Dave Molyneux through Bray Hill in 1989Sidecar crew Walters & Masterman in 2002 aboard a Trevor Ireson chassis at the right-hander named as Molyneux's from 2013, with the Cronk-y-Voddy Straight visible stretching into the distance
Dave Molyneux (born 21 November 1963 in Douglas, Isle of Man) is a Manx professional Sidecar racer. He is the most successful Sidecar competitor in the history of the Isle of Man TT races, achieving 17 TT victories and 30 podium finishes. His race wins place him fourth on the all-time wins list, behind solo bike racers Joey Dunlop (26 wins), Michael Dunlop (25 wins) and John McGuinness (23).
Moly, as he is often known, was the sidecar lap record holder for the Snaefell mountain course set in 2015 with a time of 19 minutes 23.056 seconds, an average race speed of 116.785mph for 1 lap.[1]
Beginning his TT career at the 1985 races,[3] Molyneux failed to record a finish until his fifth outing in the first race at the 1987 'A' race where he placed tenth, but failed to finish in his sixth event, the 'B' race (the event is raced over two legs with the overall winner performing the best in terms of aggregate).[3] Improvement continued 1988 with a sixth-place finish in the first leg of the Sidecar TT before retirement in the second race.[3]
The 1989 meeting saw Molyneux begin to dominate the event with his maiden TT victory. Campaigning a Bregazzi Yamaha and partnered by experienced passenger Colin Hardman, the team took first place in the 'A' and third in the 'B' race.[3] This resulted in Molyneux and Hardman claiming overall victory for the 1989 Sidecar TT.[3]
Dave Molyneux and Craig Hallam crashed during Thursday afternoon practice session for the 2006 races at Rhencullen after the sidecar outfit experienced a 140mph Donald Campbell "bluebird-style flip."[4] The outfit was destroyed in the resulting fire and Molyneux was unable to compete in the actual races due to injury. He made a comeback the following year taking a double victory, bringing his tally of wins to 13 at that time.
His 14th victory came in 2009, when he also became the first winner of a TT sidecar race on a Suzuki powered machine. The lone race of 2009 saw him set a new race record on his Suzuki, (see above).[clarification needed]
Moly did not compete at the TT in 2011 (although he rode the ex-Biland / O'Dell Seymaz Yamaha in the classic parade, with former TT passenger Karl Ellison), but he returned to the TT in 2012 on a Kawasaki powered machine winning both races. The first 2012 Sidecar race also made Molyneux the first ever competitor to win TTs using all four of the major Japanese manufacturers engines (Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki & Kawasaki).
2014 saw him take his 17th TT win in the second sidecar race. He led the first race by more than 20 seconds until an engine misfire caused him to stop on the final lap.
He is also a builder of road racing sidecars under the name DMR, Dave Molyneux Racing, and has supplied sidecars to many other TT winners including 10-time winner Rob Fisher, 2006 double winner Nick Crowe and 6x FIM World Champion Tim Reeves.
Filmography
In 2017, Molyneux received top billing for his role in the film 3 Wheeling,[5] an observational documentary filmed during TT period of 2016. The film premiered on 7 May 2017,[6] followed by a limited theatrical release of 150 commercial screenings in cinemas in Northern Ireland,[7] Germany,[8] and the Isle of Man.[9] Molyneux has not watched the film because he considers his racing efforts during the filming period to be "an absolute disaster",[10][11] but praised the filmmakers for their hard work and ambitious promotion of Sidecar racing.[12]
In 1994, Molyneux choreographed and performed the motorcycle stuntwork for Matthew Barney's film Cremaster 4, the first film in the acclaimed Cremaster series.[13]
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world as many competitors have died.
Phillip William Read, was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc classes. Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he won seven FIM Grand Prix road racing world championships.
The 99th anniversary Isle of Man TT Festival ran between Saturday 27 May and Friday 9 June on the 37.73-mile Mountain Course. The first week is known as the practice week, before the real action commenced on 3 June. There were 6 races in TT week. John McGuinness broke the lap record during practice for the Superbike race and then did it again in the race itself. He recorded a lap of 17:41.71, breaking the Superbike record from last year by 8.62 seconds and his outright lap record by 2.1 seconds.
