TIM Reeves and Kevin Rousseau drew first blood this weekend in a race-long battle for Molson Group British Sidecar honours.
The six-time world champ and his French passenger slipped ahead of Todd Ellis and Charlie Richardson and never let up, bagging 25 points in both the FIM and British F1 tables.
Title favourites Steve Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood grabbed the holeshot as the pack stormed off down Paddock Hill, but it wasn’t long before Ellis and Richardson sneaked through.
As Tommy Philp and Tom Bryant spun out while John Holden and Jake Lowther also hit the gravel while running fifth and sixth, it was all action at the front as Kershaw and Charlwood dropped to fourth.
The points leader’s drop made way for Tim Reeves and Kevin Rousseau to move into second with World Championship contenders Bennie Streuer and Ilse de Haas right on their tail.
Embroiled in the four-way fight for the lead, Reeves and Rousseau slipped ahead of Ellis and Richards to hit the front on lap five, but the world series contenders suffered a shake up moments later as Pekka Paivarinta and Emmanuelle Clement retired with issues just four laps from the finish.
And the drama wasn’t over there, as disaster hit Kershaw and Charlwood not a lap later as the British F1 title tips also dropped out of contention with bike problems on their Quattro Group Santander Salt outfit.
With two to go, Streuer and De Haas dropped back into a comfortable third as the race for victory came down to two outfits in a repeat of their Snetterton scrap.
And despite a last-ditch attempt for Santander Salt’s reigning champs, it was Reeves and Rousseau who took victory and maximum points for the Bonovo Action squad.
Team-mates Streuer and De Haas bagged third some seven seconds back while Silicone Barnes Racing’s Lewis Blackstock and Paddy Rosney scooped fourth ahead of Team WPS’ Ricky Stevens and Jonny Allum.
