Double British F1 Sidecar champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood were competing in round 6 of the Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship, and despite a rocky start the pair had bounced back by the end of the weekend.

Sidecar driver Ricky Stevens, from Portsmouth, and his passenger Ryan Charlwood, from Dover, had been plagued all year with technical issues with their sidecar.

Repeated grip issues with the outfit had severely hampered their bid to secure a third championship title and during the Friday practice at Brands Hatch, things were looking worse than ever. The bike would not change gears, forcing the reigning champions to abandon practice. A race against time ensued to get the outfit ready for the qualifying session later on the same day.

Ricky said: “It was a complete nightmare. We have had problems all year and every time we thought we’d found a solution, we were proven wrong. It has been incredibly frustrating.

“It was all hands on deck on Friday to get the bike in working condition for the qualifiers. I am so grateful to the team, without whom this weekend would have been a wash out.”

On Saturday, the rain played havoc with the track and in those difficult conditions, Ricky and Ryan started the first race in P5. With ongoing technical issues still haunting them, they eventually finished the race in a disappointing fourth place.

Ricky said: “We were disappointed with Saturday’s result but we had a breakthrough ahead of the Sunday race and we have finally found what has been slowing us down until now.

“It was no one’s fault – it was just something we missed because we are running a new engine this year. We’re really happy and relieved now it’s fixed.”

With the reverse grid start in race two, Ricky and Ryan had to take P6 on the grid. They went off to a flying start and found themselves in the lead by the second corner. Title challengers the Reeves brothers overtook them on the second lap but unlike in previous rounds, Ricky and Ryan kept them in their sights the whole time.

They finished the race in second place and are still second overall in the championship rankings.

Ryan said: “It was a great second race and it seems we have finally resolved the technical problem that has been plaguing us all season. It gives us renewed hope ahead of the next round at Thruxton, which is our team’s home ground.”

Round 7 of the Hyundai Heavy Industries British F1 Sidecar Championship will take place at Thruxton from 4^th to 8^th August.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Ricky and Ryan are the reigning Hyundai Heavy Industries British F1 Sidecars champions.
• They raced to victory in 2015 with Ricky Stevens, from Portsmouth, as driver and Ryan Charlwood, from Dover, as co-rider.
• In 2016, they successfully defended their title after joining the Bournemouth Kawasaki team with Quattro Plant and Cool Milk as headline sponsors.
• Ricky and Ryan have rejoined the Bournemouth Kawasaki team in 2017 under the banner of JG Speedfit Kawasaki. They will be in the company of BSB riders Leon Haslam and Luke Mossey, road racer James Hillier and fellow sidecar team Costello/Hauxwell.

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