Ben Birchall names new partner after brother's retirement
14-time TT race winner Ben Birchall begins a new chapter in his career having confirmed Kevin Rousseau as his new passenger for the 2024 Isle of Man TT Races, who replaces Tom Birchall after his shock retirement from the sport at the end of 2023.
The Frenchman joins the Birchall Racing team for the two 3wheeling.media Sidecar Races on the back of a historic year in 2023, where brothers Ben and Tom set a new lap record of 120.645mph and continued their winning streak, taking an eleventh consecutive victory.
Whilst Tom may have hung up his leathers, the elder of the two siblings is relishing the new challenge and the new pairing are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming campaign:
Ben Birchall said: “When Tom told me he was retiring and wanted to do other things, it caught me by surprise a bit and I questioned what I’d like to do and where I’d like to go, but the thought of never competing at the TT never entered my head.”
“The pace and passion is as strong as ever so I know there’s plenty more races in me. Doing it without Tom isn’t a position I’ve been in before, but once I knew he was calling it a day, there was only one person I wanted alongside me and that was Kevin, so I moved quick to get everything in place.”
“The passenger is as important as the driver at the TT, if not more so, and whilst Kevin may only have one TT under his belt, I’ve seen at close quarters how talented he is and he’s the perfect size and weight. He’s also a professional sidecar passenger with a skill set second to none and I know he’ll apply himself and do everything required to be ready come June.”
Rousseau has just one TT to his name so far but has already impressed, lapping at almost 114mph during qualifying on his debut with Tim Reeves. The talented Frenchman has a wealth of experience at World Championship level, too, with wins and podiums secured when racing alongside Reeves.
Kevin Rousseau: “It’s a big challenge to be next to Ben given what he and Tom have achieved but I’m really excited to start it. He has lots of experience and is obviously fast! The few laps we did at the tyre test were very enjoyable and the laps were both fast and flowing so I can’t wait for qualifying to get underway.
“Ben’s obviously been with Tom for a long time, but this is a new chapter for both of us. It’ll take a bit of time to build our speed up but that’s the right way to do the TT. The key is to be confident, and Tom’s been giving me a lot of advice. I can’t wait for the TT to start and to finish on the podium this year would be amazing. I’ve done that on the World stage so to do it at the TT is my next target.”
