Dave Molyneux

Dave Molyneux

Molyneux and passenger Patrick Farrance at Parliament Square during 2012 TT races
Nationality Manx
Born (1963-11-21) 21 November 1963
Douglas, Isle of Man
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested27 (1985 – 2000, 2002 – 2010, 2012 – present)
TT wins17
First TT win1989 Sidecar TT A race
Last TT win2014 Sidecar TT B race
Podiums27
TT sidecar lap record holder
116.785 mph average speed
Sidecar crew Walters & Masterman in 2002 aboard a Trevor Ireson chassis at the right-hander named as Molyneux's from 2013, with the Cronk-y-Voddy Straight visible stretching into the distance

Dave Molyneux (born 21 November 1963 in Douglas, Isle of Man) is a Sidecar TT racer with seventeen Isle of Man TT wins, more than any other sidecar TT racer. He is third on the all-time wins list, with only Joey Dunlop and John McGuinness taking more victories.

Moly, as he is often known, is the sidecar lap record holder for the Snaefell mountain course set in 2015 with a time of 19 minutes 23.056 seconds, an average race speed of 116.785 mph for 1 lap.[1]

In 2013, a right-hand bend on the Snaefell Mountain Course used for TT and Manx Grand Prix races at the end of Cronk-y-Voddy Straight on the main A3 road was named Molyneux's in recognition of his wins, together with John McGuinness who was similarly honoured.[2]

Raceology

Beginning his TT career at the 1985 races,[3] Molyneux failed to record a finish until his fifth outing in the first race at the 1987 'A' race where he placed tenth, but failed to finish in his sixth event, the 'B' race (the event is raced over two legs with the overall winner performing the best in terms of aggregate).[3] Improvement continued 1988 with a sixth place finish in the first leg of the Sidecar TT before retirement in the second race.[3]

The 1989 meeting saw Molyneux begin to dominate the event with his maiden TT victory. Campaigning a Bregazzi Yamaha and partnered by experienced passenger Colin Hardman, the team took first place in the 'A' and third in the 'B' race.[3] This resulted in Molyneux and Hardman claiming overall victory for the 1989 Sidecar TT.[3]

Dave Molyneux and Craig Hallam crashed during Thursday afternoon practice session for the 2006 races at Rhencullen after the sidecar outfit experienced a 140 mph Donald Campbell "bluebird-style flip."[4] The outfit was destroyed in the resulting fire and Molyneux was unable to compete in the actual races due to injury. He made a comeback the following year taking a double victory, bringing his tally of wins to 13 at that time.

His 14th victory came in 2009, when he also became the first winner of a TT sidecar race on a Suzuki powered machine. The lone race of 2009 saw him set a new race record on his Suzuki, (see above).

Moly did not compete at the TT in 2011 (although he rode the ex-Biland / O'Dell Seymaz Yamaha in the classic parade, with former TT passenger Karl Ellison), but he returned to the TT in 2012 on a Kawasaki powered machine winning both races. The first 2012 Sidecar race also made Molyneux the first ever competitor to win TTs using all four of the major Japanese manufacturers engines (Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki & Kawasaki).

2014 saw him take his 17th TT win in the second sidecar race. He led the first race by more than 20 seconds until an engine misfire caused him to stop on the final lap.

He is also a builder of road racing sidecars under the name DMR, Dave Molyneux Racing, and has supplied sidecars to many other TT winners including 10-time winner Rob Fisher and 2006 double winner Nick Crowe.

He has starred as one of the two Ascending Hacks (the other being Graham Molyneux) in Matthew Barney's 1994 film Cremaster 4.

TT Race Victories

Year Race & Capacity Motorcycle Average Speed
1989 TT Sidecar Race 'A' Bregazzi TZ750 Yamaha 104.56 mph
1993 TT Sidecar Race 'A' 600cc Yamaha 103.33 mph
1993 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc Yamaha 103.16 mph
1996 TT Sidecar Race 'A' DMR 109.81 mph
1996 TT Sidecar Race 'B' DMR 110.28 mph
1998 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 106.52 mph
1999 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 111.90 mph
2003 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 105.42 mph
2004 TT Sidecar Race 'A' 600cc DMR Honda 111.33 mph
2004 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 111.2 mph
2005 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 114.901 mph
2007 TT Sidecar Race 'A' 600cc DMR Honda 111.668 mph
2007 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Honda 113.851 mph
2009 TT Sidecar Race 'A' 600cc DMR Suzuki 115.132 mph
2012 TT Sidecar Race 'A' 600cc DMR Kawasaki 113.055 mph
2012 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Kawasaki 113.071 mph
2014 TT Sidecar Race 'B' 600cc DMR Kawasaki 113.756 mph

TT career summary

Finishing Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 10th DNF
Number of times 17 8 4 2 1 10 9

Sources

  1. ↑ http://www.iomtt.com/~/media/Files/2015/Race-results/Sure-Sidecar-Race-2/Sure%20Sidecar%202%20Result%20landscape.pdf
  2. ↑ Manx Radio 10 April 2013 Retrieved 4 July 2015
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.iomtt.com/TT-Database/competitors.aspx?ride_id=3753
  4. ↑ TT News 2006 – Edition 1 Isle of Man Newspapers

External links

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