Crowe and Cox take sidecar opener

Nicky Crowe and Mark Cox secured the Sure Mobile Sidecar A race to fly the Manx Flag for the first time this TT.

The Honda-mounted pairing roared finished 19.44 seconds ahead of Lancashire's John Holden and Andrew Winkle, with a final lap time of 19 minutes 42.66 seconds - 114.855 miles an hour (audio file attached):

And after a ding-dong battle which saw three pairings retire on the respective laps, world champion Tim Reeves - making his first appearance in the Isle of Man - and passenger Patrick Farrance claimed third place, just 2.84 seconds ahead of Phil Dongworth and Stuart Castles.

Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle encountered difficulties at the start of the race and had retired by the end of the Grandstand pit lane.

(Picture, Nicky Crowe and Darren Hope in TT 2006)