Original subtitles

BIKE ENGINES ROAR

- CHRIS BOYDE: - Good afternoon, everybody.

Schools on the island are now broken up for their TT half-term holiday.

Meanwhile, here at the TT grandstand,

we are in the business of breaking records.

Michael Dunlop was inside the Supertwin lap record

on Monday in the opening qualifying session.

The big bike classes haven't been left out either,

Peter Hickman delivering

the fastest qualifying laps we've ever seen, at 133.797.

So, a scintillating week of qualifying

has us all geed up for racing.

Before that, teams and riders have a last chance,

one last qualifying run to make those final settings.

He is coming, he's coming.

ASHLEY HOUSE: Here he comes.

Here comes Michael Dunlop. He's done it. 135.531.

The fastest lap ever on this 37-and-three-quarter-mile course.

This is an extraordinary ride.

How you feeling this morning?

Good. Just, um, just ready for it, to be honest.

I'm just looking forward to it.

We made some big changes yesterday and got a really nice feeling

with a couple of the bikes and, uh, to be honest,

the one that we're riding today, I had a bit of bother with the 600.

Um, we've had an issue every session,

like, just unfortunate things.

Felt like the engine was off

and it just didn't feel as sharp as it did

a bit earlier in the week,

so told the guys and they've set about swapping the engine for,

for the spare engine, so they swapped that last night.

So, we've got to, basically, run it in on the dyno

and straight into the race.

For anybody racing the TT, it's the biggest thing of the year.

It's what you earn your wages from.

It's what you live your life from is the TT, and you can't miss it,

can't afford to miss it.

I tweaked my back last weekend.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't talk or anything.

It was like a real bad, like, sharp pain.

It's been a lot of stretching and yoga and stuff,

trying to get my back to be back normal again.

- PHYSIO: - Any problems pulling or pain?

Uh, I can feel it tight.

You've still got a little bit of spasm there.

It looks like a panini sitting under your skin.

I've had a lot of injuries, and to be honest,

you just want to come back as soon as possible every time.

You can't wait to get back.

It's never, it's never a question if you'll come back.

Should it not hurt at all?

Or, like, is that bad or good?

Majority of riders have been through big accidents

and big things in their career.

There's not many in the paddock who haven't had that,

who aren't half full of metalwork and,

and stuff piecing 'em all together.

But it's just part of it.

It's, it's a really weird and sick thing, I think.

It'll be ligament damage from the dislocation.

That's white tissue.

White tissue has a poor blood supply.

- OK. - So, it takes ages to get better.

But what you can do is dampen down the protective spasm.

OK. Brilliant.

- You're welcome. - SHE LAUGHS.

So, I'm Michael Russell

and racing the TT course this year in ten races.

- Action. - HE CHUCKLES.

Yeah. Was that all right for an intro?

Last year, at TT 2022,

we set out to do all eight races, and we failed.

There was a bit more to it than that though, wasn't there?

Yeah. I nearly died.

You know, I was dehydrated, I was knackered.

It was the most physically and demanding exertion on my body,

was beyond what I imagined.

When they said, "Let's do ten",

we thought that would be a good idea,

and we're back to do the ten.

The mission is to qualify. I think that's the biggest thing.

If we can qualify and start every race, no-one's ever done that.

No-one's certainly done ten.

Um, so to qualify and start every race would be magnificent.

Like I said last year, we'll do what we can with what we got.

And again, this year we've got some great bikes underneath us.

We've got a great team around us.

We're gonna have a good laugh doing it.

There is five bikes, there's five classes,

there's 200-mile-an-hour speeds and there's ten finishes.

That's the aim. Ten finishes is the goal.

It's unlikely, but we're gonna try it.

How you feeling?

I'm so excited to just get up on that grid.

I was more nervous doing that first-ever lap, that newcomer's lap.

So, yeah, I'm just excited now. I know what we've done in practice,

so just, yeah, build on it from there.

We did a 112 from a standing start then straight into the 14s

and, you know, about second off of 115.

So yeah, I'm chuffed to bits with that. I couldn't ask for more.

Practice week, first ever road race.

Uh, yeah, it's where we want to be.

- MARK HALLIDAY: - Yeah, he's doing really well. We're all very pleased.

