Team Founds target solid TT 2015 campaign
TT 2014 sidecar newcomer sensations Alan Founds and Tom Peters have got their TT warm-up off to a good start with solid results in the FSRA British Sidecar Championships.
At last year’s Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy the team logged an impressive 11th in their first ever race on the Mountain Course and improved on that with sixth Sure Sidecar Race Two.
With TT 2015 looming ever larger on the horizon the boys are hoping that their pace on the short circuits will translate to the 37.73 miles of the Mountain Course.
Round one of the FSRA British Championship was held at the Oulton Park, the pairing’s local circuit.
Despite some unpredictable weather they managed to qualify on pole position and after being overtaken by seasoned rival John Holden and his new passenger Dan Sayle they managed to hang on to his tail to finish second.
Race two had a similar outcome to the first meaning the boys went into round two at Silverstone with good championship points.
Dry conditions helped Alan and Tom once more secure pole position and with team spirits high they put on a real show for the spectators. Once more the battle was with the Holden/Sayle pairing, and what a fight it turned out to be. Holden got the early advantage but by lap four Alan and Tom had really picked up the pace to close the gap. They made their move into the lead on the next lap. A real ding-dong ensue with the lead swapping several times before Team Founds managed to make it stick and build a gap of 1.5 seconds by the time they reached the chequered flag, obtaining a lap record on the way.
With their first win of the season race two was going to be exciting, again Holden had the advantage into turn one with the inside line. Over the 14 laps both teams had their chance at the front of the pack and exchanged positions many times until the last lap flag came out. The boys made their move on Holden/ Sayle down the back straight into Stowe Corner but Holden and Sayle held on to the outside giving them the inside line into Vale Corner, the last passing place before the finish. Alan and Tom tried to get the drive for a final sprint but missed out by 0.076s.
The friendly battle with Holden and Sayle will be picked up again next on the Isle of Man.
Although Team Founds heads to the home of sidecar real road racing on the crest of a wave Alan says he won’t let the success go to his head: “We’ve got far too much respect for the TT to take it light-heartedly. We’ll enjoy ourselves but we’re there to get a job done. The aim for TT 2015 is exactly the same as last year; we hope to gain two more finishes. We know that results will come in time, we just need to ride, enjoy and learn as much as possible.”
Sidecar fans can look out for another Team Founds out on the Mountain Course this year. Alan's brother Pete Founds will be making his driving debut at this year’s TT. Pete is no stranger to the TT having competed as a passenger in past years but for 2015 he’ll be taking the handlebars round the famous circuit.
Short circuit success seems to be running in the family - the second race of the Silverstone meeting saw the brothers take to the podium together for the first time as Pete and passenger ‘Smudge’ Taylor secured an excellent third place finish behind Alan and Tom.