hodges/Henderson in 4th. Kinge/ Grahame in 5th. Grahame/Lloyd 6th closely followed by Rogers/Beavis in 7th & Ozzie/Mcaky chasing them in 8th. And a close battle between Connor/Eastman, Foyle/Wilkinson & Banks/Pannell!
Heading towards the end of the race, Foden made some mistakes, and Wilkinson gained a gap on Foden.
Over the chequered flag was Wilkinson/Millard, who secured the race win and the 2024 Sidecarcross British Championship. 2nd Foden/Chamberlain, Brown/Gray 3rd, Hodges/Henderson 4th, Kinge/Grahame 5th, Grahame/Lloyd 6th, Rogers/Beavis 7th, Ozzie/Mckay 8th, Foyle/Wilkinson 9th & Banks/Pannell 10th!
Race 2 saw Foyle/Wilkinson not on the line and soon got underway with Foden/Chamberlain taking the holeshot, Wilkinson/Millard were right behind chasing them down! Kinge/Grahame was 3rd, Grahame/Lloyd, Brown/Gray, Whitt/Grahame, Milliar/Stand in passenger, Rogers/Beavis, Petty/Greensill & Ozzie/Mckay making top 10 around the first turn.
Hodges/Henderson hit the start gate and were stuck on the start line until they managed to get the bike out from being stuck, they had some work to do this race. The dust was really kicking up this race.
Once again, the top 2 made a gap on the rest of the teams, but the racing was so close it was extremely intense as to who was going to win race 2. The first few laps saw Kinge/Grahame in 3rd, with Brown/Gray closely behind. A great position for Whitt/Grahame in 5th. Milliar/.. in 6th & Rogers/Beavis 7th, Ozzie 8th and really quite unbelievably Hodges/Henderson made their way through the field and up into 9th, and it really didn’t take very long at all for them to make it up even further through the field. It really did make for some great racing.
All of a sudden, carnage for Wilkinson/Millard as they tipped up in a left corner, allowing Foden/Chamberlain to take a gap, but then a few corners later, saw Foden/Chamberlain also in trouble with Chamberlain on the floor! There was a quick scramble by both teams to get back on the bike and going & the gap was close again!
Brown/Gray took Kinge/Grahame for another comfortable 3rd place, but storming through into 4th was Hodges/Henderson! By the final lap, we saw Foden/Chamberlain still in the lead, but Wilkinson/Millard wasn’t letting them have it easy chasing them down. Once again Brown/Gray comfortable 3rd, Hodges/Henderson 4th, Kinge/Grahame 5th. Milliar & last minute stand in passenger had a flying race in 6th, Whitt/Grahame 7th, Rogers/Beavis 8th, Connor/Eastman 9th & Ozzie/Mckay 10th!
Foden took the chequered flag in 1st, with Wilkinson/Millard close behind.
Some great racing took place.
Overall on the day it was:
Foden/Chamberlain 1st
Wilkinson/Millard 2nd
Brown/Gray 3rd
But an absolute massive congratulations to Brett, Joe & the whole team, to be crowned as 2024 Sidecarcross British Champions! They have had a strong year, dominating the wins.
We hope to see everybody again in the 2025 season.
Race Report by Heidi Foden – Images by photoQUEST & Rebecca Marshall
Sourced from DirtHub.co.uk