Um, team's all working very well together.

He's had a good, solid start. Uh, he's got a level head,

and long may it continue, and just keep building

on what he's doing so far. So, really good. Yeah.

You've done a bit of racing here yourself, have you?

Yeah, it's a few years ago now. I'm getting a bit long in the tooth.

I know how he's feeling. He's loving it.

It's nice to see the big smile on his face,

you know, um, that's the main thing.

Even though we're not doing Superbike pace on a 600,

it's still fast in a straight line.

So, yeah, it's just the buzz you get from it is unreal.

During qualifying, I was eating about four hours,

three hours before, and then just trying to go out

on an empty stomach, really cos the last thing you want,

it's like, if anything comes up in the helmet, it won't be a good look.

MAN:

Yeah.

So there you go. News just in. CHUCKLES.

- DEAN HARRISON: - What was the original start time? I forgot.

- MAN: - I think 10.30 was gonna be the practice start.

- 10.30 for the practice start, and now is it 1.30? - Yeah.

- Cos the road's closed now. 12.45 roads close, don't they? - Yep.

I'm actually quite excited to have a go on the 600s.

A bit of fun.

This sounds daft.

I can't remember the time that we did this much practice.

Do you get what I mean?

So, I just feel like we need to do a...

I'm looking forward to just getting a race under our belt

and just getting one chalked off, if you know what I mean.

What are you doing?

GIRL: I need help putting my shoes on.

You need help putting your shoes on. OK. Sit down there.

Where does the zip go?

- Inside. - Inside.

That's it. Zip goes to the inside.

Try to teach you to put the shoes on the right way round.

There you go. One. Other one.

- Where are you going now? - On my bike.

- Where are you going on your bike? - Just for a ride.

Just for a ride. OK, so you're on a bike for a ride.

There you go. You're free to go. Gimme five.

See you soon.

- Bye. - Bye. Away she goes.

What's the target for today?

Uh, do you know what? I don't know what to expect.

You need a bit of consistency,

a bit of luck on the day and just clean.

Do you know what I mean?

Everything's got to get through pretty clean,

so I'm hoping I can do four fast, consistent laps,

clean pit stop and get out.

So, our plan is to catch Davo as soon as I can.

That's the plan. Davo's setting off number one in front of me.

I'm number two.

Have you noticed they haven't said the roads are closed, yet?

Yeah, I had noticed.

Look, it's 12.54 now,

and they've not mentioned once about closing the roads, have they?

WOMAN:

It still says 1.30 solo warm-up,

so I need to get ready in five minutes.

No, nothing. Can't find out, boys.

I'll have to get ready for half past,

so I'll have to go do a lap.

When you go over the mountain in the car,

let's say if you do a cheeky little lap or owt like that,

some of the people that come past you

on the bikes frightens me to death.

I'm like, mate, you, you shouldn't be going that fast on the bike.

You should... You know, like the police say all the time

that I think they hit the nail on the head

when they say "know your limits".

The problem is, people don't know their limits sometimes, I think.

It becomes a bit... Obviously, it goes drastically wrong,

- regardless in a car or a bike. - TANNOY BINGS.

There you go.

All right, boys.

I'm gonna to get ready because I need to go get me helmet.

I haven't even got changed, yet. I'm out of here for now.

I think just coming across that line,

it would just be a relief, I think.

That's it. These will be covered in flies.

They won't look very good, will we, When we come back in?

Yeah, there's definitely some nerves,

but I think nerves are normal.

You wouldn't be human if you were racing

around this place without nerves.

HOUSE: Good afternoon, race fans. It's the start of summer.

The sun shines bright in the Manx sky,

and the wait is finally over.

Welcome to race day one at the Isle of Man TT 2023.

We start today with the first Monster Energy Supersport race.

TANNOY BINGS

TANNOY: 'One minute start line. One minute.'

We have just over one minute to go.

I think the smart money has been on Michael Dunlop all week,

and he is definitely favourite for today's race.

But you're about to hear the noise that he waited to hear for a year.

This is the very first race of the Isle Of Man TT Festival 2023.

It is the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1.

We are about to get underway.

Number one is David Johnson, and he is off.

We're off and racing in the Isle Of Man.

Number two, Dean Harrison from Bradford, England.

