Bronze medal for Lauder pair at International Motorcycling Federation Sidecar World Championship

Lauder's Steve Kershaw, right, and Ryan Charlwood celebrating their success at the Sidecar World Championship's finale in Portugal (Pic: Mark Walters)

Lauder crew Steve Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood are celebrating winning a bronze medal at this year’s International Motorcycling Federation Sidecar World Championship.

The pair were still in contention for the title at the series’ final round mathematically but not only would they have had to win both double-points races at Estoril in Portugal but they’d also have been reliant on both other contenders failing to finish either.

That being an unlikely combination of circumstances, they were happy to settle for third place – after Anglo-French winners Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement and Swiss runners-up Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries – and to go out on a high note with their third race win of the series.

“What a weekend – our first pole position, a race win and the bronze medal in the series,” said Kershaw.

Steve Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood in sidecar action at Estoril in Portugal (Pic: Mark Walters)

“The guys did an amazing job with the bike and I knew after yesterday that if I looked after the rear tyre better mid-race, I could be there at the end. Thanks to everyone this year who helped make it happen.”

Charlwood added: “It was worth the long drive, and a huge congratulations to Todd and Emmanuelle on taking the title. They have been flawless all year. We’ll just have to come back next year and beat them.”

Ellis/Clement went into the Portuguese races with a sizeable lead and their maiden title all but in the bag as defending champions Schlosser/Fries would have had to beat them twice and hope they failed to finish at least one race to claw enough points back to retain the No 1 plate.

After topping qualifying for the first time, Kershaw/Charlwood were in second place as late as lap 17 but had to settle for third place in the end, confirming a third-place finish in the final standings.

Sunday saw Ellis/Clement only needing to finish in the top 12 to secure the title and Kershaw/Charlwood competing with only pride at stake and determination to end the year on a high.

A mistake by Schlosser/Fries on lap 16 gifted the Kershaw Racing team a four-second lead and they hung on to it to romp home for a third win of the season, with Ellis/Clement finishing third to claim the title.