Crowe brothers smash lap record in TT sidecar win

The Crowe brothers set a new lap record during Monday's opening sidecar race

Ryan and Callum Crowe stormed to a dominant win in the opening sidecar race of the 2025 Isle of Man TT, smashing the lap record.

The siblings from Jurby, in the north of the island, led on the road throughout after topping the qualifying boards, recording a second lap of 121.021mph on their Honda machine.

Victory marked the local pairing's third win on the 37.7-mile (61km) Mountain Course after securing the double at last year's TT.

By the end of the truncated two-lap race, the pair had pulled out a lead of one minute, 17 seconds on nearest rivals Ben Birchall and Patrick Rosney.

Ryan and Callum Crowe secured their third victory on the Isle of Man's Mountain Course

Driver Ryan Crowe said he was surprised by the pair's speed on the record-breaking lap because of the blustery conditions.

"I didn't think it would come, it was that windy out there," the 29-year-old told Radio TT.

He said their Honda was "mint all the way round", adding: "It was lovely, I couldn't knock it out there."

The race, which had originally been scheduled to take place on Saturday, was postponed because of significant weather disruption to the planned qualifying sessions for the 2025 event.

Class dominance

The Crowes had pulled out a 25-second lead by Ramsey on the first lap, stretching that to 36 seconds by the end of the circuit, with an average lap speed of 119.418mph – the fastest ever in the class from a standing start.

The siblings' dominance in the class in 2025 was cemented on lap two when they pulled out a lead of more than a minute.

That second circuit was completed in a time of 18:42.350, slashing three seconds off the previous lap record set by Ben and Tom Birchall in 2023.

After a race that saw fierce competition for the other podium places, it was 14-times TT winner Ben Birchall and his new passenger Rosney who took second place on their Honda machinery, 17.3 seconds clear of Lee Crawford and Scott Hardie on their Kawasaki.

But there was disappointment for Lewis Blackstock and newcomer passenger Oscar Lawrence, who had been contenders for a podium finish but fell back after stopping to make adjustments on lap two.

Pete Founds and Jevan Walmsley were non-starters in the race following a crash in qualifying on Sunday, with both since discharged from hospital.

Sidecar TT result

1. Ryan Crowe/Callum Crowe (Honda)

2. Ben Brichall/Patrick Rosney (Honda)

3. Lee Crawford/Scott Hardie (Kawasaki)

4. Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement (Yamaha)

5. Kieran Clarke/Andrew Johnson (Yamaha)

6. George Holden/Mark Wilkes (Yamaha)

7. Steve Ramsden/Matthew Ramsden (Honda)

8. Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence (Yamaha)

9. Greg Lambert/Andrew Haynes (Honda)

10. Robert Dawson/Matthew Sims (Honda)