He's gone down Glencrutchery Road.

And here comes the favourite.

It is number six, Michael Dunlop from MD Racing on his Yamaha.

- BOYDE: - Harrison leads at Glen Helen, lap 1,

by half a second from Michael Dunlop.

But we still await the arrival of Peter Hickman.

Davey Todd now slots into third and usurps James Hillier.

We await Hickman, who won't be long.

He's there now. We can see third place for Hickman.

So Harrison leads by half a second from Michael Dunlop,

just one tenth of a second back from that to Peter Hickman,

and Davey Todd is seven tenths of a second back on that.

- KINLEY: - Just hearing Mike Browne

has stopped, unfortunately, at Bray Hill.

And Raul Torras has stopped at Gorse Lea.

It's been a very bad day for Michael Russell

as the grandstand gives him a round of applause,

and a well-deserved round of applause as well.

Oh, OK.

Michael Dunlop is through Ballaugh Bridge.

Dunlop leads at Ballaugh.

Dunlop has overhauled Harrison on the leader board,

at least 1.5 seconds.

We've seen that Jamie Coward has passed Paul Jordan

on the road as well.

Here comes Harrison into the pits, then. And he is in.

But let's get back down to the course and have a think

about Michael Dunlop because here he comes.

He's over the line.

- 129.136. - Down to Chris Kinley.

Here's the fourth-place man, just in.

Jamie Coward in, right in behind Dean Harrison.

Slips through the Yamahas.

And Paul Jordan and Davo Johnson, this could be tight here.

Dean Harrison, 128.1.

Jamie Coward, 127.5 as James Hillier is in

as Michael Dunlop away.

Just a little struggle for Michael. Gets a good cheer from the guys,

and I think on the last lap, The Bull is gonna go for it.

He really is. It's Hickman we're waiting for next.

Here's Hickman. Hickman is in.

Those pit stop times mean

that Michael Dunlop's lead is reduced down to 11.9 seconds.

Harrison was quicker in the pits.

Dunlop leads by 11.9 seconds out of the pit stop,

and Hickman is now 9.5 seconds down on Dean Harrison.

He's dropped to second in the pits.

We're waiting for Michael Dunlop.

He's gonna be getting to Ballaugh right now,

and he is behind Dean Harrison.

The battle is now starting to build for second place.

Peter Hickman has closed to within 3.9 seconds of Dean Harrison.

We are looking potentially and probably at a 22nd victory

for Michael Dunlop.

He's on that 130-and-a-half pace,

almost eight seconds inside lap record pace.

This is absolutely incredible.

Jamie Coward versus Davey Todd for the fourth place.

Here comes Hickman, 0.1 of a second. Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, Harrison still holds second place,

but by one tenth of a second from Peter Hickman.

This final, what, 7, 8 miles are gonna decide second place.

Here comes Michael Dunlop.

He is about to win his 22nd Isle Of Man TT race.

He goes only one behind the legend that is John McGuinness.

Michael Dunlop wins the Supersport Race 1.

Peter Hickman has taken second place.

Well, what a battle for the podium we have seen today.

Chris Boyde.

Michael Dunlop. 17 minutes, 21.605, 130.403 miles per hour.

He's broken the 130 barrier on a Supersport machine.

What an incredible last lap.

Yeah, it was good. You know I controlled the race

at the front and seen I had a wee bit of a gap,

and then I sort of just calmed down a little bit.

Oh, I'm just so happy.

The team did a great pit stop as well.

Everything was slick, so, yeah.

Couldn't have asked for a better first TT race. Yeah. It was mega.

And every single lap I do around here, I'm loving it more and more.

Uh, yeah the thrill you get,

especially on that flying lap going down Bray Hill, it's unreal.

APPLAUSE

- There's nothing there. - There's nothing to hold it.

I'll take that. That looks loads better than it did.

LAUGHTER

Mate, I would've quite happily carried on.

Did the whole fucking lap from Rhencullen all the way.

No dramas. If I hadn't got black flagged...

It's just, it is what it is.

How does it feel to have your son racing in the TT?

It's exciting, nerve-wracking and an emotional roller-coaster.

Yeah, I would agree with that.

But it's also a lot of work, a lot of preparation.

