Tom Birchall announces immediate retirement

Tue, 19 Dec 2023

Tom Birchall has announced his immediate retirement from racing.

Alongside older brother Ben, the Birchalls have taken 14 TT race victories and been the dominant force on three wheels over the last decade, winning every single race that they finished since 2013 with only 3 DNF’s blotting a near-perfect run of results.

Away from the Isle of Man, Tom leaves the sport as both a 4-time Sidecar World Champion and a British Champion.

Tom Birchall said: “It’s not been an easy decision to make by any means, but it’s now 20 years since I first got in an outfit alongside Ben and it’s 10 years since we took our first TT win, something we dreamt about as kids when we used to come on family holidays to watch. And so having achieved what we have and having broken that 120mph barrier this year, the timing feels as right as it can do.”

Ben has confirmed he will race with a new passenger in 2024 as he continues to close down on the record number of TT wins for a Sidecar driver – a title currently held by Dave Molyneux with 17 race victories.

An announcement on who will line up alongside him is expected in the new year.

 

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