Sidecar couple aim to find right chemistry on the track

Husband and wife F2 sidecar team Giles and Jen Stainton won the Bill Barrowcliff Trophy for the best turned out sidecar at Cadwell Park.

The pair rode to 13th on Saturday before going on to record a 12th-place finish in race two on Sunday in the CSC Open and F2 sidecar races with NGRR.

This is the first season the couple have raced together as a team although Jen, who was born and bred in Rasen and still works in the town, had been a passenger for another team last year.

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The couple bought Alan Founds’ British Championship-winning Suzuki-powered LCR outfit meaning they could race together.

They are to compete in the full NGRR championship this year as well as take in some extra experience by racing in other club races throughout the season.

The first round of the NGRR was at Brands Hatch where Giles and Jen rode to 15th and 11th in the two races. They then moved on to Cadwell Park for round two where they were pleased to secure two further points finishes and move to 15th in the overall rider standings on 13 points.

Gaining in confidence, the pair moved on to Oulton Park where they rode to 15th with the Wirral club and then returned closer to home to Mallory Park, in Leicestershire, to contest the EMRA club races.

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They finished 14th in race one and 12th in the second encounter, a good set of results against some top class riders who were using the track time to prepare for the TT.

The next round of the NGRR championship takes place at Donington Park this weekend when the team will be seeking two good results to move them further up the rider standings.

Jen said: “We made some good progress at Cadwell after taking welcome advice from Pete Millington who had the dubious pleasure of following us for a while.

“We were able to identify that Giles wasn’t hitting the apexes as he should have been doing and that was causing me to slide around in the platform.

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“After giving himself a good talking-to after a very poor first lap we started to gain lost ground, hitting our stride in the second half of the race with a 1.54 lap time which far exceeded our goal of breaking the two-minute lap mark.

“A big thank-you to Pete who we spent a good proportion of this weekend following and learning from.

“Thanks to everyone else who offered help and support throughout the weekend and a big thank-you to Bill Barrowcliff for the trophy and champagne.”

Giles, from Upton, added: “This is our first season racing together and we are doing okay.

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“We need as much experience with the outfit under race conditions as we can get so will take in as many extra races as we can.

“Our ultimate aim is to race in the British championship and if we can get up to speed that is our goal perhaps for next season.

“I would like to thank our two main sponsors, L R Hutchinson building contractors and Interfuse Ltd, both from Gainsborough, for their support. Their input is invaluable to us.”