Uh, sometimes that's a good thing.

Takes your mind off it as well, actually.

But yeah, it's exciting.

He got to about 12 and, uh, Guy Martin was on the scene.

All of a sudden, he comes back and says,

"Dad, I wanna be the next Guy Martin.

I thought, "Here we go."

JORGE: Yeah. I've not even got a road licence,

so I don't ride on the road.

Yeah. So, it was first time on the roads around here,

so, yeah, that was a bit of an eye-opener.

Cos that's the thing, you feel a few bumps in the van,

but on the bike doing them speeds, it is totally different.

And you don't get that watching the on-boards on YouTube, either.

So, yeah, should have gone around with L-plates on.

Uh, not for a few years, I don't think.

Maybe when I'm older and maybe a bit more sensible.

You've got people coming the other way.

- WOMAN: - That's true, yeah.

Who's that?

My name's Ryan Crowe, and I'm the sidecar driver.

My name's Callum Crowe, and I'm the sidecar passenger.

- MAN: - What do you think your lives would be like

if you didn't have TT and sidecar racing?

I don't know, actually.

We don't know anything other than it, really.

So it's almost like I don't know what we would've done.

I think I would've went...

Like, one of my dreams is to go to Australia

and stuff like that, but...

I'd like to go travelling at some point, go and see the world.

You'll be too old then. You're getting old.

And you've got a kid on the way. Oh, you've got a kid!

He's got a kid, so he's fucked already.

This is what everyone's going for.

You know, it's pretty mad, to be honest with you.

But that is literally...

- That's the one. - That's the baby.

- These aren't ours. - No, yeah, these aren't ours.

- These are the old man's ones. - This is all he's got on us now.

- Bigger gods of speed. - Is it a girl?

It's not a girl, no, it's the god of speed.

Is it?

Yeah, that's what that is, the god of speed.

Why do you boys make such a good team, do you think?

Cos we're just so similar.

He does his job, and I'll do my job, pretty much.

Yeah, but you don't have to think about each other.

The trust's there. You're born with the trust.

You can't trust anybody else more than your brother, can you?

No, me and him more than anyone know the risk of this place.

You know, it's in our family, it's...

- Live with it every day. - Yeah, you live with it every day.

Yeah, see my old man every day, and, erm...

It doesn't stop you, it doesn't slow you down,

it's just part of TT, and it's part of racing.

You could walk outside now and get hit by a car, couldn't you?

I'd be more gutted with my life if I got struck by a car

than going round there and injuring myself.

You know, once you get onto the morning of the race day,

you start getting that feeling in your stomach

where you know you're about to do something special.

I still remember my first time going down Bray Hill on the sidecar,

looking through the visor. It was just like...

It took me all way to the bottom of Bray Hill,

all the way up over the jump, to actually realise

that I was actually doing the Isle of Man TT.

You'll never get that feeling anywhere else.

You couldn't do anything to get that feeling.

You could jump out of a plane, you might get that big rush

where you're falling down for about 30 seconds,

and then they release the parachute.

Whereas I get that feeling that you're feeling for 30 seconds,

I get that for a whole hour, so...

That's what I think makes the TT so special.

Drug.

Do you wanna see my parrot?

Do you wanna see my parrot? This is him.

SMACKS LIPS

You looking all pretty? Get yourself all puffed up.

The animals that we've had in the past,

we tried growing...

No, sorry, tried hatching an emu egg once.

That didn't go very well.

My dad bought six emu eggs, apparently fertile,

and he had the incubator and all set up,

and there's a different humidity.

He's done chicks and all in the past,

but it's a different humidity and stuff in the incubator.

And he's trying his best to get this emu, and I was like...

"It's all right hatching these things,"

"but what are you gonna do with these emus when they hatch?"

"Where are you gonna keep them? They're massive. They'll escape."

"You can't have them running around the estate,"

the kids playing

and emus chasing them round the estate and stuff.

- BEN BIRCHALL: - Feel good.

Yeah, it, I mean it comes in waves, like, a bit of, "Oh, fuck,"

but also, like, I'm ready to go, I wanna get going.

We've done so much preparation, we've done so much work,

and we've got some time now, and you're still at it.

You don't really need to be, but you just don't stop.

- Ready? - Ready.

