Just when he thought he'd never complete another lap of the Isle of Man TT Course, Tim Reeves pulled off his best ever result on the Mountain Circuit when he finished in 2nd place in Wednesday's second 3-lap Formula 2 Sidecar race. Together with passenger Dan Sayle, Tim led the race right up until the very last lap when they were overhauled by Manx legend Dave Molyneux and Patrick Farrance but after failing to complete a lap since the middle of practice week, it was a superb way to end their 2012 TT campaign.
It was Molyneux/Farrance that led through Glen Helen for the first time with Tim and Dan back in third behind the Birchall brothers but as the lap progressed, the lead changed hands on a number of occasions. Indeed, as the outfits flashed across the line to complete their opening lap, it was Tim and Dan who led by 4.3s after an opening lap of 111.692mph. Their advantage crept up to 6.2s at Glen Helen second time around but from here on in, Molyneux and Farrance began to reduce the gap. Despite nursing a slight gearbox problem, Tim increased his pace to 113.146mph but, as they started their final lap, the gap to Molyneux was now just 0.83s.
Try as they might, Tim and Dan were unable to keep Molyneux and Farrance at bay and with a final lap of 112.781mph, they crossed the line in second place, just over 16 seconds adrift. Nevertheless, it was Tim's best ever result on the Island, bettering his third place finishes of 2008 and 2010, and he was delighted with the outcome.
Speaking afterwards, he said: "Having not completed a lap since last Tuesday evening, I'm over the moon with the result and it felt good just to be out there racing with Dave and having a bit of a battle with him. We haven't had much luck this fortnight and I think we've only done six laps in total - I haven't seen Ramsey since last Tuesday as I've been breaking down before I've even got there! Lots of teams have chipped in to help us out so I've got to say a big thanks to them as without them we wouldn't have been racing. Wilson Craig loaned us Mark 'Brains' Woodage for the day and he built us a new engine so a big thanks to them especially."
"Dan did a great job jumping on board so late in the day and when I saw 'P1' on my board on the first lap, I nearly passed out! It was a bit tricky early on as I wasn't sure where the damp was but it was only a bit iffy round Glen Helen, the top and bottom of Barregarrow and the 13th, everywhere else was bone dry. I felt I had the pace to run with Dave so it was a bit frustrating not being able to hold on but like I say, I'm over the moon. I did have a slight issue with the bike jumping out of gear on the final lap but it wasn't that much of a problem and I'm pleased everything stayed together and we saw the chequered flag. The TT is always a major challenge so to be sitting here now with a 2nd place to my name is a very special feeling."
