Two brothers from a Little Neston -based family run sidecar team have made history in the Isle of Man TT Races.
Team Founds Racing, featuring siblings Pete and Alan Founds, completed a racing double podium in Sidecar Race A.
Pete with passenger Jevan Walmsley and Alan with Finnish passenger Aki Aalto finished second and third place respectively in the first of two sidecar races held on Saturday (June 4).
The popular brothers made modern TT history by becoming the first ever brother sidecar drivers to finish in podium positions.
They lapped at an average speed of over 112mph, reaching speeds of up to 165mph in places around the world famous 37 ¾ mile TT mountain circuit.
Earlier in the week, driver Alan Founds received the prestigious Mike Hailwood Scholarship Award, which is awarded to the most up-and- coming rider at the TT.
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After a challenging week of practice, the Little Neston-based team had posted the fifth and sixth fastest laps in qualifying and started No 7 and No 11, with teams starting at 10 second intervals.
By the end of the first lap the brothers held sixth and seventh places respectively when the race was red flagged following a fatal accident involving fellow competitor and close friend of the team, Australian sidecar driver Dwight Beare.
The race was re-started over the full 113 miles and saw the brothers move up from fifth and sixth on the first lap to third and fourth on the second lap and finally into podium positions by the end of the race, finishing within three seconds of each other at the finishing line.
The race was won by TT veteran John Holden and passenger Andy Winkle, who have appeared on the podium 13 times and previously won in 2011.
In only his second year at the TT as a driver, Pete Founds, who lives in Knutsford with wife Julia and their two children, said “It’s a fairy tale come true, I never expected to finish on the podium, and as a family run team we always struggle to compete against the bigger well-funded teams, but I’m delighted”.
Pete, a mechanical engineer at Fiddlers Ferry Power Station in Warrington, is an ex-Great Britain under 21s ice hockey player, who is a recreational player for Deeside Dragons.
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Younger brother Alan, who lives in Ness with partner Michelle and her daughter Paige, is the current reigning 2015 British Sidecar Champion.
Alan, an aircraft maintenance engineer for Broughton -based Marshall Aviation Services, who also sponsor the team, said: “It’s just amazing to be on the podium in my third year here, and we are still working towards a five-year plan to ultimately win a TT. To be on the podium with brother Pete is just special.”
Team Founds Racing has been going for more than 45 years when the brothers’ father Des began racing – coming third in 1989 – and has also involved his other sons Chris, as a rider, and Steve, as a passenger. Mum Lin's role is to keep up team morale while sister Hannah helps out with marketing.
Chris, who acts as team principal and came ninth in the TT in 2000 with Pete as passenger, said his mum was originally from the Isle of Man which was how dad met her when he went over to watch the TT as a spectator. His parents were very proud of Peter and Alan but naturally mum ‘always worried’ about her boys.
Tomorrow (Friday, June 10) the brothers are in action once again when they take part in the second sidecar race alongside the prestigious TT Superbike Senior race.
