Avon Tyres ‘sweeps’ Isle of Man TT sidecar races

The Isle of Man TT Sidecar events saw more than 40 competitors using Avon tyres, as Tim Reeves and Dan Sayle took victory in the first and Ben and Tom Birchall claimed an emotional maiden TT win in the second on the brand’s products. Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott finished second in race one and third in race two while pre-race favourite Dave Molyneux had a frustrating TT by his standards, unable to add to his 16 TT wins and finishing third and second respectively in the two races, with passenger Patrick Farrance.

Having taken their LCR outfit to glory, Ben Birchall said, “We could get used to this feeling! What a team we had behind us and that includes Avon Tyres. To be honest the tyres were faultless and despite the very hot conditions they were as good on the last lap as on the first.

“We were close in the first race and were leading, so you never know if you’re ever going to win a TT but now we have. We just chipped away during the race and we found it hard to be leading the race. To be honest, we would rather chase and push than lead. We did have a few hairy moments on lap two, but I knew on the last lap we had a good lead as we had caught up to Dave Molyneux, and we didn’t need to pass him as we were well up on time.”

Steve Smith, Motorcycle sales manager for Avon Tyres Motorsport, said of the event: “It really capped a fantastic Isle of Man TT for us, which was blessed with superb weather during race week and the racing was excellent, too! Avon Tyres wish to congratulate Tim, Dan, Ben and Tom for their victories and to all those that finished the sidecar races.”

Avon has a long history in motorcycle racing on two and three wheels. Its first motorcycle tyre was manufactured in 1911 and since then champions such as Geoff Duke, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene have won on Avon. More recently, Avon riders have won 13 Supersport and four Production class championships, as well as Isle of Man TT victories on both three and two wheels. 20-time winner John McGuinness will fit Avons to his 500cc Paton machine in this year’s Classic TT event in late August.

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