2019 FIM SIDECAR WORLD CHAMPION
REEVES RETURNS TO THE TOP
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes (Adolf RS Yamaha) overcame the challenge of their fierce rivals Ben and Tom Birchall (LCR Yamaha), to claim the 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship in another thrilling final-round showdown – this time at Estoril. After their bitter disappointment last season, when they gave up what looked like an unsurmountable lead with two rounds remaining and eventually lost out to the Birchalls in the last race of the campaign at Oschersleben, on this occasion the pair produced two podium finishes to defend their twelve-point cushion over their fellow Brits in Portugal.
After taking wins in Hungary, Germany, Holland and Croatia, the duo extended their advantage at Estoril to seventeen points thanks to a fifth victory of the season in the sprint race after qualifying on pole position in wet conditions. The title was then secured in Sunday’s seventeen-lap Gold Cup race when the Birchalls retired from the lead, leaving Reeves and Wilkes to cruise to second place behind Pekka Päivärinta and Jussi Veräväinen (LCR Yamaha). Victory for the Finnish pair, meanwhile, lifted them to the runners-up spot in the championship.
For Reeves this is his sixth FIM Sidecar World Championship title, following on from his successes in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014, as well as two FIM Sidecar World Cups.
GOLDEN WAIT IS OVER FOR WILKES
Mark Wilkes (Adolf RS Yamaha) was finally able to take his first gold medal in the 2019 FIM Sidecar World Championship at the third attempt as passenger to multiple title-winner Tim Reeves, as the pair overcame the challenge of their fierce rivals Ben and Tom Birchall (LCR Yamaha) in another thrilling final-round showdown – this time at Estoril.
After their disappointment last season, when they gave up a fifty-one-point advantage with two rounds remaining and eventually lost out to the Birchalls in the last race of the campaign at Oschersleben, on this occasion the pair produced two podium finishes to defend their twelve-point cushion over their fellow Brits in Portugal.
After taking wins in Hungary, Germany, Holland and Croatia, the duo extended their advantage at Estoril to seventeen points thanks to a fifth victory of the season in the sprint race after qualifying on pole position in wet conditions. The title was then secured in Sunday’s seventeen-lap Gold Cup race when the Birchalls retired from the lead.
Reeves and Wilkes’ success on their Adolf RS Yamaha also meant it was the first World title won by a non-LCR outfit since 2002.
PALMARES
FIM Sidecar World Champion – 2019, 2014, 2012, 2007, 2006, 2005