Sidecar stars confirm plans for 2012 Isle of Man TT
Thursday 01 December 2011
TT
Leading sidecar competitors Scott Lawrie and James Neave have confirmed plans to make their Mountain course debut as a team at the 2012 Isle of Man TT, fuelled by Monster Energy.
Scottish driver Lawrie has enjoyed a rapid rise in the British F1 Sidecar Championship and, after finishing 12th in 2010, he shot up the table this season to take 3rd place, only denied the runner-up spot to eventual champion Tim Reeves after bad luck in the closing rounds.
With nine podiums from the 20 race series, it’s clear the talented Edinburgh man will be one to watch in 2012.
He also impressed on the World stage. Although he only made two appearances in the 2011 World Championship, he made them count with 4th and 5th at the two races held at Oschersleben and 8th in race 1 at Schleiz.
That was enough to place him 9th in the Championship, backing up his 7th place in the 2010 series, where his best race result had been 4th, at Rijeka, Croatia.
Neave, despite being one of the youngest passengers on the grid at 23, has already tasted race action at the TT having been in the chair with Andy Laidlow in 2009, finishing 10th in the only race held that year. Their fastest lap was 106.069mph.
He has partnered Lawrie since 2009.
As well as going into 2012 as major British and World Championship F1 contenders, Lawrie and Neave are keen to make an impression at the TT, an event they have been keen to try together. They will contest both three-lap Sure Sidecar races.
They have already begun preparing both outfits for the coming season and will call on the expertise of Steve Webster, the 10-times World Champion, who has been assisting in recent years.
Lawrie said:
“I’ve been thinking about contesting the Isle of Man for a while and believe the time is now right for me to make my debut.”
“The F2 MR Equipe outfit will be new to me as well as the Mountain course, obviously, so I realise that I still have a lot to learn, but with James already having solid experience on the Island it will stand us in good stead.”
He added:
“The Newcomers have done incredibly well in recent years, but I’ll approach the event in my own way and won’t set myself too many targets in my first year. It’s a long-term project for me so the main thing for 2012 is to learn the course, do a good, solid job, enjoy myself and come back stronger in subsequent years.”
With two former World Champions, Tim Reeves and Ben Birchall, again on the entry list for the 2012 TT, as well as the established leading runners like John Holden and the returning 14-times winner Dave Molyneux, the F2 Sidecar TT races continue to be the most prestigious sidecar races in the world.
TT and Motorsport Manager Paul Phillips said:
“I’m delighted that we have secured the participation of this outfit as they are hugely promising competitors who I’m sure will do well on the Isle of Man for many years to come.”
“The sidecar class, once again, promises to be the unofficial World Championship and there are a number of very interesting crews in next year’s races.”
The 2012 Isle of Man TT, fuelled by Monster Energy, begins on May 26 with practice week, with the two three-lap Sure Sidecar races scheduled for June 2 and June 6.