Sidecar ace Todd Ellis secures two podiums at Le Mans

Todd Ellis from North Kelsey, near Market Rasen, secured a second and third in his two races in the first round of the first round of the FIM World Sidecar championship on Saturday at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans in France.

Postponed from April due to the Covid pandemic, the World Sidecars were part of the support package to the 24 Hour Motorcycle Le Mans race which took place through Saturday and Sunday.

It was a last minute dash to France for Ellis when the French authorities brought in the ruling that competitors from the UK had to travel and isolate for a week ahead of the race which meant that his regular passenger Charlie Richardson was unable to travel because of work commitments.

But as Bennie Streuer was sidelined after an earlier crash his passenger, Emmanuelle Clement stepped into the breach.

Qualifying went well for the pair who qualified in second position and they took their position in the middle of the front row for the start of Friday’s first race.

As the lights went out it was multi World Champion Tim Reeves who got the hole shot, swiftly followed by Ellis/Clement with Schlosser/Marcel on their back wheel.

Ellis was overtaken by Schlosser on lap two of 18 and the three leading outfits pulled well clear of the pursuing pack.

Ellis briefly retook second place on the penultimate lap but was beaten back to third and crossed the finish line in third place.

Lining up for the second race on Saturday morning from the front row once again, Ellis settled into third place behind Reeves and Schlosser where he remained until lap 13 of 18.

Reeves encountered a problem with the gear lever meaning he was stuck in fifth gear and he was overtaken by both Schlosser and Ellis.

The 26-year-old Lincolnshire rider and his French lady passenger went on to secure second place at the chequered flag to take another podium finish.

“It’s been a cracking first round of the FIM Sidecar World championship, third and then second is a great start for me,” said Ellis.

“Well done and a massive thank you to Emmanuelle Clement for jumping on and not putting a foot wrong all weekend; onwards and upwards to Hungary in two weeks time. Thank you to everyone that has got us on the grid this year.”

These two strong results place Ellis joint second in the championship on 36 points with the next round scheduled for the Pannoniaring circuit in Hungary on June 26-27.