Killarney woman takes on the crazy world of sidecar racing

A Killarney woman is making a name for herself in the high-speed world of Sidecar racing.

Siobhan Ardener from Tiernaboul competes in the Sidecar racing class of the Dunlop Masters Irish Motorcycle Racing Championship.

The delayed season got underway at Mondello Park in County Kildare last weekend.

She is the rear passenger on the three-wheeled motorcycle steered by Dubliner Fergus Woodlock.

Her job is to keep the car balanced as it races around the track, using her bodyweight, she jumps from side to side on it’s rear platform and controls the car’s corner direction.

On the long straights she tucks herself in behind her driver, to reduce wind drag, while hanging on to the car’s side-rails.

They lap the 3.5 km long international track at Mondello Park in under two minutes and reach speeds of over 100km/h
A lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, she rode her own Yamaha R6 to and from last weekend’s three-day event.

She has been competing in the sidecar class of the Irish national series for three years but she doesn’t really count last season as only one event took place due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Last weekend Siobhan and her driver took third place in the three races they contested and left the County Kildare track holding third place in the championship.

Her third place in Saturday’s opening race was the first time she won an award for sidecar racing.

“I am more than over the moon,” she said at the end of the first race.

The next triple-header race meeting on the national racing calendar is scheduled for the weekend of July 23-25.