Focused duo can't afford another knock to title challenge

DOUBLE British Formula One Sidecar champions Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood will be trying to get ahead this weekend but are facing a few challenges.
Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood competing at Oulton Park. Picture: Tim Keeton/Impact ImagesRicky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood competing at Oulton Park. Picture: Tim Keeton/Impact Images
Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood competing at Oulton Park. Picture: Tim Keeton/Impact Images

Round three of the 2017 Hyundai Heavy Industries British Sidecar Championship is taking place in Knockhill, Scotland, from June 16 to June 18.

This is a three-race round and as the pair are currently 15 points behind their main rivals and title challengers, the stakes are high.

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But Charlwood’s accident at the Scottish track last year will no doubt be at the back of their mind as they get on the circuit.

He said: ‘Last year we had so much riding on Knockhill but our hopes were dashed when I was thrown out of the outfit during practice and dislocated my shoulder.

‘The injury did heal well however, and I have come a long way since then.

‘Nevertheless, I don’t want a repeat performance of last year so I have trained relentlessly in the past few weeks to ensure my core and upper body fitness are on point.’

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New rules mean the top 10 finishers in the opening race take positions in reverse order on the grid, at the second race. The order of top 10 finishers in race two will be reversed once again in race three.

Stevens added: ‘Losing Ryan at Knockhill last year was a game changer – part of our success is that we are so well matched so I’m really keen that it doesn’t happen again.

‘The new rules were fun but absolutely crazy when we tried it at Brands and I’m still not sure it will work on all the different tracks we race at.

‘It will definitely put extra pressure on us this time around but we’ll have to put what happened last year at the back of our mind if we want to succeed.’

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