The 2026 Bridgestone Festival of Speed was a weekend of racing that truly did have it all.
20 sidecar teams from across Australia entered the event hosted by the Post Classic Racing Association at Sydney Motorsport Park. Some of the teams took the opportunity to take part in practice on Friday, but most of the action kicked off with qualifying on Saturday February 7.
The session was positive for some who were strong out of the gates, but other teams were still ironing out some gremlins. Unfortunately during this session the period five outfit of Jack Petith and Scooby Poucher had a radiator hose explode off, blasting boiling water over the rider and led to him making a trip to hospital for further treatment.
Despite the session being red flagged, the usual suspects of Patty Clancy and Stephen Bonny, Mick Alton and Dave Rumble and Chrissie Clancy and Amanda Williams rose to the top.
A special mention in qualifying needs to be made of the outfits that rounded out the top five. New pairing of Rob Nolan and Izzy Smith qualified fourth, Rob is making a return to racing and it was the first race meeting his passenger, and only her second time out on a sidecar since taking part in the Annandale Leichhardt Motorcycle Club come and try day in October last year. In fifth was one of the teams that made their way over from Western Australia, Morgan Marshall and Josh Mathers, it was great to see them making good time in their first hit out at the iconic Eastern Creek circuit.
| Qualifying 1 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney F1 SUZUKI 1000, 1:49.7740 2 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble F2 OTHER 600, 1:50.2430 3 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams F2 SUZUKI 600, 1:50.5630 4 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith F1 SUZUKI T715-142442 1000, 1:53.9200 5 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers F1 KAWASAKI 1000, 1:54.6170 6 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds F2 SUZUKI 600, 1:55.2720 7 2 Glenn West / Andrew West F2 YAMAHA 600, 1:56.6310 8 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb F1 SUZUKI T715-138456 1000, 1:57.6650 9 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin F2 KAWASAKI 600, 1:58.6180 10 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater F2 HONDA 600, 2:02.6000 11 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner F2 KAWASAKI 600, 2:11.9520 12 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey P6 OTHER 1000, 2:16.4190 13 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell P4 OTHER 836 2:18.5240 14 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland P4 OTHER CB750 836, 2:21.6640 15 86 Gary Ellis / Edward Poucher P6 OTHER 1000, 2:31.8500 16 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman P4 YAMAHA 650, 2:49.6110 DNS 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne F1 SUZUKI 1000 DNS 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew P4 HNDA 750 DNS 127 Jack Petith / Scarlett Poucher P5 YAMAHA 350 DNS 22 Corey Forde / Lionel Cornwell P2K SUZUKI LCR 1100 |
Race one for the sidecars was the inaugural Bayliss Memorial Cup, a nod to Stan, Barney and Grizz who had legendary careers in sidecar racing. Patty and Steve pulled away a considerable lead from the start, but the battle for the remaining steps on the podium was an exciting one, with the F2 machines of Mick and Chrissie switching back and forth countless times. In the end it was Mick and Dave to cross the line in second, and Chrissie and Amanda third.
| Race 1 1 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney 2 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble 3 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams 4 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith 5 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers 6 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds 7 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb 8 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin 9 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater 10 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner 11 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland 12 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey 13 86 Gary Ellis / Edward Poucher 14 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell 15 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew 16 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman DNF 2 Glenn West / Andrew West DNF 22 Corey Forde / Lionel Cornwell |
By Saturday afternoon the heat and humidity begun to hurt man and machine alike. Patty and Steve got the jump off the front row in the second race, but Chrissie was not going to let Mick get away too easily, the two having a little rub as they made their way to turn one. Unfortunately a broken throttle cable saw the Morgan Marshall and Joshua Mathers entry withdraw on the second lap, outside of that the race ran smoothly and a number of competitors had fun battles throughout.
| Race 2 1 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney 2 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams 3 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble 4 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith 5 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb 6 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater 7 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin 8 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner 9 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew 10 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland 11 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell 12 86 Gary Ellis / Edward Poucher 13 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman DNF 2 Glenn West / Andrew West DNF 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey DNF 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers DNF 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne |
The temperature was a hot topic on Saturday, but maybe a few too many people wished it away as Sunday flipped the script completely and brought rain delays and greasy conditions.
