The IDM Sidecar series has now become accustomed to multiple world champion Tim Reeves and his passenger Kevin Rousseau, as well as Pekka Päivärinta and Ilse de Haas. In Styria, more top-tier competitors will be on the starting grid. Brothers Ben and Tom Birchall will be making an appearance. What’s the story behind this?
“Tim Reeves more or less invited us and said we should give the IDM a try. It would be a good championship,” says 45-year-old Ben Birchall. Along with his brother Tom, who is nine years his junior, he has been a world champion and an eleven-time TT winner. The British duo won on the island again this year. About seven years ago, they also took over the LCR sidecars from chassis guru Louis Christen of Switzerland. Today, all parts are manufactured in England.
The COVID-19 years, during which not only the world of sports but also the business world had to weather significant setbacks, brought about many changes for the Birchalls as well. However, the LCR-Honda sidecar team that the two are now fielding at the Red Bull Ring was formed during precisely this period. It is now one year old, and the brothers were testing in Rijeka before heading to Austria. They’ve never been to the Red Bull Ring before. It’s a new track, and according to Ben Birchall, they have something to prove. Plus, Tim Reeves invited them and made the IDM sound appealing.
There were rumors going around that the brothers were preparing for the World Championship race in Oschersleben on the last weekend of September, but that’s not the case. “There’s a BSB race in Donington on the same date. And that’s where we’ll be,” Tom explains.