Confidnce begins to flow for Stevens and Charlwood

Ricky Stevens steered his way to a superb third place in round two of the British Sidecar Championship at Oulton Park, writes John Mushet.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th May 2018, 17:18 GMT
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 23:00 GMT
Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood. Picture: John MushetRicky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood. Picture: John Mushet
Ricky Stevens and Ryan Charlwood. Picture: John Mushet

Portsmouth-based driver Stevens and passenger Ryan Charlwood qualified fourth in Cheshire before overcoming a slow start to clinch a spot on the podium.

The Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki sidecar team were returning to domestic action after a superb fifth in the first round of the World Championship, held at the iconic Le Mans circuit in France.

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Racing in competition with 1000cc machines in the British Sidecar Championship this season, Stevens and Charlwood were the first 600cc outfit to finish.

The former said: ‘We had a very solid weekend on a bumpy track.

‘Our confidence is back and to come third overall and first in our class is fantastic.

‘The whole team did a great job.’

Stevens and Charlwood were third in Saturday evening’s free practice – racing on old tyres they had used at Le Mans.

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Sunday’s qualifying saw them take fourth place on the grid – second in the 600cc Cup class.

The race consisted of 12 laps of the 2.6mile circuit and a poor start saw the duo slip to sixth.

They quickly moved back up to fourth before edging into third place on lap four.

Averaging 91mph, they were closing in on second spot when the race was red flagged on lap 11 because of fluid on the track.

Stevens and Charlwood now sit second in the 600cc Cup and eighth in the overall championship.

The next round is at Snetterton on June 15-17.

Related topics:PortsmouthRacing