North Kelsey sidecar racer Ellis pips stepfather in Dutch duel

Bryan and Hyde recorded a fifth and third place, while Ellis and Richardson took a second and a win in the penultimate round of the British Sidecar Championship and 600 Cup.

Bryan/Hyde qualified fifth place for the first race and moved up into second on the opening lap.

With the race leader well ahead Bryan/Hyde entered into a huge battle for position with another three outfits and the battle raged throughout the 10 laps.

Stevens/Charlwood demoted them back to third, but positions were exchanged frequently, and on the final lap it all came to a head.

Bryan/Hyde passed their rivals but ran off the track onto the grass before rejoining at the back of the group in fourth place.

On the way to the final corner, Bryan spun the outfit and crossed the finish line in fifth, but the race leader was a wild card entry and excluded from the points giving Bryan/Hyde fourth place.

Ellis/Richardson, meanwhile started the race from the third row and were fourth for most of the race. They, too, were involved in the battle for second and took advantage of Bryan/Hyde’s slip on the final lap to cross the line in third place overall, which was promoted to second.

Ellis/Richardson also scored 20 points for second place in the 600 Cup, run concurrently within the main race.

Starting race two from the fourth row, Ellis/Richardson moved straight up into second behind Bryan/Hyde, but an oil spill from another outfit caused a stoppage after Horspole and Connell ended up upside down in the gravel trap. Luckily they were unhurt and the race reduced to six laps.

Bryan/Hyde got the hole shot and led the field through the first three laps, but they were overhauled by Reeves/Wilkes, with Ellis/Richardson following in their tyre tracks.

Ellis/Richardson followed Reeves all the way to the finish, picking up valuable information as they closely followed the world championship contenders.

The North Kelsey pair were declared the winners as Reeves was a wildcard and was not eligible to score points. They shared the podium with Bryan/Hyde who finished in third.

Ellis/Richardson stay second in the overall championship on 299 points, and extended their lead to 60 points in the 600 Cup on 394 points.

Bryan/Hyde maintain third place in the overall championship on 266 points, 33 points behind Ellis/Richardson.

The final round is at Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time when double points will be up for grabs in both races.