Eden Valley sidecar siblings Jack and Sam Laidlow dramatically won the British title in their first full season at national level — clinching victory on the final lap of the last meeting.
Jack, aged 21, and 19-year-old Sam made their first foray onto the national stage at some rounds of competition during 2023. In doing so they followed their dad, Andy, into the high octane sport aboard their three-wheel machinery.
With sponsorship in place for this year, they embarked on a first full season of competition against the best of British with Sam the driver and Jack passenger.
They made a fine start, leading the standings from round one in Wales and, as meetings came and went, they astounded seasoned veterans and kept their noses in front of vastly more experienced rivals.
Going into the final two races at Brands Hatch last weekend, the brothers, from Dufton, near Appleby, led the title race by just 2.5 points.
But there was initial disappointment on Saturday evening after a below par showing in the opening outing.
“It didn’t quite go to plan,” admitted Andy, himself a former British F2 champion, multiple Scottish title-winner and European runner-up. “There were a few things we did on the bike with the setup that wasn’t quite right.”
After finishing fifth, the brothers saw their lead slashed to just half a point.
“Everybody was just down,” said Andy of the mood in the camp. “We actually had a crew making a documentary with the lads and they didn’t really want to film us because we just thought that was it; we were wondering how we were going to get it back.
“On paper, technically, if you look at all the stats, the team they were battling with was quicker, more experienced and with a faster bike,” added Andy of rivals Lewis Blackstock and Paddy Rosney.
“Lewis and Paddy have been runners-up in the championship the last three years and were desperate to win it. But our lads just went to bed, got up next morning and decided they wanted to be British champions. They did it and astounded everybody.”
But that was only after a dramatic final race which was initially red-flagged, restarted and reduced to eight laps.
“That made it even harder,” said Andy, “because they were so far back on the grid they had to get to the front quicker.”
Their rivals held a five-second advantage with four laps to go before Jack and Sam began reeling them in. “It’s almost like halfway through the race the lads settled in, put their heads down and then just put in this absolutely outstanding performance, closing the gap,” said their dad.
“At the start of the last lap they were battling neck-and-neck with their rivals. As they pulled out to pass, the lads were pushing so much that the driver must have been over-revving the bike and the engine blew — and that was it.”
The Laidlows crossed the line in third place overall and claimed the title by 22.5 points, becoming the youngest team to top the series podium.
“It was phenomenal — like a Hollywood movie. You just couldn’t believe it. The people doing the documentary said they couldn’t have written a script like this,” said Andy.
“Fair play to them. They’ve put the work in, trained hard and were so determined they just wanted to win it.”
In the wake of celebrations, legends of the sport including Geoff Bell and 10-times world champion Steve Webster queued up to congratulate the brothers.
Eight times world champion Tim Reeves, who was there, said he had never in the history of sidecar racing seen any team come on so quickly and get to the front as quick as they have,” said Andy.
Jack and Sam are also competing in this year’s world championship and are 10th in the standings ahead of a final round in Estoril next month.
“We’ve been doing world championship races abroad and they’ve had so much time on the bike they’ve been getting quicker and quicker.
This was just to get time on the bike and get a taste for riding abroad. Next year we’re going to do the British championship again but mainly concentrate on the world championship.”
