TT star Tim Reeves continues winning ways in short circuit action
Isle of Man TT sidecar regular Tim Reeves has enjoyed another successful outing, this time in round 4 of the British F1 sidecar Championship.
Fresh from his World Championship success in Croatia, Reeves dominated last weekend’s proceedings at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland, comfortably winning both 18-lap races with passenger Ashley Hawes.
Having taken pole position around the 1.27-mile venue by 0.852 of a second, the pair were in confident mood going into Saturday afternoon's race, although mixed weather conditions meant it wasn't going to be straightforward. The threat of rain was never far away, but, after shadowing Scott Lawrie and James Neave on the opening lap, Reeves and Hawes moved ahead a lap later and began to pull away.
With slight rain falling at mid-race distance, the running order was shuffled as the pace eased slightly, but Reeves and Hawes were able to extend their lead and victory by a commanding 12.4s.
The weather was considerably better for Sunday afternoon's encounter and this time the pair grabbed the holeshot to lead the pack round at the end of the first lap. They again opened up a gap over the rest of the field, but when the safety car was deployed on lap three, the pack bunched up once more. Four laps later, the race resumed and with a series of laps faster than their rivals, Reeves and Hawes led by more than six seconds going into the final third of the race. Driving to his pit signals for the last few laps, Reeves was able to bring the outfit home 4.7s clear of 2nd-placed Roger Lovelock and Rick Lawrence.
The double victory and 50 points elevated the pair to 5th in the championship standings.
Reeves said:
“It's been a faultless weekend and with pole position, two wins and two fastest laps, it really couldn't have gone any better! After a successful week on the continent at Hungary and Croatia, the outfit's working exactly as I want it to and it's flying now so a double victory just adds to the momentum we're building right now.”
“I could see conditions were a bit iffy on Saturday so decided to go for it from the start and build up a decent lead just in case the rain fell and the plan worked. There were a few spots but nothing to cause us any problems so it was a great start to the weekend.”
He added:
“The whole of Sunday was dry, which was perfect for everyone, and although the safety car bunched us all up for a few laps, I was confident I could make the break again when we got going. I made the break and was able to control the race from the front, driving to my signals and just going at the pace required.”
“The World Championship's my main aim this year, but it's great to come back and race in front of the a big British Championship crowd once more so a big thanks to Ashley and to the whole team for doing a great job again all weekend.”