You said all your swear words?

I'm Ben Birchall, and I race at Isle of Man TT,

and, er, enjoy

outside stuff.

No, that's bollocks. Do that again.

Hello, I'm Tom Birchall,

a TT sidecar racer for Birchall Racing.

Erm, my interests include mountain bikes, bit of skiing,

and a trip to the pub.

It's insane, really

the amount of work they put in behind the scenes

that you don't see when you're here.

Build this from top to bottom themselves

and then go out and ride it at stupid speeds.

Is it too thick, this? Is it putting your head too...

No, I want it so you're in.

- Is that good, there? - It's good there.

- Can we just put it on? - Yeah, yeah, that's fine.

Last year's bike was a major

lockdown development/ too much time on your hands.

I wish I'd just made a

done a patio instead of trying to reinvent sidecar racing!

But some of it was really positive, but some of it was difficult.

So we've just gone, er

got back to, you know, like, putting an old pair of shoes on, really.

And here we are.

You having a good week? MAN: Yeah, magic, mate.

Magic. Magic. All the best, yeah. Give us a cheer.

Yeah, yeah. It just came, really.

We didn't set out to achieve that.

We set out for a good ride and

the set-up for the bike's just been improving.

BOYDE: They're now inside lap record schedule

from a standing start.

This is absolutely sensational.

- HOUSE: - Here they come now.

This is unofficial, of course, because its only practice week.

- We're looking at 119.250. - 119.414!

119.414, unofficial lap record for the Birchalls

from a standing start.

Enjoy a bit of sunshine out there, I think.

We worked late last night.

We didn't finish till three o'clock this morning,

putting a new engine in and going through all t'bike, so...

Yeah, it's tricky cos by t'time we've done practice,

and got in, and debriefed, it's 11,

then we eat, and then start work at midnight.

- HARRY: - It's been a fair bit of work, to be fair.

That was an aged engine.

They'd done all practice on it, all the testing on it.

So they put a fresh engine in.

So, hopefully, try and get a bit more out of it.

Mileage, basically.

Mileage, and so you want a fresh engine for your race

so you don't break down.

BABY VOCALISES

HE LAUGHS

Just clipped a wall at Laurel Bank in the first lap of qualifying.

Just bounced me back in and gave me a good

a good smash on the pelvis.

As soon as we felt the rumble,

it was just pulled into Laurel Bank 2,

and Callum come off.

Well, he didn't come off, he just got off the bike

and he was very winded, so he had to...

He lay there trying to catch his breath for a bit.

And, yeah, it was not ideal start, but it happened,

and, you know, we've learnt our lesson there,

to stay a bit wide around that corner.

Bike's OK, lads have been busy at it.

It's just, er, a little fibreglassing job,

and I've had a bit of fibreglass on me.

Vicky's all over it now. A bit of fibreglass on me.

Er, turn me away and say, "You can't ride."

If they do that, then.

I don't know what the plan is after that.

Right, Callum, so, I'm Paul Hancock.

I'm the Deputy Chief Medical Officer here.

How are you feeling? How you been getting on since?

Good, better than I thought, to be honest with you.

We took you out and in the aircraft,

and into Noble's.

How did you get on in Noble's? What happened next?

- They looked after the cut, firstly. - Yeah.

- That's the main priority. - And they've stitched that shut.

They've stitched that shut. Six stitches in that one.

I went for a CT scan,

and that just showed a small chip at the top of the pelvis.

Yeah, as I say, what we'll do is we'll examine you here

and then we'll take you across to your outfit.

- Collarbones all been good? Not sore? - No.

- Neck, spine, anything? - No.

And chest, no pain at all?

I'm just gonna... I know this is a good one.

Injury-wise, obviously it was quite a big impact that he took.

It's a significant wound.

Ordinarily, I would be telling people to rest,

take things easy, heal.

But obviously, the boys here, they're committed,

and this fortnight, it's the ultimate event,

and their year is built around this.

You OK with that? Not causing you too much gyp?

- Not too much gyp. No. - No.

They've done quite good stitch work on you.

Joseph. He's my first boy.

Nine weeks.

MAN: Amazing. Well done, mate. Congrats.

Nine weeks, and he's already flat-out.

