CROWES JOIN 120MPH CLUB IN SECOND 3WHEELING.MEDIA SIDECAR TT WIN

Ryan and Callum Crowe claimed a second victory at the Isle of Man TT Races on Thursday afternoon in the 3wheeling.Media Sidecar TT Race 2, more than twenty seconds ahead of Ben Birchall/Kevin Roussueau. Dave Molyneux/Jake Roberts claimed a popular third place.

The Crowes also set the fastest lap of the race on their Kelproperties Honda at 120.335mph to join the 120mph Club for the first time and become the second fastest crew in Sidecar history.

Cut down to two laps due to the revised schedule, the race eventually got underway at 2.15pm after the initial start was red flagged when newcomers Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement came off at Waterworks, both rider and passenger were reported as OK however their outfit was blocking the road.

When it did get started, it was once again the Crowes who were quickest to Glen Helen on the opening lap, their lead over Birchall/Rousseau (Wyckham Blackwell/Hager Honda) 4.7 seconds. Blackstock/Rosney (Dave Holden Racing Yamaha) were a further 7.2 seconds back in third with Crawford/Hardie (ARC Newton Aycliffe/SJH Bodyworks Kawasaki) only half a second adrift in fourth as Founds/Gibbons (Founds Racing Yamaha) and Molyneux/Roberts rounded out the early leaderboard.

The Crowes’ lead was up to 7.6 seconds over Birchall/Rousseau as they jumped Ballaugh Bridge and although Blackstock/Rosney were still in third, the gap to Founds/Gibbons had come down to 0.122 seconds. Crawford/Hardie had slipped back to seventh having lost time on the run from Glen Helen.

On to Ramsey Hairpin and the Crowes still led but the gap to Birchall/Rousseau had come down slightly to 7.3 seconds. The battle for third was also hotting up as Blackstock/Rosney held a slender 0.9 second advantage over Molyneux/Roberts with Holden/Claeys (Marin/Carl Cox/Ocean Motor Village Suzuki) now fifth as Founds/Gibbons slipped back to sixth having been black flagged at Sulby Bridge before being allowed to proceed. Crawford/Hardie had now retired as had Reeves/Wilkes.

An opening lap of 119.092mph, officially the quickest ever standing start lap, gave the Crowes a nine-second advantage over Birchall/Rousseau (118.158mph) and it was now Molyneux/Roberts in third after a strong opening lap of 114.633mph. That gave them a 3.7 second lead over Blackstock/Rosney (114.275mph) as Holden/Claeys (111.888mph) and Founds/Gibbons (111.378mph) completed the top six although the latter would need to be credited with the time lost at Sulby earlier in the lap.

Newcomers Robert Dawson/Matthew Sims (Dawson Classic Motorcycles Honda) were running well in tenth after lapping at 108.925mph but back at the front, the Crowes’ lead had increased to more than 13 seconds at Glen Helen on the second and final lap as they now had Birchall/Rousseau in sight on the road.

Molyneux/Roberts were strengthening their hold on third too with the gap to Blackstock/Rosney having stretched to 4.6 seconds. Founds/Gibbons had had their time credited to them though and were now only a further second back.

Through Ramsey for the final time, the Crowes led Birchall/Rousseau by 18.5s, aided by the fastest ever sector time from Ballaugh and the fact they were on lap record pace. Molyneux remained on course for his 31st podium with the gap to new fourth-placed Founds/Gibbons up to 7.4 seconds, Blackstock/Rosney only 0.2 seconds back in fifth.

The Crowes led on the road over the tramlines at the Bungalow and a superb final lap of 120.335mph enabled them to come home 20.491 seconds ahead of Birchall/Rousseau who lapped at more than 119mph for a well-deserved second place after their crash in qualifying.

Molyneux/Roberts duly came home for third to make it two more Manxmen on the podium with Founds/Gibbons and Blackstock/Rosney close behind in fourth and fifth. The Ramsdens took sixth ahead of another father and son pairing, John and James Saunders as Lockey/Rostron, Dawson/Sims – who increased their pace to 109.465mph – and Harrison/Moore completed the top ten.

Good performances also came in from newcomers Renzo van der Donck/Vale van der Donckt, who lapped at 107.275mph, and Wiggert Kranenburg/Jermaine van Middegaal in 13th and 15th respectively.

TODD TAKES FIRST TT VICTORY IN RL360 SUPERSTOCK TT RACE 1

Davey Todd claimed his first victory at the Isle of Man TT Races on Thursday afternoon, the Milwaukee BMW Motorrad rider edging out Peter Hickman (Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing) in the RL360 Superstock TT Race 1 by just 2.2 seconds after a thrilling tussle. Michael Dunlop completed the podium with a third place finish on his MD Racing Honda.

