The format for next seasons's British Championships has been decided.

The one qualifying round will be run in conjunction with the Jim Coles 500cc sidecar class at Wimborne on the 9th of May.

The current champion is seeded straight through to the final, top 11 and 2 reserves from qualifier go to 1 day final at Midshires on August 22nd.

TEAM HARVEY HOGG'S RUN OF SUCCESSIVE TITLES COMES TO AN END

Shaun and Danny had to be content with the runners-up step on the podium on Sunday as their run of five succesive British Championships came to an end.

Going into the final in fourth place after the qualifying rounds it was always going to be a tall order. But fellow Chelmsford crew Nick and Abi Radley were on top form and went through the racecard unbeaten to take the championships.

Shaun spoke before the meeting and knew that the team was "up against it" in their quest for that record breaking 6th title. And with that in mind the team remain upbeat, knowing that a top two finish would give them a choice of Semi-Final venues in the 2010 European Championships.

So with season coming to a close the Team would like to take this opportunity to thank all their sponsors who have backed them in 2009.

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL RESULTS 2009

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL ON THIS WEEKEND

Rob Bradley and the Pickering & DMCC have kindly agreed to run the 250cc, 350cc and 500cc sidecar Championships on the original date of Sunday 4th October at Pickering.

It's been a rollercoaster of a week for Team Harvey Hogg. One day the final was off and the next day it was on again.

Well the decision has been made and instead of driving south on Saturday, the transporter will be heading North (as long a Shaun remembers to change the SATNAV settings).

Shaun stated "I'm glad it's been sorted for this Sunday, there was many different scenarios being spoken about. Including the result of the 2009 championships decided on the points total after the qualifying rounds. That would have obviously been no good to us as we only qualified 4th. But to be honest if we were leading the way, it still wouldn't have the same satisfaction as it does if you are crowned champion and standing on top of the podium on finals day".

So the bike is ready and the team are ready to go, lets hope for a great days' racing in Pickering. The club deserves it after stepping in at such short notice.

SEE YOU ALL ON SUNDAY!

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS.......

IS IT ALL OVER FOR 2009?

Any chance of Team Harvey Hogg making it six British Championships could have been decided last night in an emergency meeting of the ACU.

The Astra club decided to cancel next weekend's final and the ACU and other parties were busy looking for an alternative venue and club yesterday. If a venue cannot be found, one possible scenario could be that the 500cc Sidecar British Championships could be decided by the current standings after the qualifying rounds.

FINAL DELAYED

The British Finals have been postponed for 7 Days and will now take place on 11th October at Capel-Le-Ferne. More details to follow.

TEAM HARVEY HOGG JUST MISS OUT ON A-FINAL AT THE EUROPEAN FINAL

Shaun and Danny ended the day a very creditable 7th in the European Grasstrack Final, held on Sunday at Wimborne in Dorset.

Racing against the top crews from Germany, Holland and France they came within inches of reaching the A-final, which would have given them a crack at the top prize.

Shaun and Danny had four tough qualifying heats after which they accumulated eight points, enough to give them fifth choice of gate position in the B-Final.

Choosing the inside gate they knew exactly what they had to do, as only the top two would make the big final. The tapes went up and they made their best start of the day and led into the first turn. But the inside of the circuit was slick and the the German crew of Stefan Brandhofer / Stefan Peters and Dutchmen William Detz / Danny Detz found extra grip on the outside in the dirt. The pairings drove around the outside, leaving Team Harvey Hogg in 3rd. On the penultimate lap the team found some extra speed and started to pressure the Detz brothers. On the last corner it was now or never and Shaun dived for the inside. Detz read his move and shut the door hard thwarting his brave attempt, with both outfits almost coming together. Detz accelerated to the line beating Shaun and Danny by inches.

The European A-Final was won by Dutch Crew William and Natalie Matthijssen after a fantastic showdown with the German Champions Tommy Kunert / Markus Eibl.

