EDGECUMBE sidecar racer Ian Burke and Hunterville teammate George Vennell are sitting comfortably in the middle of the points table after the first round of the 2024 Auckland Motorcycle Club Championship.

This is the second season the pair have competed together, and it’s not a competition they expect to score highly in.

They race Burke’s Formula Two bike, but due to entry numbers they have been entered in an open sidecar category with Formula One racers during the Auckland club rounds.

With 120 horsepower and a top speed nearing the 200 kmh mark, Team Edgecumbe is quick off the mark but struggles to hold its own against the more powerful 240 horsepower F1 bikes in a mixed class.

Through the infield at a track like Taupō, which is littered with turns, the bigger bikes do not have much advantage.

“But they certainly do on the straights,” Burke said.

Team Edgecumbe finished second at both the New Zealand Super Bike Series and the New Zealand Suzuki Tri Series last season and are hoping to refine their performance this year.

Despite the podium finish, the team suffered an engine blowout during the first race at Manfeild Circuit in Feilding which saw Burke make the nine-and-a-half hour round trip home to pick up a spare and install it with hours to spare before the next day’s racing.

They are hoping for a smoother run this season, especially in December’s Suzuki International Series, where they will race in a Formula Two-specific class. During the first competition of the season, the team is making sure everything on the bike runs as it should, and Burke plans to install a new engine before December’s racing.

Burke is a veteran of the sport and has been racing since 1977, when he made his track debut in Whanganui with brother Warren, who now helps out as pit crew.

Sunday’s racing at Hampton Downs was the first time Burke and Vennell had hit the track together since last season.

The unlikely pairing was made through Facebook, when Burke posted on his Team Edgecumbe Sidecar Racing page in search of a new passenger.

“I’m keen to give it a go, I race a bucket sidecar and am wanting to get into the big bikes,” came Vennell’s response.

Although Vennell was more comfortable in the driver’s seat before joining Team Edgecumbe, Burke said he was a natural passenger.

“You get on the bike and with some passengers you are always looking to see where they are or what they’re doing.

“I never even think about George. He’s one of the last things on my mind; I just know he is going to be doing what he needs to.”

Sidecar bikes have limited steering lock and it’s a team effort to get them around the corner, with the passenger adjusting their position to ensure their weight is where it needs to be.

Burke said it was obvious when a passenger was not doing what they were meant to do. Vennell became involved in bucket racing at high school, works as a mechanic for Toyota, and has worked on other race cars, so he knows his way around an engine.

“I can go into a corner and feel it slipping out and put more weight on the front, then I’ll listen to the engine and if I can hear the rear wheels start spinning up, I’ll slide backwards and try to keep the weight on the back,” he said.

Team Edgecumbe is next on the track at Hampton Downs for round two of the 2024 AMCC Championship this month.

The Suzuki Series starts on December 7 in Taupō, with round two the following weekend at Manfeild Circuit.

The competition culminates in a final round on Boxing Day at the iconic Cemetery Circuit.

The New Zealand Super Bike Series follows with racing starting early next year, but with the first two rounds being held on South Island tracks, Team Edgecumbe is unsure on entering.