Cadwell Park crash for sidecar-racing Staintons

The final round of the British F2 Sidecar Championship did not go to plan for Upton duo Giles and Jen Stainton, who suffered an alarming crash in the second race.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Oct 2017, 17:46 BST
Updated 4th Oct 2017, 10:35 BST
The husband-and-wife sidecar-racing team, Giles and Jen Stainton, in action at Cadwell Park. (PHOTO BY: Sid Diggins)The husband-and-wife sidecar-racing team, Giles and Jen Stainton, in action at Cadwell Park. (PHOTO BY: Sid Diggins)
The husband-and-wife sidecar-racing team, Giles and Jen Stainton, in action at Cadwell Park. (PHOTO BY: Sid Diggins)

The Staintons, alias Team SaS, were hopeful of making an impact at the Cadwell Park circuit, and got off to a good start in the opening laps.

But then their outfit gave an uncharacteristic lurch, and Giles began to experience handling problems.

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Explained Jen: “Both of us were blaming the wrong things. I was telling myself to ‘man up’, while Giles was blaming his own riding ability, mystified as to why things weren’t happening as he wanted them to.

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“Neither of us, for one minute, thought that the outfit was to blame. Lefts were the problem area, with the outfit snatching around the corners, meaning missed apexes and unusual lines.

“By lap 11, we were both starting to feel the effects of fighting the bike and my hands were losing grip. When I didn’t fully make a left, it pushed us wide and we ran on to the edge of the grass.

“Giles was unable to battle the outfit back on to the track and the grass got rougher. Giles daren’t touch the brakes as we would have probably flipped quite badly. For a while, it looked like we might make it but, unfortunately, we hit the tyre wall head on and at quite a pace.

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“On impact, I exited the outfit over the front, landing heavily on the grass, while Giles head-butted the tyre wall with some vigour, breaking his nose.

“We were really very lucky not to be badly hurt. However, the outfit does need some tender loving care and is in the hands of Birchall Racing as we seek repairs.

“Thanks to the marshals and medics and all the wonderful friends and fellow racers who helped us on the day and since. We plan to be back for at least one appearance towards the end of October once the outfit is back up and running.”

The crash completed a miserable weekend for the husband-and-wife team, who had also spun their outfit in the opening ten-lap race, which was blighted by a wet track. However, they were able to rejoin the contest and ended up in a pleasing 12th place, improving their lap time considerably, having qualified in 16th during heavy rain.