FINAL RESULT

Sidecars Euro Final

1. Matthijssen
2. Kunert
3. M. Brandhofer
4. Holstein
5. Detz Boys
6. S. Brandhofer
------
7. Harvey
8. Steigerwald
9. Venus
10. Hundsrucker
11. Read
12. M. Detz

Team Harvey Hogg are now concentrating on the British Championship Final which is being held in Kent in three weeks.

NIGHTMARE AT FENLAND

The day started well enough, but when it came to the final those annoying gremlins decided to stick their oar in. Preparing for the start the revs went up...the tapes went up and we went........nowhere.

The gearbox jumped out of gear and by the time we found drive the other outfits had rode off into the sunset. So we had to settle for fifth place. This leaves us with a mountain to climb at the British final which takes place on October 4th near Folkestone, Kent. We are currently in 4th place, three points behind the leaders.

But any thoughts of the British final has been put on hold at the moment as we prepare for this weekend's European Final in Wimborne. Our quickest engine in now in place in preparation for the highlight of our season. The new frame handled well at Fenland so everything is go for the weekend.

Hopefully we will see many of you in Dorset at the weekend. We are looking forward to representing the GB at this prestigious event and thank you all in advance for your support

A BUSY TIME IN THE WORKSHOPS FOR THE TEAM

It's been a busy week in the Harvey Hogg and Essex Wheels workshops. After Shaun decided to change the sidecar wheel at Berghaupten last weekend a small hairline crack was discovered around the spindle. The crack was welded which allowed the boys to race.

Upon their return home and after closer inspection it was decided that a new frame was required due to metal fatigue.

So James, Shaun and Lofty (along with numerous brews from trish no doubt) have been busy building a new frame in preparation for the big climax to the season.

With the task completed, it's on to Fenland looking to gain a couple of points on the leading duo.

GOOD LUCK BOYS

A SUPERB RACING WEEKEND IN GERMANY FOR TEAM HARVEY HOGG

BAD HERSFELD

SATURDAY 29th AUGUST 2009

The team travelled the 500+ miles to Bad Hersfeld in Northern Germany overnight on Friday, arriving twelve hours later to start preparation for the day's racing.

The team were racing along with four other British crews in an International Support class, supporting the 2009 German Sidecar Championships, the main event of the day.

Practice went well, Shaun very happy with the WM Tuned GM and the bike was flying. His fastest lap of 47.3 was third fastest of the day (including the times of the German outfits). A broken gearbox adjuster threatened to spoil the day, but some collective thinking from the everyone found a way around the problem. With the bracket temporarily repaired and gearing sorted it was time to race.

Heat one and Shaun and Danny gated brilliantly and lead from the start leaving the opposition in their wake. Heat two, and a battle royal was going on between Team Harvey Hogg and Scott Dunn / Natasha Bartlett. But two laps in and the race was halted after a nasty looking crash which involved Tony Cook / Jorg Levihn and Gary Southgate / Katrin Schmitt. After a long delay all the riders eventually returned to there feet and the remaining three outfits went out for the re-run.

Battle was resumed where it left off and a superb fight to the chequred flag ended with Dunn / Barlett  getting the win over Shaun and Danny by just .2 of a second.

Team Harvey Hogg romped home in the final two heats and motored to victory, happy with the result, but more than happy with the bikes performance on the night. At the end of the night Team Harvey Hogg stood on top of the rostrum flanked by Scott Dunn / Natasha Bartlett (2nd) and Andy Kerrison / Laura Kerrison (3rd), the Brits put on a great show and look forward to hopefully returning in 2010.

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT CLASS ROSTRUM WITH TEAM HARVEY HOGG ON TOP

'Thanks MSC Bad Hersfeld for a great track and a great night of racing!'

BERGHAUPTEN

SUNDAY AUGUST 30th 2009

With the bikes packed and the after race party getting underway it was time for the the team to head south into the Black Forest where MSC Berghaupten were hosting the European Solo Final. 

