Ben and Tom Birchall got their British championship campaign off to the best of starts by taking second place and setting a new lap record in their very first outing aboard the F2 LCR Honda at Donington Park on Sunday in round one of the British F2 sidecar championship.

They went on to claim third place in the second race, which secured sufficient points to see them leave Donington as championship leaders.

The Mitchells of Mansfield-backed pairing qualified in second place but were unable to capitalize on their front row start and rounded the first corner at Redgate in fifth position at the start of the opening race on Saturday.
 
The two leading outfits began to pull away leaving the Birchall brothers to battle it out with Coombes/Knapton, Ian/Carl Bell and Neary/Bond for position but by the third lap they powered through into third place and began to pull away to give chase to the leaders.
 
When former F1 world champions Reeves/Farrance went out at the Melbourne Loop their second place was inherited by Ben and Tom Birchall who then began to reel in multi-TT winners Crowe/Cox.
 
But despite reducing the gap by over two seconds in the final laps they ran out of time and had to be content with second place. The pace was such that Ben and Tom set a new lap record for the F2 sidecar class of 1m 43.63s on their penultimate lap.
 
“We are thrilled to bits with that result,” said Ben. “We came here not knowing what to expect as there a lot of really quick lads in the F2 series and we just didn’t know where we would figure in the results. We are there or there about on the F1 bike but was not sure with the little bike just how competitive we could be.

"We have done a lot of hard work over the winter months with preparation to get the bike to suit us and it appears to have paid off. We also set a new lap record which is something we didn’t realise until the results sheets were produced.”
 
Race two on Sunday was run in perfect weather conditions and after a delayed start Ben and Tom slotted into second place at Redgate first time around before taking the lead at the Melbourne Loop a few seconds later. The Mansfield pair held their lead for three laps before being caught by Reeves/Farrance and the rest of the 10-lapper was spent in a huge battle between the two teams.
 
Things came to a dramatic climax on the last lap when third place riders Holden/Winkle tangled with the Birchall brothers resulting in the latter being relegated to third place where they remained to the chequered flag.
 
Although disappointed to lose out on the runner up spot the brothers were delighted to find they are the championship leaders with the added bonus of lifting the Bill Boddice Trophy; an annual presentation at Donington Park for the overall winner.
 
“Two podium finishes in our first two races at this level, championship leaders and the Bill Boddice Trophy, that’s more than we could ever have dreamed of,” said Ben. “If we can continue in this vein then we can look forward to a fantastic season in the F2 class.”

The Nottinghamshire duo  also contested the inaugural Motosix challenge where they were to represent  England in the six-nation shootout. Unfortunately their race plan didn’t quite  work out as they were awarded an eighth row grid position and had to work  their way through the field at the start. At the lights they were keen to get  away and made up places to 10th as they exited Foggys Esses on the  opening lap.
 
By lap eight they were through to sixth but, when in the middle of a three-way clash for fourth place, they were bumped by another competitor and spun off course. Despite losing momentum Ben was able to regain control and rejoined the race in 10th position, eventually completing the race in seventh place.

The Mansfield brothers were unable to compete in the second race because of exhaust damage incurred in the second of the British F2 events.

“There was a bit of fairing clashing going on throughout the races today but it appears to be part and parcel of this class,” said Ben. “In the World Championship it takes a couple of laps for everyone to sort themselves out but in this class it all systems go from the start and the racing is so very close.”

The team now head off to France for a week of intense testing in preparation for their World championship challenge on the bigger 1000cc LCR F1 outfit.