The fourth round of the Hartwell Championships was held at the Phillip Island circuit on July 31 in variable weather and wet track conditions.

The only sidecar race over the weekend saw the Beare Boys team finish first out of the field of 11 sidecars.

It comes on the heels on an already busy year for the team.

They competed successfully at the recent interclub round at the State Motorcycling Complex at Broadford on May 16.

They achieved three first places and a second place in an exciting handicap race, where the other teams were given up to a 40-second head start on the Beare Boys, who then made up that time over the six-lap race, only to be beaten over the finish line by less than half a second.

Local team sponsor Paul Jordan of Paul Jordan Constructions was at the track to support the team and follow up on its race tyre requirements.

The next race was the first round of the National Sidecar Championship held in conjunction with the second round of the Victorian Titles at the Phillip Island race track on May 21 and 22.

The team finished with fifth, sixth and ninth places in the three races, and improved their fastest lap time by over a second.

A poor start in the third race where the team ended up last off the line, then came from last to finish fifth was one of the highlights of the weekend.

The third round of the Hartwell Championships were held at Broadford on June 19 and 20, and saw the father and son team finish with a 1st and 2nd place.

Noel and Dwight and their support team of local enthusiasts Hamish Millar and Mal Reid, and local sponsors then worked on some improvements to their machine in preparation for the second round of the national titles at Winton Raceway on July 17 to 18.