The team stopped around 50 miles from the track for a sleep, not wanting to get disturbed by the host tracks 'race-party'.

Berghaupten, a picturesque location for the 2009 European Solo Championship Final

With the sun shining through the transporter's windows the team drove on arriving at the picturesque 685m track late morning and prepared for their training laps. But with both ambulances away from the track after a horrendous three outfit pile-up involving B-licence sidecars, the club decided that the International A sidecars training would be cancelled. So it was going to be guessing game when it came to bike set-up in the first heat.

Serious business as the crew prepare the bike for race action, well almost serious!

Heat one and Shaun and Danny were given the outside gate. The tapes went up and they made their worst gate of the weekend and with the quality of the opposition and the blinding dust the team trailed in last place.

Heat two was to be different story, an inside gate and Shaun showed lightning reactions and led into the first bend. European Champion Tommy Kunert found a way past on the first lap, but there was no way through for Kiel, the Brandhofers or Matthijessen, a great result for Team Harvey Hogg as the European Final gets closer.

Relaxing between heats

Controversy before the third heat as three german crews objected to pre-race track preparation. They decided the track was too wet and both Brandhofer crews and Kunert withdrew not only from the race but the event. Leaving three crews to contest the final two heats. 

Heat three was won by Matthijessen with second place credited to Team Harvey Hogg following the exclusion of Karl Kiel for course cutting. But the boot was on the other foot in the final heat, this time Shaun and Danny being the victims of the referee and they ended the day in fourth place. A great result, but for sure the Team would like to have had some more race time against Kunert and others. But their race two result will surely be enough to make the best in Europe sit up and recognise that Team Harvey Hogg will be serious contenders for a rostrum place at the Wimborne in two weeks.  

A COMPETITIVE DAYS' RACING AT IN WORCESTER

A superb days racing put on by the Vale of Evesham club with the Masters of Midshire meeting.

The meeting incorporated the second qualifying round of the British Championships and with new gearbox installed it was a much better day for Shaun and Danny. Finishing the day with two wins and two seconds before coming fourth in a hard contested Final which was won by Team Radley.

We ended the day in joint second place in the qualifying standings as we look forward to the final qualifying round at Fenland in a couple of weeks.

Before that, next weekend we travel to Germany to race in the support class in the German Championships in Bad Hersfeld on Saturday. On Sunday we travel to the European Solo Final in Berghaupten.

Leading riders for the British Championships after 2 Qualifying Rounds:-

Scott Dunn/Natasha Bartlett 33 points

Nick Radley/Abi Radley 33 points

Shaun Harvey/Danny Hogg 32 points

Wayne Read/Craig Mathison 32 points
Dean Norton/Joe Richmond 26 points
Dave Carvill/Karl Webb 23 points

Mike Read/Mark Hopkins 20 points

EUROPEAN 'VACATION'

Since our last update the team have been racing at meetings across the channel.

Friday August 7th Staphorst in Holland was the venue and we had a really enjoyable evening finishing 3rd overall behind the Detz Brothers and Raymond de Rooy/Sandra Mollema.

The following Sunday we raced at Lattrop and finished 5th in the A Final against the best that Europe can offer.

August 11th, next stop Eenrum. And we had to be happy with 8th place. The bike is still dogged by gearbox trouble, the only way to put an end to the gremlins is spend some hard earned cash and purchase a new one, which we have now done.

Not a bad week of racing but now it's back to the UK for another round of the British Championship Qualifiers!

WE NEED TO GET IT RIGHT!

It's been a frustrating couple of meetings, runners-up with Paul Moorcock in the Best Pairs held at our local High Easter Track. And the following Sunday fifth place in the Lester Goodwin Meeting at Frittenden.

We have just purchased a second bike as a back up to our No.1 outfit and James from Essex Wheels has been busy machining parts to bring it up to our spec.