The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT Course is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle TT Course is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the separate event of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling for the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT Races held in September of each year. The start-line for the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course is located on Glencrutchery Road in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man.
The 2007 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Centenary race event held from 26 May to 8 June 2007.
The 1971 Isle of Man TT was a motorcycle event held on 12 June 1971, on the 37-mile Snaefell Mountain course on the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland. It was the third round of the F.I.M. 1971 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Bruce Anstey is a professional motorcycle road racer. He is a former lap record holder on the world-famous Snaefell Mountain Course with a time of 17 minutes 6.682 seconds, at an average speed of 132.298 mph (212.913 km/h) set during the 2014 Superbike TT Race. Anstey was signed to race for the Padgett's Honda Racing Team having previously ridden for TAS Suzuki Racing, Valmoto Triumph and DTR Yamaha. For thirteen consecutive seasons, from 2002 - 2015, Bruce Anstey managed to secure a top three finish at the world's three most prestigious road races; the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix.
2008 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 24 May and Saturday 7 June on the 37.733-mile Snaefell Mountain Course and was the 89th Isle of Man TT Race. After the 2007 Centenary TT Races, the 2008 event included a second 600cc Supersport Junior TT race and the re-introduction of two-stroke motor-cycle racing with a Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race on the Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man.
Bray Hill is a road in the Isle of Man. It was formerly a country lane known as the Great Hill during the time of the ownership of the Duke of Atholl, and was previously known as Siberia, originally a triangle-shaped parcel of land in the Murray Estate.
Conor Cummins is a Manx motorcycle road racer who rides in British racing events, competing in the British Superstock Championship, as well as in specialist closed-road events at his home Isle of Man TT races and in Northern Ireland. A part-time seasonal racer, his normal income is derived from his business as a barista.
The 2009 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 30 May and Friday 12 June on the 37.733-mile (60.725 km) Mountain Course. The 2009 TT races again include a second 600 cc Supersport Junior TT race and the Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT races held on the 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man. A new event for the 2009 Isle of Man TT races was the one-lap TTXGP for racing motorcycles "to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions."
Ian Hutchinson is an English professional motorcycle road racer specialising in events held on closed public roads, such as the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix.
The 2010 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 29 May and Friday 11 June on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 2010 races again included a second 600 cc Supersport Junior TT race. The Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT race class previously held on the 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man for the 2008 Isle of Man TT and 2009 Isle of Man TT were dropped from the 2010 race schedule. The 2010 Isle of Man TT Races included the one-lap TT Zero for racing motorcycles "to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions." which replaced the TTXGP and also a Suzuki 50th Anniversary Lap of Honour and the TT Classic Parade which were held before the main Senior TT race.
Michael Dunlop is a Northern Irish professional motorcycle racer who currently sits second in the all time win list at the Isle of Man TT with 25 wins, second only to his late uncle Joey. Known as part of a motorcycle racing dynasty, Michael is the brother of William Dunlop, son of Robert Dunlop and nephew of former World Champion Joey Dunlop.
2012 Isle of Man TT were held between Saturday 26 May and Saturday 9 June 2012 on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 2012 Isle of Man TT Festival also included the Pre-TT Classic Races on 25, 26 & 28 May 2012 and the Post-TT Races on 9 June 2012 and both events held on the Billown Circuit.
The 2014 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 24 May and Friday 6 June 2014 on the 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The main races were six solo motorcycle races and two sidecar races. The festival also included Pre-TT Classic Races held on 23, 24 & 26 May 2014 at the Billown Circuit in Castletown. Post-TT races scheduled for 7 June 2014 were cancelled by race organisers on safety grounds due to a thunderstorm and heavy overnight rain.
3 Wheeling is a Manx observational documentary film charting the sidecar class at the 2016 Isle of Man TT. The film used hidden cameras and lavalier microphones to capture an insight into the sport's highest-profile competitors, Dave Molyneux and Tim Reeves.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall,, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are English motorcycle-with-sidecar road race World Championship-winning competitors in both F1 category and F2 category and again in the 2017 season – when all competitors used 600 engines.
Colin Hardman was a British motorcycle racer who competed in both the solo and sidecar classes.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