Oh, hello, everyone. You gonna be fast like your daddy?

Yeah, I've gotta bounce around

and show him the movements that I'm gonna do.

I did some yesterday, so I think it should be all right.

Hopefully, anyway.

Try and stay off that a bit.

Yeah, no. We'll be good.

At first, when I heard the doctor, what he said was,

"I thought that would've been it."

But, you know, as they say, we're Manx, and we get on with it.

All right, you're going back to your mum.

It's a massive relief.

I'm more nervous now than I have been.

I feel like I'm a newcomer again now

because I'm nervous to see how my body's gonna cope.

But if I was gonna go out there and say I'm only going for a podium,

I'm only going third place, or I'm only going fourth place,

I wouldn't be bothering.

There's only one goal in my head,

and that's why I'm pushing my body so hard to get me going

cos I want... I want it.

I dunno how you guys are sitting here all day. Like...

- It's soaring, isn't it? - Yeah.

So, uh, my name's Michael Russell.

I'm currently over here at the Isle of Man TT

to contest ten races.

And, luckily, I've got this young lady as my passenger,

Vicky Cooke.

- Can I swear? - Yes, absolutely.

I am Jack's sidecar passenger.

We actually had a sort of stand-in passenger

for last year's TT,

a little French lad called, uh, Freddy Lelubez.

I think that's pronounced right, but legend of a guy.

Literally jumped on the week before TT.

The week after TT, I sort of rang Vic,

I was like, "You know, what are your, sort of, plans?",

you know, cos Freddy was retiring.

Um, and we just started that plan from thereon in.

'I came here in 2017, didn't have a great week,

'we'd never started race, went home.

'Came here last year.

'It was a challenging two weeks.

'I think that's probably the best way to put it.'

Once we get today out the way, we've bedded in, we're set up,

we can start changing things tomorrow if we need to.

You're here for nearly three weeks.

But you're on the bike for such a short amount of time

that if you don't get on with the person that you're riding with,

you might as well not be here.

You know, I've gotta know,

I've got to be able to anticipate what Jack's doing,

and Jack's got to have the trust in me

to make sure I do my job 110% right.

There's no room for error here, you know, as we, as we all know.

He's sat in a nice little enclosure, comfy seat.

I'm sat on a tea tray, literally sat on a tea tray.

It's... I'm not forcing you to do it if you don't wanna do it.

- If you don't wanna do it. - I wouldn't have it any other way.

Like, it's such an amazing experience.

You know, the solos are great, and if you've got any issues,

yes, people will help you out.

But the sidecar fraternity is, is completely mental, innit?

Yeah, it's next-level.

They're all a little bit bat shit crazy.

HOUSE: Welcome back, race fans.

It is time to race on the TT Mountain Course

at the Isle of Man TT 2023.

This evening, in the late afternoon sun,

it is time for us to think not about two wheels,

but about three, and we're talking about

the 3wheeling. Media Sidecar TT Race 1.

We're nervous.

You know, you are very scared when you're going,

but then as soon as you get your helmet on, it's all gone.

Yeah, I'm always nervous!

The other day there, we come past the grandstand,

and I said, "I don't know why I bloody do this."

"All it does is make me shit myself every time I see it."

BOYDE: We'll have a quick look at the qualifying times,

and it was another unofficial lap record

that we saw broke earlier this week by Ben and Tom Birchall, 119.414.

They went two seconds or so inside of their existing lap record.

But it only counts when they do it in the race.

If I had 50p for every time somebody asked me about that...

I know. Sorry.

I quite like it now. Dunno.

It's this place, stars need to align.

HOUSE: And we have 24 pairs on the start line now,

and, Chris Boyde, just before THEY get going,

who is gonna win?

- BOYDE: - I think you can't really go beyond the Birchalls

when we've done an official lap record.

- Here we go. - Here we go indeed.

The scream of the engines is Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall

- on their Wyckham Blackwell. - Birchall Racing Honda LCR.

You put your helmet on, and you've gone from busy working

and saying hi and whatever else to people,

and then you just go flat out

like, mental, down the bottom of that hill, through that dip.

As you come up that other side,

your hairs are stood up on back of your neck.

Your adrenaline is just unreal,

and it just stays like that then until you stop.

And where else could you get to do that, you know?

