TT 2025: Birchall teaming up with Rosney in sidecar races

14-time winner welcomes new passenger for this year's event

14-time TT winner Ben Birchall will team up with a new passenger, Patrick Rosney for this year's sidecar races at the Isle of Man TT.

The pairing will take on both sidecar contests in 2025 on board on Hager/Wyckham Blackwell LCR Honda machinery with aspirations of challenging again at the front of the pack.

An experienced competitor himself, Rosney replaces Frenchman Kevin Rousseau who raced with Birchall last season but is now focusing on commitments in this year's FIM Sidecar World Championship.

The switch also means Rosney's previous TT teammate - driver, Lewis Blackstock - also has a change of passenger for 2025, bringing in TT newcomer Oscar Lawrence.

Commenting on the move, Birchall says: "It’s taken a bit longer than anticipated but I’m delighted with the shape of the new team and having Paddy on board for the whole season, not just the TT, is a huge plus. 

“Kevin was great last year, and he did a brilliant job, especially when you consider he’d never done a flying lap before last year, but he has World Championship commitments with another driver which means he could only race with me for a couple of meetings in the year.

“I totally understand and respect that, but I need, and want, to be competing regularly so when Paddy became available, he ticked all the boxes."

At last year's TT, Birchall and Rousseau finished second in the Sidecar TT Race 2 having been ruled out of the first race following a crash at the Mountain Box in practice.

Meanwhile, Rosney has finished inside the top ten in seven of his last ten races on the Snaefell Mountain Course since 2017 - In 2024 he and Blackstock fourth and fifth place finishes in the Sidecar TT Race 1 and Sidecar TT Race 2 respectively.

Separately, last week it was announced there would be changes to the sidecar class for TT 2025 - among them is that there will be no seeded entries and teams' position in the running order will be based on qualifying performances.