Motourage

Pembrey in South Wales will host the opening rounds of the UK F1 Sidecar Championship, thought by many sport insiders to be the best field since the late 1980s. A top-quality field of F1 sidecars, the like of which hasn’t been seen since the 1986 Silverstone Grand Prix, will be heading down to the former Spitfire base to set their mark on the opening stages of the Battle of Britain.

The 2009 FIM Superside World Champion Birchall Brothers are among the teams competing in UK and international competition

The current World Champions, Ben & Tom Birchall and former triple World Champions Tim & Tristan Reeves would be favorites to clean up under normal circumstances, but some interesting rule changes mean the odds may be about to be turned on their heads. The new World Championship rule amendments have forced teams to make the switch to standard engines as opposed to the highly tuned motors they have been able to run previously, and Tim Reeves estimates that the change costs as much as one second per lap. Coincidentally, one second per lap was about the advantage they had over the best of the National teams in previous seasons, so a seven or eight outfit scrap at the head of the field now looks to be on the cards.

The action gets underway on Saturday April 10, and culminates with the Eurosport televised races on Sunday April 11. Pembrey is located just off the A484 near Llanellli in South Wales, within easy reach of the M4 motorway.

The CTR team look to make their mark on the British circuits in 2010

Cheshire-based CTR Sidecar racing will also be running in the event and hoping to be pushing for a podium result. Strong pre-season testing at Mallory Park and Anglesey have left the team ready to make their mark on the map for the opening round.

Craig Chaplow CTR Driver:
“Pembrey is a special place for Dan and me, as we made our European debut there two years ago, but the thought of 30 F1 sidecars heading into a tight 180 degree hairpin gets the blood flowing, and we will have to ride hard to make our mark.”