Crowe brothers wrap up dominant Sidecar TT double

2025 IOMTT

Sidecar TT Race Two

The second sidecar race of the week had been pushed back from Wednesday and took place over two laps on Friday afternoon between the two Solo races.

If the truth be told, this one might be described as processional. As expected, the Crowe brothers were in a class of their own and won the race by over a minute from Ben Birchall and Patrick Rosney.

Ryan and Callum Crowe set the fastest ever standing start lap on the opening circuit before ‘slacking off’ to record a 120 mph lap second time around to win it.

23s further behind the Birchall bike were Lee Crawford and Scott Hardie. That order remained constant from the start of the race, except for one minor anomaly when Lewis Blackstock and Oscar Lawrence momentarily clicked into third at Ramsey on the first lap. However, Crawford and Hardie retook their fierce rivals by the Bungalow and then kept third from then until the flag.

Blackstock and Lawrence had even worse luck in this one than they had in Monday’s race. They dropped out of fourth place in the early stages, failing to make it to Ballaugh.

Once they went missing, double world champions Ellis and Clement took over the task of chasing down the final podium position. But a 20s gap to Crawford and Hardie was always going to be too much to bridge, even for the champions of the world.

In the end the top four sailed home to the finish in that order, with large time gaps between them.

It was interesting to note that two newcomer outfits finished in the top six of this one. Kieran Clarke and Andrew Johnson slotted into fifth. They have been extremely impressive this year in the iconic dayglo ‘Eddy’s’ three-wheel machine, despite the driver complaining afterward that the Eddy’s bike was the heaviest outfit in the race.

George Holden and the experienced Mark Wilkes came home in sixth, some 44 seconds behind Clarke and Johnson. George is the son of ex-winner John Holden and you can bet that their preparation will be second to none as we look to 2026.

And what of 2026?

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The sidecars are going through a transitional period just now. With the likes of Dave Molyneux, John Holden and Conrad Harrison calling time on their long careers it has left a void within the sport. Thankfully there is some young blood coming through such as the newcomers mentioned and even Ellis and Clement. The world champions are only in their second year at the TT let’s not forget.

As things stand the category is a two-tiered affair, made up of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. It’s clear to see that the Crowes are tremendously talented and are without a doubt driving their sidecar at breakneck speed. And it’s obvious that a 121 mph lap doesn’t fall out of the sky, but the siblings are noticeably faster though the speed trap than anyone else. (10 mph at times)

There are rumours that this could be the last ever year where we see tuned engines used in the race. While I believe the Crowes will still probably win on a standard engine, I don’t doubt that a rule change such as that will increase the competitiveness of the racing from the top to the bottom.

The sidecar paddock doesn’t enjoy the exposure that the solo teams do and a few dollars are hard to rustle up at times. That leaves many of the outfits who havn’t managed to attract big money sponsors on the back foot. Only allowing standard engines should, in theory, even things out and I for one, can’t wait to see how it pans out next year.

But for now, that’s a wrap for the Sidecars at this year’s event, with the six-lap Senior TT for Superbikes all that’s left to run.

3Wheeling Media Sidecar TT Race Two Results