But despite all the hard work from everyone in the team nothing seems to be going to plan mechanically at this present time. Gearboxes seem to be our main achilles heel at the moment and this needs to be sorted now with some really important meetings coming our way in the next couple of months. 

We are looking to have another outing in Europe prior to the European final which is only six weeks away. The second semi final is being held this weekend in Osnabruck in Germany, so come Sunday evening we will know who will be the opposition in Wimborne. 

Whoever lines-up in Dorset it's going to be a great weekend.

SUCCESSFUL DAY AT WIMBORNE DESPITE THE RETURN OF THE GEARBOX GREMLINS

A solid start to Team Harvey Hogg's title defence at Wimborne on Sunday. But it could have been a disastrous day had it not been for the generosity of fellow competitor Paul Moorcock.

With the gearbox gremlins causing havoc for the second weekend running, the team has Moorcock to thank for loaning them his machine for the day. He was unable to compete due to a back injury and watched from the sidelines.

Shaun and Danny took four wins and two second places and left the Dorset track with 17 points. This put them in second place after one qualifying round, one point behind leader and home track specialist Wayne Read and Craig Mathison.

The team have decided to have a weekend off this weekend so will not be travelling to Fenland. Shaun stated "We have had a busy couple of weeks racing in the European Semi and Wimborne and need a week to give us a bit of a break and try to iron out this gearbox problem"

The next action for Team Harvey Hogg is the Best pairs which is on July 12th at their local High Easter track. The team are paired with Moorcock and passenger Jon Cook for that meeting".

Scores after the British 500cc sidecar championships

First qualifying round

Wayne Read/Craig Mathison 18points
Shaun Harvey/Danny Hogg 17 points
Nick Radley/Abi Radley 16 points
Scott Dunn/Natasha Bartlett 15 points
Tony Cook/Jeni Cossar 14 points
Dean Norton/Joe Richmond 13 points
Mike Read/Mark Hopkins 12 points
Dave Carvill/Karl Webb 11 points
Richard Hollingdale/Paul Smith 10 points
Gary Southgate/Jake Cutler 9 points
Barrie Bennett/Eifion Hughes 8 points
Scott Francis/Anders McFarlane 7 points
Chris Salisbury/Mike Tomkins 6 points

TEAM PREPARES TO DEFEND BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS CROWN

The team are travelling down to Wimborne in Dorset to begin the task of defending their British Championships for the sixth time.

Shaun stated "We haven't been thinking too much about the home championships this season. All our efforts have concentrated on qualification for the European Final. Now with that under our belts it's time to concentrate on defending our British crown.

SHAUN AND DANNY MAKE EUROPEAN FINAL -

SATURDAY JUNE 13th 2009

NOT SUCH A 'KRACKING' DAY FOR THE TEAM IN KENT - SUNDAY MAY 31st

It was an early day for Shaun and Danny as motor 'gremlins' struck in their first heat. Shaun pulled out after the bike suffered, what he suspects to be a blown motor. The machine will be stripped down tomorrow (Monday) and the engine sent to our engine tuners, WM Tuning in Holland. It will then be rebuilt and returned to the UK in time for St Macaire.

Shaun stated 'We decided not to work on the bike as to be honest the track was not entirely to our liking. We will strip the bike entirely next week and start preparing for our European semi-final in France which takes place in a fortnight. It's a big meeting for us as we really want to represent GB at this years final".

The European finale is being held in Wimborne, Dorset, on September 13th.

TEAM HARVEY HOGG FEATURE ON THE COVER OF A NEW GRASSTRACK MAGAZINE

Shaun and Danny feature on the cover of a new grasstrack magazine, Track racing News. Further details of where to get your copy will be available shortly so watch this space!

TEAM HARVEY HOGG JUST MISS OUT IN LUDINGHAUSEN

Team Harvey Hogg made their annual trip to their favourite European location of the season, Ludinghausen in Germany.

And the team just missed out on a rostrum place, coming 4th in the final.