From lights out of Sunday mornings first sidecar race it was clear there was action aplenty in store, with rain proving to be a natural equaliser especially with some teams not having wet weather tyres but taking to the track regardless. The front row was a Clancy lockout, with Patty and Steve on pole, next to Chrissie and Amanda. However, it was Mick Alton who got the best start from third, splitting the mother and son down the middle and gliding away into the first and second corners. As the time ticked down the conditions did not improve and inspired some fancy moves. Steve McQueen and Max Perrin performed a neat pirouette when the rider got a bit throttle happy exiting turn two on slicks, but it was Chrissie and Amanda flipping around the back of the circuit that brought out the red flag. Thankfully they were ok and able to contest the next race.
| Race 3 1 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble 2 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney 3 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds 4 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne 5 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater 6 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers 7 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith 8 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb 9 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey 10 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin 11 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland 12 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner 13 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew DNF 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams DNF 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman DNF 22 Corey Forde / Lionel Cornwell DNF 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell |
Rain and recovery delays dragged on, but race four for the weekend rolled out after lunch. Mick got the jump in a very busy start to the race. Simon Reynolds and Kayla Dodds were on a charge early in the race, so too were Rob Nolan and Izzy Smith. The save of the race for this event went to Drew Szombath and Warren Grubb who managed to keep it wheel down when they took a 360 degree look at turn one. Mick/ Dave, Patty/ Steve and Simon/ Kayla rounded out the podium as the red flag came out due to stranded outfits in precarious positions.
| Race 4 1 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble 2 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney 3 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds 4 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb 5 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers 6 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne 7 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith 8 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater 9 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin 10 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner 11 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey 12 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams 13 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman 14 22 Corey Forde / Lionel Cornwell DNF 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell DNF 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew |
A significant incident on track caused extensive delays to ensure there was medical coverage, but one final sidecar race was able to run to round out the weekend. The track had dried up by the time they got back out, and this brought about a close start for the Patty/ Steve and Mick/ Dave outfits, with the battle lasting almost a lap before the higher powered F1 machine took the lead. After a poor start to the weekend Howard Ford and Isaac Byrne were battling up the front, in a pack with Rob/ Izzy, Simon/ Kayla, and powering back after their earlier incident, Chrissie and Amanda. Patty and Steve crossed the finish line an impressive 29.2 seconds ahead of Mick and Dave.
| Race 5 1 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney 2 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble 3 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith 4 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams 5 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne 6 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds 7 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin 8 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers 9 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater 10 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb 11 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey 12 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland 13 86 Gary Ellis / Edward Poucher 14 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner 15 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew 16 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman DNF 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell |
Overall the 2026 Bridgestone Festival of Speed without doubt delivered the excitement that sidecar racing is known for. The Annandale Leichhardt Motorcycle Club is proud to have once again sponsored the sidecar class at the event and thanks all the competitors, volunteers, spectators and members for helping throughout the weekend.
All of the racing was broadcast on Blend Line TV, for a small subscription fee it can be reviewed at any time, check out their website.
Overall results for the weekend;
FOS Modern Sidecar Formula 1
1 26 Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney
2 60 Robert Nolan / Isabel Smith
3 289 Andrew Szombath / Warren Grubb
4 56 Morgan Marshall / Joshua Mathers
5 27 Howard Ford / Isaac Byrne
FOS Modern Sidecar Formula 2
1 54 Michael Alton / David Rumble
2 12 Hugh Briotti / Stephanie Bowater
3 51 Steven McQueen / Max Perrin
4 38 Chrissie Clancy / Amanda Williams
5 14 Nichola Caddy / David Gardiner
6 18 Simon Reynolds / Kayla Dodds
7 2 Glenn West / Andrew West
Pre 2000
1 22 Corey Forde / Lionel Cornwell
Historic Sidecar Period 4
1 36 Russell Dunn / Scott Bland
2 111 Nankervis Albert / Chen Andrew
3 77 Dylan Lamb / William Freeman
4 13 Anthony Newland / Peter Hopewell
Historic Sidecar Period 5
1 127 Jack Petith / Scarlett Poucher
Historic Sidecar Period 6
1 72 Jasmine Davis / Mason Dempsey
2 86 Gary Ellis / Edward Poucher
Photos in this post are by Gerry Murphy Racing Photos and Darin Fitzgerald.
Results from Natsoft
ALMCC 