Isle of Man TT 2015: Birchall brothers win Sidecar opener

The Birchall boys recorded the second fastest sidecar lap ever on their second circuit.

Ben and Tom Birchall clinched their second TT win in Monday's opening sidecar event, setting a new race record in the process.

The Mansfield brothers were 24 seconds ahead of runners-up John Holden and Dan Sayle after three laps of racing in perfect conditions.

The Birchall boys recorded the second fastest sidecar lap ever on their second circuit, averaging 116.060mph.

The pair crashed heavily at Glen Helen last year while leading the first race.

"It has been a long road getting here but when you have your mind on things here, fantastic things happen," said driver Ben Birchall after the race.

"We really pushed hard on the second lap and ran wide on a couple of occasions but this win feels great. Now we want more."

The LCR Honda duo led by five seconds at the end of lap one, extended their advantage to 13.5 seconds by the conclusion of lap two, and ran out convincing winners.

Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott occupied the final podium position, with Ian and Carl Bell in fourth.

Alan Founds and Tom Peters pipped Gary Bryan and Jamie Winn by just 0.007 seconds to claim fifth spot.

There was disappointment for two of the fancied crews on the first lap as Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance were forced to retire at the bottom of Barregarrow and Dave Molyneux and Benjamin Binns parked up at Brandish Corner.

Manxman Molyneux and his passenger were in the lead when they retired.

The Mansfield brothers were 24 seconds ahead of runners-up John Holden and Dan Sayle.