Crowe brothers storm to debut TT sidecar race win
Brothers Ryan and Callum Crowe put in a dominant performance to take their first Isle of Man TT win in the first Sidecar race of the 2024 event.
The Manxmen crossed the line 26.9 seconds ahead of Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley at the end of three laps over the 37.73-mile course.
The brothers from Jurby are the first winners of a sidecar TT race other than Ben and Tom Birchall since 2016.
Reflecting on the win, driver Ryan said the pair had “just lived our dream”.
A third-place finish for Peter Founds’ brother Alan and their nephew Rhys Gibbons made it a family affair on the podium for the trio.
Starting second on the road, the Crowes took an early lead on lap one, leaving the pairing of Founds and Walmsley three seconds back by Glen Helen.
The two pairs swapped positions on the road several times but by the end of the first lap the Crowe brothers had moved clear of their rivals by 12 seconds.
A further 28 seconds back, Lewis Blackstock and Patrick Rosey slotted into third, with Founds and Gibbons two seconds back in a close three-way battle for fourth with the pairings of Lee Crawford and Scott Hardie, and Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes.
The brothers - sons of five-time TT sidecar winner Nick Crowe - had pulled even further away from the rest when they reached the end of the second lap 30 seconds ahead of Founds and Walmsley, who by that stage held second, 19 seconds ahead of Alan Founds and Gibbons.
The door was left open for a new race winner in the sidecar class for the first time since 2016 due to the withdrawal from the race of Ben Birchall and his new passenger Kevin Rousseau following a spill during Friday’s qualifying session.
The Crowes - who made their TT debut in 2019 and had secured three podium finishes at previous events - finished the race in 57 minutes and 15 seconds, recording their fastest lap on their second circuit with an average speed of 119.80mph.
Ryan Crowe said: “At the end of the day our dream was to win a TT and we’ve just done it. What a race, that’s mega.”
His brother added: “The team I’ve got is just amazing… and all the crowd out there waving us on it was unbelievable.”
Alan Founds and Gibbons finished 1 min and 14 secs back on Peter and Walmsley, giving Gibbons the accolade of fastest newcomer sidecar passenger around the course.
Blackstock and Rosney, Crawford and Hardie, and Reeves and Wilkes made up the rest of the top six, with current sidecar world champions Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement seventh in their debut at the event.
However, there was disappointment for 17-time TT winner Dave Molyneux and his passenger Jake Roberts, who retired on the first lap.
