Nick Crowe | |||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Manx | ||||||||||||||
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Nick Crowe (born 1971) is a 5-time Isle of Man TT Winner and 2008 British F2 Champion of sidecar racing. He started his career as a passenger before switching to driver in 2000, handing the passenger seat to his childhood friend Darren Hope.
In 2001 the TT races were cancelled due to Foot and Mouth, so Nick and Darren concentrated on different races in the UK and the Isle of Man. The next year was a good year for the pair. In 2004, with the purchase of Dave Molyneux's outfit, the team could go faster in the Southern 100, at Jurby, and in the TT. 2005 brought Nick's first TT win in Race A, beating rival Dave Molyneux, who finished second in Race B.
In 2006, the A & J Groundworks outfit won the Double, both Race A and B. In 2007, with new passenger Daniel Sayle, Crowe set what was then the fastest-ever sidecar lap. However, the team were forced to retire from the lead in both races. With another new passenger, Mark Cox, Crowe won both Race 1 and 2 in 2008. In 2009, Crowe and Cox were on a Honda HM Plant/Dave Hudspeth Carpets F2 600cc.
Crowe and Cox qualified in pole for the 2009 event but suffered mechanical failure whilst leading race one.
In race two the pair crashed heavily at the 17 mile marker(Ballacob) on lap 1 and were taken to Noble's Hospital by air with serious fractures. [1] The crash was caused by a hare running onto the course in front of the duo. The race was cancelled, as was the following practice for the Senior TT. Nick was flown to the United Kingdom where he had a number of operations. He eventually lost his right forearm and leg above the knee due to the crash. [2]
Returning to the Island, he became involved in sidecar racing, running his own team with Simon Neary and Paul Napton.
Nick is the father of sidecar racers Ryan and Callum Crowe, who are competing as a team in the Sidecar TT since 2019 [3] and have recently (as of 1st June 2024) won their first Sidecar TT race and their second as of 6th June 2024.
Jock Taylor was a Scottish World Champion motorcycle sidecar racer.
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May and runs for thirteen days. It is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world as many competitors have died.
FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949.
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 1996 Isle of Man TT was the year where Phillip McCallen of Honda achieved 4 wins in a week – a record not beaten until 2010. He won all of the main races with Jim Moodie and Joey Dunlop picking up the smaller bike wins.
The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT Course or Jalmaf Mountain 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 1957 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the Golden Jubilee event and the second race in the 1957 Motorcycle World Championships.
The 1954 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the second race in the 1954 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and proved highly controversial for TT Course and race changes. The 1954 Junior TT was the first race where the official race distance was reduced from 7 laps to 5 laps. The 1954 Senior TT Race was stopped at half distance due to the weather conditions on the Mountain Section of the course.
Dave Molyneux 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, Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness (23).
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.
Kenneth Norman "Kenny" Andrews is a British motorcycle sidecar racing champion.
Rob Fisher is a retired motorcycle road racer who won ten sidecar races at the Isle of Man TT, second only to Dave Molyneux's 17 wins.
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."
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.
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.
The Isle of Man TT and other motorcycle racing in the island did not restart after the end of the First World War until 1920. Changes were made to the Snaefell Mountain Course causing competitors to turn left and proceed up the hill at Cronk-ny-Mona to follow the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road through to Governor's Bridge with a new start/finish line at Glencrutchery Road lengthening the course to 37¾ miles.
Ben Birchall and Tom Birchall,, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, are English motorcycle-with-sidecar road race World Championship-winning competitors in both the F1 and F2 categories 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.