Sidecar racing in the genes.
It would be fair to say that sidecar racing is in the genes of the Wirral-based Founds family. It all started more than 30 years ago with dad Des, who competed in the British championships as well as the family’s beloved Isle of Man TT.
Des is still keenly involved but now supports his sons, Pete, 38 and Alan, 33, as manager of Team Founds Racing. He’s a very proud dad, as Alan won the British F2 Sidecar Championship last year and now older brother Pete is bidding to follow in his footsteps, as he currently leads this year’s table at the half-way stage.
All three men have the distinction of a podium finish in a TT race, with Pete having a second place to his name this year while both Des and Alan have finished third.
Team Founds Racing is very much a family affair, with sister, Hannah, handling the public relations and social media and uncle Ron a key member of the support team.
Eldest brother Chris also used to compete, with Pete, at that point, opting to man the sidecar. They finished 11th in the World Sidecar Championships. Youngest brother Alan and family friend Tom Peters continued the racing tradition and finished last season as British F2 champions.
Now Pete, with passenger Jevan Walmsley, are targeting Alan’s title after coming runner up in the British F2 Cup last year. Pete’s racing career stretches back to 1993 when he started out as a passenger and continued in the sidecar until 2007. He is now having his most memorable year to date, as he and Jevan have taken the British Championship by storm and also finished second in a TT race in May.
My main ambition was to make it on to the podium at the TT, which we managed earlier this year,” said Pete, who lives in Knutsford. “We now need to go back and prove that it was not a fluke and it would be great to keep the British Championship in the family.”
Alan, who began racing at the age of 16 as a passenger for both his dad and Chris, has this year been joined by Aki Aalto from Finland in a new bike and sidecar outfit. It has been a development season for them, as they have been breaking in the bike with plans to contest the British Championship again next year.
Now the brothers are eagerly waiting to see what the ruling body for sidecar racing decides for next season, with a chance that all bikes will be restricted to 600cc in both the British and World Championships.
The brothers are delighted to be ambassadors for the Morris Lubricants Motorsport Programme, which sees the Shrewsbury-based company provide them with all the lubricants they need for racing. In return, they fly the Morris Lubricants flag and promote the company’s quality lubricants at every opportunity.