More details to follow....

SHAUN AND DANNY BACK ON TOP

On May 3rd the team travelled to Ashorne, near Warwick, where the Grassroots MCC club were holding a May Bank Holiday Grasstrack. And with a few adjustments to the bike it was much more comfortable for Shaun to ride. With the handlebars now placed in a more forward position practice went smoothly and with less discomfort than the previous week the team looked forward to the racing. And everything went to plan and the smile went from ear to ear from every member of the team as Shaun and Danny stood once again on the top of the rostrum, their first overall victory in over a year.

The team's next appearance on home soil is at the Kent Kracker which takes place on Sunday May 31st at Otford, Near Maidstone in Kent.

BACK ON HOME SOIL AND BACK ON THE ROSTUM...

Sunday April 26th was the first 'Big' grasstrack of the season on home soil at the Champion of Champions meeting. The organising Astra MCC had once again supplied a top class track at Swingfield, just outside of Dover. Just six 500cc sidecars entered for the event, so no final was to be run with the winner being the top scorer from the four heats.

It was always going to be a battle between Shaun and Danny and fellow Chelmsford based crew Nick and Abi Radley. In the first heat it was the Radley that took the win after being pushed all the way by Shaun and Danny. A great start in the second heat from Team Harvey reversed the result of heat one and it looked like the two crews would be going head to head for the laurels.

But in heat three disaster for the team as the Radley's once again took the win with Shaun and Danny obviously struggling to keep with the leaders. At first glance it looked like machinery problems but when the two returned to the pits it was apparent that Shaun was once again suffering the effects of last season's wrist injury. Shaun and Danny took to the track for the final heat but at the end of the day had to be content with a brave second place on the rostrum step.

MIXED START TO THE 2009 SEASON FOR TEAM HARVEY HOGG

The season got off to a bad start with a nightmare opening meeting in Skegness. Always looking to improve the machinery to keep ahead of the pack, the team elected to try some new equipment. But unfortunately, as sometimes happens when you try to experiment it's a case of one step forward and two step back and the team finished in a lowly fifth place.

Seven days later after reverting back to the 'old' set up it was a different story as the team made it's first trip of the year, across the channel to Roden in Holland. The bike handled fantastic all day and the day ended with second place on the rostrum behind former European Champions William and Natalie Matthijssen. Shaun and Danny were delighted with the result and look forward to another European 'Vacation' on May 21st when they take part in one of their favourite meetings of the year in Ludinghausen in Germany.

TEAM HARVEY HOGG PREPARE FOR THE 2009 SEASON

Team Harvey Hogg is looking forward to putting the 2008 season behind them as they begin their 2009 campaign at the Champions of Champions meeting in Kent on April 26th.

Despite winning their fifth successive British Championships, it really was a season to forget as Shaun spent the majority of the racing year trying to overcome the pain barrier following a racing accident at Tonbridge in May.

The arm is still not fully recovered and may require further surgery but both Shaun and the team are as enthusiastic as ever. The meeting the team are looking forward too most of all this season is the European 500cc sidecar final in Wimborne. The final is being held for the first time in UK and with British crews getting more and more competitive on the continent Shaun feels that a home based crew has a real chance to be on that rostrum. And Team Harvey Hogg are looking to be that team, becoming the first UK sidecar crew to be on the rostrum in a European Final. The meeting is being held on September 13th and is the highlight of the UK calender this year.

But before the team can even think about a European Final date they have to qualify and the team travel to St-Macaire in the Bordeaux wine region of France for their chosen semi-final. This takes place on June 13th a week before the British Championships qualifying rounds begin the road to the British Final which takes place in early October.

British Championship Qualifying

    * Round 1 - June 21st at Wimborne

    * Round 2 - August 23rd at Midshires (Worcester)

    * Round 3 - September 6th at Fenland

British Championships Final - October 4th at Swingfield, Kent (Astra MCC)