in Isle of Man TT practice

Riders choosing the Japanese brand of tyres, Yokohama, have dominated timed practice for this year’s sidecar class of the world-famous Isle of Man TT races. Fastest in evening practice was last year’s double winner Nick Crowe, posting a time of 19min30sec to give an average lap speed of 116.03mph, just shy of the lap record.

This year, 34 of the 47 runners and riders have chosen to use Yokohama tyres, widely accepted as the tyre for the island, demonstrated by an unbroken run of success of 15 years of wins for the Japanese brand. And no less than eight of the top ten riders are using Yokohama, demonstrating once again the marque’s enviable reputation for consistency and performance, as well as customer service from dealer Express Tyres which services the field.

While Crowe was streets ahead, the competition behind is far closer. Former winner Dave Molyneux posted a time of 114.6mph and was closed down by Yokohama runners Phil Donworth (112.4mph), John Holden (112.3mph) and ex-world sidecar champion Tom Reeves (111.2mph).

Following the second practice session, Crowe declared himself happy with the set-up of his machine, including the Yokohama tyres that helped him to take two wins last year.

Commenting on the news, Motorsport Manager of Yokohama HPT, Mark Evans, said: “We expected Nick to be quick this year and once again, he demonstrated his pace and consistency. Of course, I’m delighted that the Yokohama runners have shown such speed in practice, with eight of the top ten runners using our tyres.

“I think this indicates that we’re going to see some exceptional racing action this weekend and next week, in the two sidecar races. I wish Nick and the rest of the Yokohama runners the best of luck for a successful week on the island.”