With a 12.15pm start, Todd led at Glen Helen on the opening lap, his advantage over Dunlop 1.5 seconds with Hickman only a tenth of a second further back. Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) was well in touch, 0.3 seconds behind Hickman, with James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) and Jamie Coward (KTS Racing powered by Steadplan Honda) rounding out the early leaderboard. Only two seconds covered the front four riders.

Todd’s lead was down to half a second as he jumped Ballaugh for the first time and it was Hickman now in second. Dunlop was third, almost two seconds down on Hickman, as Harrison, Hillier and Coward continued to run fourth to sixth.

Round Ramsey Hairpin for the first time and the gap remained half a second between the leading two riders but Harrison had now moved ahead of Dunlop for third albeit by only 0.02 seconds! It was close for fifth too as less than a second split Hillier and Coward in the battle for fifth.

There was little to choose between Todd and Hickman at the Bungalow with just 0.08 seconds between them as they were continuing to edge away from the chasing pack but with an opening lap of 133.362mph, it was Todd who led as they came in for their compulsory pit stop. Hickman (133.137mph) lost a bit of time from the Bungalow and was now 1.7 seconds adrift whilst Dunlop (132.639mph) was back in third, just a second ahead of Harrison (132.517mph).

Coward had now taken over fifth from Hillier as Josh Brookes on the second FHO Racing machine, Conor Cummins (Milenco by Padgett’s Motorcycles Honda), Mike Browne (IN Competition Aprilia) and John McGuinness (Honda Racing UK) rounded out the top ten.

With a quicker pit stop, Todd was almost five seconds clear as he reached Glen Helen on the second lap with Dunlop having also pulled clear of Harrison in the battle for third, the gap now 3.8 seconds. Hillier and McGuinness were now in fifth and sixth although Coward was clearly having transponder issues as he was still running with McGuinness on the road. Brookes lost almost a minute in the pits though and slipped back to 16th.

Hickman took almost two seconds out of Todd’s lead on the high-speed run to Ballaugh and it was 2.4 seconds through Ramsey for the second time but James Hind (North Lincs Components Suzuki) was out of luck again retiring from 14th at Greeba Bridge. Fellow Suzuki rider Michael Evans was also out, the Manxman having stopped at Union Mills.

The lead had further reduced at the Bungalow at 2.1 seconds but as they started the third and final lap, Todd had added another four tenths of a second to his lead. It looked to be a two-horse race as Dunlop was now more than seven seconds adrift in third. He in turn was more than four seconds clear of fellow Honda rider Harrison.

The lead was back down to 2.3 seconds through Glen Helen for the final time and by Ballaugh, it was very much ‘game on’ as Hickman had closed to within half a second with only half a lap remaining!

Todd responded on the run to Ramsey though and doubled his advantage with just the final run up and with the Mountain to go and the gap remained the same at the Bungalow as Todd and Hickman set almost identical sector times from Ramsey Hairpin.

However, Todd was quicker from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, and he got the verdict from Hickman by 2.2 seconds, who set the fastest lap of the race at 135.140mph, with Dunlop a comfortable third, almost 18 seconds behind. Harrison was only 3.6 seconds adrift at the chequered flag as fellow Honda riders Hillier and Coward took strong fifth and sixth place finishes.

McGuinness, Cummins, Dominic Herbertson (Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW) and Browne completed the top ten with Brookes taking 11th after Nathan Harrison on the third Honda Racing machine unfortunately retired at Kate’s Cottage on the final lap.

2024 FIM MiniGP World Final

The 2024 FIM MiniGP World Final will be the biggest yet, with 22 160cc Series and 11 190cc Series set to take part in the event. For the 160cc category, it’s the top two riders from each competition who will join the final, and for the 190cc class, it’s the top three as the category continues to grow.

The 160cc Series expands in 2024 with new series in the Baltic, China, Latin America and Philippines, with the Netherlands also returning to the competition.

The top two riders in the FIM MiniGP Series from Australia, Austria, Baltic, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, the UK, and the FIM MiniCUP USA series will be invited to the final, making it 44 initial entrants for the 160cc series World Final.

The 190cc Series sees new series run in France, Germany, Indonesia and UK, with series that have run a 160cc competition eligible to add the 190cc class.

The top three riders in the FIM MiniGP Series from Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, the UK, and the FIM MiniCUP USA comprise the 33 entrants for the 190cc World Final.

