Blackstock/Rosney close in as British Sidecars delight at Cadwell Park Sidecar Revival

The penultimate and fifth round in the 2024 season took place amidst a weekend of sidecar nostalgia at Cadwell park in Lincolnshire.

Friday was an official practice day for those teams who registered interest in some last-minute testing before the three points-scoring races over the weekend. It was very hot and humid, giving cause to hope the race days would be better. That turned out to be the case. A good turn-out included all the top runners in the current points table, plus reigning world champions Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement, and former and eight-times world champion Tim Reeves with Mark Wilkes alongside. Other world championship contestants out to impress were the Christie brothers Sam and Tom, and Kevin Cable/Charlie Richardson. All these big names having an occasional ride, were bound to cause problems for the dedicated British Championship regulars. Saturday was indeed much cooler, with qualifying set to be late morning, and the first of three races later in the afternoon. However, the weather took a turn for the worse as free practice loomed, with several top teams choosing not to go out. Steady rain persisted for most of the morning ahead of qualifying.

Qualifying

The scheduled twenty-minute session was reduced to fifteen because of crashes and other delays in the programme. From the word go, Lewis Blackstock and Paddy Rosney made their intentions clear, vying for dominance with Sam and Tom Christie, with Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement never far behind. Sam and Jack Laidlow confirmed their pace as members of the elite group with yet another mature and impressive performance.

Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes, still needing track time on the long bike, ended up heading row four, but did significantly better in the race to underline that point.

Steve Kershaw having a reunion ride with Stuart Clark did not seem totally at home this weekend, but with three races ahead of them, they would give it everything they had as they always did together. So, it was Blackstock and Rosney for DHR racing on the front row alongside the Hannafin Yamaha of the Christies.

Race One

From the lights it looked as if Sam Christie already had it done, but Blackstock, slower away than usual, made a move inside at Coppice to take the lead, never to relinquish the place. The race was shortened to ten laps, and he and Paddy had to make every single one count. They had the Christies climbing all over them for most of the race with a similar battle between Ellis/Clement and the Laidlow brothers behind. For the youngsters to be in this situation lap after lap shows how far they have come, and they acquitted themselves brilliantly throughout. Fourth place was a good place to be as the three in front were all being defensive.

Behind this very rapid quartet came an equally thrilling scrap featuring Kershaw/Clark, Paul and Tom Kirby, and eight-times world champion Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes.

Reeves eventually fought his way through, choosing his moments carefully, but by that time, the front four were away in an enthralling battle which lasted the entire race. Short of a crazy move from either one of them, there was no way past the leaders Blackstock/Rosney who rode intelligently and with consistent lap times to keep the Christies at bay.

Victory for Blackstock/Rosney moved them to within a point and a half of the overall series lead behind Laidlow, with Kershaw slipping further behind on points difference in sixth place.

This was a great example of clean, fast and stylish sidecar racing boding well for the remaining two on Sunday.

Result

1/ Lewis Blackstock/Paddy Rosney (DHR Yamaha)
2/ Sam/Tom Christie (Hannafin Yamaha)
3/ Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement (Brookland Yamaha)
4/ Sam/Jack Laidlow (Laidlow Racing Yamaha)
5/ Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes (Bonovo Action Adolf RS Yamaha)
6/ Steve Kershaw/Stuart Clark (Blinkbonny Quarry Yamaha)
7/ George Holden/Oscar Lawrence (Holden Racing Kawasaki)
8/ John Holden/Clement Conil (John Holden Racing Yamaha)
9/ Paul Kirby/Tom Kirby (KRT Racing Adolf RS Yamaha)
10/ Kevin Cable/Charlie Richardson (L&W Contractors Yamaha)

Race Two

Sunday dawned chilly but dry, set to be fair all day for the two upcoming races. Everyone was looking forward to a renewal of the fantastic action from Saturday, and they were not disappointed. The race was red flagged after two laps with Blackstock and Rosney leading, when George Holden’s Kawasaki blew the engine and deposited oil on a large section of the circuit.

A full restart over fourteen laps saw Blackstock again repeat his form off the line to lead from the Laidlows, Ellis/Clement and the Christie brothers. Four laps in, and Reeves/Wilkes had won their personal battle with Kershaw and were closing on fourth place when the Christie brothers pulled off into pit lane, unhappy with the dust from the oil spill. The outfit felt unstable under these conditions, and they felt it was too risky to continue.

Nonetheless, the race went on with Todd Ellis claiming the lead, just as the Blackstock outfit slowed with throttle body trouble. They did make the finish but gave away more points to Laidlow. Their challenge to the Laidlow brothers in the standings was therefore dented and put on hold.

Ellis/Clement made the most of the advantage, opening a seven second gap from the Reeves/Wilkes Yamaha Adolf RS, now sitting second ahead of Kershaw/Clark. Sam and Jack Laidlow slackened the pace with clutch issues, dropping back to a safe fourth ahead of Cup runners-up Paul and Tom Kirby. This race lost its sparkle with Blackstock dropping back and the Christie bothers departing the scene, but there was no taking away from the victory of Ellis/Clement and a good second from Reeves/Wilkes.

Result

1/ Ellis/Clement
2/ Reeves/Wilkes
3/ Kershaw/Clark
4/Laidlow/Laidlow
5/ Kirby/Kirby
6/ Cable/Richardson
7/ Blackstock/Rosney
8/ Peach/Edwards
9/ Bell/Colbrook
10/ Pottinger/Dodds

Race Three

This one saw Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement on their Brookland Yamaha on pole by virtue of their race two fastest lap, with the “now-fixed” DHR Yamaha of Blackstock/Rosney alongside. The Laidlows and Reeves/Wilkes were on row two, with Steve Kershaw and his former championship-winning passenger Stuart Clark lining up with the Christie brothers. Once again, the Blackstock outfit pulled off a magical start to eclipse Ellis off the line and into the lead at Coppice.

We were then treated to a six-outfit train as Blackstock, Ellis, Laidlow, Reeves, Kershaw and Christie circulated in a high-speed convoy. This was building to a fantastic twelve-lapper when on lap four, Reeves visibly slowed and pulled out of the race with technical issues. That was a shame for him, but his loss was Kershaw’s gain, with the two Scots having another good ride this time out, very much in touch with the front. Meanwhile, Ellis was closing, then dropping back in a fascinating game of see-saw with the gap never more than two seconds.

A final push in the closing stages saw him right on the back of Blackstock and Rosney, but the red outfit had enough of a cushion to hold it to the flag and twenty-five points. Lap times always around two seconds shy of Ellis’s record set in 2022, but there has been a change of tyre supplier since then, so who knows?

Blackstock’s win moved him back to within two and a half points of leaders Sam and Jack Laidlow in the overall standings, with Steve Kershaw having used a third passenger this weekend now up to third having overtaken the unfortunate George Holden/Oscar Lawrence.

Result

1/ Blackstock/Rosney
2/ Ellis/Clement
3/ Laidlow/Laidlow
4/ Kershaw/Clark
5/ Christie/Christie
6/ Holden/Conil
7/ Cable/Richardson
8/ Kirby/Kirby
9/ Peach/Edwards

Overall points table

Laidlow 236.5
Blackstock 234
Kershaw 174
G. Holden 164
Kirby 126
Biggs 121
J. Holden 95
Christie 85
Clarke 80
Ellis 67

All other updated standing will be available here on www.britishsidecarchampionship.co.uk and also on www.tsl-timing.com.

The final round with season closing two races comes from Brands Hatch mid-October.