Last year, Vicky Cooke was the passenger for Maria Costello.

This year, it's Mike Russell

who's trying to compete every single race here.

Switching from solos to sidecars, mentally, it's very different.

Physically, it's completely different.

Your eyes don't see anything but blurredness.

There's undulations in this track you don't feel on the solo,

and on the sidecar, it wants to rip your teeth out.

And, genuinely, I've nearly lost my tongue.

Once we get it handling, we'll be all right, you know?

But at the minute, it's just trying to kill us.

BOYDE: Ben and Tom Birchall, then, the early leaders of this,

uh, 3wheeling. Media Sidecar TT Race 1

by 3.9 seconds at Glen Helen from Peter Founds and Jevan Walmsley.

Through the 13th, and all that,

and then on the way to Douglas Road Corner.

You build up to that one,

and you absolutely hammer through that little village, you know,

and the kerbs are doing that

and the sound of the exhaust going, "wham, wham."

You know, it's just unreal.

BOYDE: Ryan and Callum Crowe are still third,

4.1 seconds down on Founds and Walmsley.

- HOUSE: - Unfortunately, we've already got two retirements.

Molyneux has retired at the Highlander,

and Conrad Harrison has retired at Crosby as well.

Ben and Tom Birchall.

They are over three seconds inside lap record schedule

at Ballaugh on lap 2.

It's that qualifying unofficial lap record with 119.414.

They're now on 119.7 pace.

It's on, it's on! Ramsey to Ramsey for the Birchalls. 120.073.

COMMENTATOR: They'll be really keen to get that lap record,

I know they will,

on the hundredth year of sidecars at the Isle of Man TT.

15th for Mike Russell and Vicky Cooke.

Waiting for the time to flash up. 120.357!

The Birchalls, Ben and Tom, are the first ever sidecar crew

in the history of the TT to go over 120 miles an hour.

What a lap!

- RYAN CROWE: - Ben and Tom are gonna take some beating round here.

They're so clever in what they do.

They can hold back but still lead a race,

and then they can pull a pin and go.

This is going to be a tenth win in a row for the Birchalls.

- HOUSE: - You can hear them coming. O, brothers, where art thou?

Here you are, coming over the line.

They take the victory.

Not only have they taken the 120 mile-per-hour lap,

but they've also taken that tenth victory in a row.

And the records keep on tumbling for Ben and Tom Birchall.

I won't say it's ever easy, but the last few years,

we've had it our own way,

and it's been great to have a real race for it this time.

You know, fair do's to Pete and Jevan and the Crowe boys for

they've had a tough week, and for getting back out there.

If you've seen the injuries he's got on him,

just to finish this race, to do that for an hour round there

at that speed is unbelievable.

It was tough. I'm not gonna lie to you, Ryan drove brilliant.

APPLAUSE

I wasn't crying. What are you on about?!

- VICKY COOKE: BLEEP - you were.

You were bawling when we stopped at the end of the road.

I was crying for you. That's... I was genuine.

I was crying for you because it's... it's such an emotional thing for her

to get back here.

To do what she's just done

is, genuinely, probably the toughest thing I've ever seen.

It is. That has been

that's the toughest thing I've ever done.

- Definitely. - Honestly. Yeah.

You are the toughest thing I've ever met.

For me, the TT is all I live and breathe, you know,

I'm 42 nearly, and I've probably got another two or three years

racing solos, sort of, competitively,

but sidecars, I think we can, you know...

Birchalls, you know, they've got another 20 years

of potentially winning TTs, at the end of the day.

Luckily, we've got the Crowes coming in nipping at their heels.

We've got Pete Founds,

who's definitely gonna be up there this year.

So, um, you know, we could do it.

You know, we're not young in the paddock,

but we're middle aged now for, sort of, sidecars.

- We've potentially got another... - Middle aged? Are you winding me up?

- For TT! - I'm 30. I'm not middle aged.

I'm in my prime.

- I mean, YOU'RE not. I'm talking about me. - Well...

But we're middle aged. I'm middle aged.

Just saying, don't tie me with the "we" on that one.

I'm mentally not middle aged,

but we're middle aged for sidecars, so we've got another 20 years.

Will you stop saying "we are"?

