Yokohama Geared Up for Success at Isle of Man TT

After a week of practice racing in the Isle of Man TT gets underway on May 31, and Yokohama is proud that its tyres will see plenty of three-wheel action in the coming days. It reports that, once again, it is by far the dominant tyre brand in the sidecar class, with no less than 41 of the 58 entrants running on Yokohama products, serviced by Yokohama HPT dealer Express Tyres.

The favourite for the two race wins has to be Dave Molyneux, the third most successful rider ever in the history of the Isle of Man TT in terms of race wins, behind John Surtees and Joey Dunlop. He holds the position as the most successful sidecar racer, with 13 wins to his credit and giving Yokohama an outstanding record of 14 consecutive years with a win on the island. Other top runners in the class have also chosen to ride on Yokohama, with last year’s early leader Nick Crowe looking to heap the pressure on Molyneux once again. Crowe also has the island lap record under his belt, an accolade he took from Molyneux at last year’s event, with a stunning lap averaging 116.667mph over the 37-mile course. On top of this, Yokohama regular John Holden is tipped to put up a strong showing, as he, Crowe and Molyneux were the main protagonists in last year’s event.

Another rider hotly tipped to make a name for himself this year is triple World Sidecar champion and TT newcomer Tim Reeves. Also running on Yokohama and competing at the TT for the first time, Reeves has already impressed in practice, with a storming time on his first lap of the island of 103.7mph from a standing start. This puts him squarely on the pace for the race itself as well as potentially for the lap record, if the conditions are right.

Of late the weather on the island has been wet, like much of the UK over the bank holiday weekend. As a result, the sidecars have had very limited running, as for safety reasons the organisers restrict the amount of running in damp or wet conditions. Monday’s practice was limited to just 20 minutes after an incident involving two solo machines, so the sidecar racers are looking forward to better conditions in the run-up to the first of this year’s two races on Saturday. The second race takes place several days later, on Wednesday 4 May, in the middle of what is arguably the world’s most famous race-week for motorbikes.