In addition, the 2023 champions of both the 160cc and 190cc categories – Qabil Ifan from Malaysia (160cc) and Alvaro Lucas from Spain (190cc) – are invited to participate in the 2024 final regardless of their Championship positions.

Since both champions are competing in the 190cc category this year, the number of riders in the World Final could increase to 35 for the class and a total of 79 overall, should neither of them finish in the top 3 of their respective championships.

With 44 finalists from the 160cc Series World Final and 33 from the 190cc Series, as well as the Champions, the World Final in Valencia will see up to 79 riders taking part – a new record!

SAVE THE DATES

The 2024 FIM MiniGP World Final takes place ahead of the Valencia GP at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Admin for competitors begins on Sunday 10th of November, before the first practice sessions see riders take to the kart track on Tuesday the 12th.

Qualifying will then take place on Wednesday the 13th, before all the racing action takes place on Thursday the 14th, crowning two new Champions for 2024. Check out the new schedule for the biggest World Final yet!
 

Time Schedule Valencia HERE

THE FORMAT

160cc: 22 SERIES – 44 RIDERS

For the 160cc class, there will be three groups for Free Practices: two groups of 15 riders and one group of 14 riders.

Following these sessions, the first round of qualifying (Q1) will feature the lowest ranked 18 riders from the Free Practices.

The second qualifying session (Q2) will include the second fastest 14 riders from the initial sessions plus the top four from Q1, making a total of 18 riders.

The third and final qualifying session (Q3) will consist of the top 12 riders from Free Practice along with four additional riders from Q2, totalling 16 riders.

The top 20 riders after these sessions will go directly to the Races, and the bottom 24 will go to Qualifying Race 1.

In the Qualifying Races, the first race (Qualifying Race 1) will have 24 riders, with the top two advancing into the Races. The second Qualifying Race will include the 22 remaining riders, with the winner advancing to the Races.

The Races will comprise 20 riders plus the three qualifiers from the Qualifying Races, making a total of 23 riders.

After the Races, the top 23 riders in the championship will access the Super Final Race with double points.

190cc: 11 SERIES – 33 RIDERS

For the 190cc class, Free Practices will be conducted in three groups, each containing 11 riders.

According to personal best time of all Free Practices, the combined classification will determine the riders going into each qualifying session.

The first qualifying session (Q1) will have the bottom 14 riders. The second qualifying session (Q2) will feature the second fastest 11 riders from the initial sessions and the top four from Q1, totalling 15 riders. The third qualifying session (Q3) will include the top 8 riders from Free Practices plus four additional riders from Q2, totalling 12 riders.

In the Qualifying Races, the first race will have 18 riders, with the top two advancing to the Races. The second Qualifying Race will include 16 riders, with the winner advancing to the Races.

The Races will consist of 15 riders plus the three qualifiers from the Qualifying Races, making a total of 18 riders.

After the Races, the top 18 riders in the championship will access the Super Final Race, with double points in what has so far proven the deciding showdown of the event.

Join us for live coverage of the final showdowns on the 14th of November in Valencia, the final day of a four-day 2024 FIM MiniGP World Final event opening doors and increasing access to the world’s most exciting sport.

2024 FIM MiniGP World Series Participants GUIDE

About the FIM MiniGP World Series

The FIM MiniGP World Series began in 2021 and is designed as the first step on the Road to MotoGP™. There are three types of competition in the FIM MiniGP World Series: FIM MiniGP National Cup, organised by or through one FMN (national federation); FIM MiniGP Regional Cup, organised by or through various FMNs; FIM MiniGP Continental Cup, organised by or through a CONU (continental union).  

There are two classes Series can run: the 160cc class and the 190cc class. The latter debuted in 2023 for Series that have already run a 160cc competition. Riders are aged between 10 and 14 for the 160cc class and between 12 and 16 for the 190cc class. Each Series but must have a minimum of five events comprising 10 races and the top riders in each Series will then be invited to the World Final.  

The FIM MiniGP World Final sees the top riders from each Series compete over two days in Valencia ahead of the MotoGP™ season finale. As part of the Road to MotoGP™, there are opportunities up for grabs for riders to move up and further their careers.

About the Road to MotoGP™

For more than two decades, Dorna Sports has invested in opening the doors to motorcycle racing, creating the Road to MotoGP™. Comprising initiatives all over the world providing millions of young riders the opportunity to excel, the Road to MotoGP™ is unrivalled in motorsport – opening doors, increasing access and racing towards global equality.  
 
The FIM MiniGP World Series is the first step on the Road to MotoGP™, in collaboration with the FIM and motorcycle federations and unions around the world. It’s the first global initiative in motorsport aimed at creating grassroots equality.