- So, what are we gonna do? We need a new engine. - Yeah, we do.

Did you hear it crackling on the way back in?

TANNOY: 'To the start line. Control out.'

HOUSE: Here we are then,

the 3wheeling. Media Sidecar TT Race 2.

First on the grid are Ben and Tom Birchall.

Ben already has, with his brother, 13 wins of their 21 starts,

and they did make that 13 with ten in a row on Saturday.

Can they make it 11 in a row and 14 wins from 22 starts today?

We're about to find out over the next 113 miles.

It is three laps of the Mountain Course.

37 and three quarter miles each one,

and Ben and Tom Birchall are off and racing.

Right behind them

is the crew that finished second in the first race,

Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley.

- BOYDE: - The Birchalls have pulled the pin.

1.6 seconds inside that record pace.

There is no matching the speed of the Birchalls.

Founds and Walmsley are coming back, in terms of the race.

They've cut the lead of the Birchalls

to four-and-a-half seconds.

Fair play to Founds and Walmsley, they are sticking with them.

56-and-a-half miles, roughly,

they've done so far, and the same is to come.

The Birchalls lead at Ballaugh on lap 2.

The lead has gone out to over ten seconds,

and then the Crowes are 20.9 seconds back

on Founds and Walmsley in third.

So, the Birchalls are really pushing it on this second lap.

The Birchalls lead by 11.6 seconds

after two laps of the Sidecar Race 2.

Taking our breath away, once again.

Founds and Walmsley, then, 30.6 seconds up

on Ryan and Callum Crowe, who hold third.

We're seeing a hand out

from Michael Russell and Vicky Cooke, there, number 24.

And that is bad news because they are retiring.

The Birchalls are back on that 120 miles-an-hour pace.

And the Birchalls take their second sidecar race

of this Isle of Man TT 2023.

120.645.

Phenomenal performance for them.

Founds and Walmsley, 120.079 to conclude TT '23.

'100 years of sidecars, Ben and Tom Birchall!'

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

- BEN BIRCHALL: - For us, this is the, like, the end of our TT,

that's the end of our racing time at TT.

And it, it, I would say, it's probably been, for me,

the best that I've ever been,

the best that it's been, and

quite emotional.

You know, I'm sure that they, they get that.

Right now, I can enjoy doing something so cool with my brother,

and so fast,

so, so dangerous, but so amazing.

There's been no stone... no stone left unturned

to get to where we are now with these two results

and that lap time and the feeling that we've got with that bike

and that piece of tarmac out there, and it's paid off.

It's just paid off.

And then, now, you can just go,

"Oh, fuckin' hell, let's have a minute."

Let's soak it in a bit. All these people love it.

The reaction we got to doing 120 was just, like epic,

just on a different scale.

Never thought people would be that into it.

I honestly didn't, that surprised me.

- MICHAEL RUSSELL: - I didn't put enough fuel in it.

So, you should just go out with a brim tank every time.

Three-lap race. We need to know you've got enough fuel in.

But yeah, fucking hell, we would've, we would've finished.

Oh, yeah. Cheers, bud.

Everything's gonna go cock fucking arse over tit here, innit?

There's Vic. Hey up!

- Terrible day at the office. - Terrible day at the office, eh?

How do you feel, Vicky?

I'm all sorts of emotion, devastated, a little bit angry.

I'm happy as well, you know, just a bit of everything, really.

But that's the TT for you.

We are here and we're in one piece, and that's the main thing.

You always have a dream, don't you, as a kid growing up, you know,

whether it's you wanna be a footballer or you wanna

you wanna go and race motorcycles?

But how many percentage of those people can actually say

they've lived their dream?

And I'm a 100% living mine,

and I know you are 100% living yours.

And I think I can't even put into words

how that... what that means.

We're both middle aged, so we've got plenty of time left

to do that as well.

I thought, "He's gonna get a battering."

Why am I doing this? Whose idea is it? It was stupid.

This is a stupid idea!

To be truthful, I'm hoping this may be his last year, you know?

The boys are doing 125s, are they?

Even if the bike was right, we're still wasting our time.

Hey, hey. 125 miles per hour.

So, yeah, we are... we are happy. We are happy. We are happy.

I'll tell you what... going too good at the minute, innit?

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