Bryan Hargreaves pictured with expert mechanic Roger Jordan heading for the TT Championships.

Briercliffe motor cycle ace Bryan Hargreaves will be racing alongside the world's top riders in the TT Sidecar Championships in the Isle of Man next month. Bryan and his passenger, Norman Burgess, from Clitheroe, received official notification that their application to race in the championships had been accepted a week ago. And a delighted Bryan said: "It will be a privilege just to be there."

It will be the first time that a three-wheeler team from Burnley has taken part in the championships, although Burnley's Bill Dixon raced in the solo championships in the Isle of Man two years ago. The Hargreaves/Burgess combination has entered the top ranks of motor cycle racing in an amazingly short time. Bryan is now aged 30, and put together his sidecar outfit just three years ago. The team only got its licence to race in international championships this season. and consequently was only half expecting to be admitted to a coveted place on the TT grid. Bryan, who lives with his wife, Gloria, and their two children at Holden's Farm, Briercliffe, said: " I didn't think we would get accepted because we didn't have enough international experience."

Despite the successes they have been achieving - they came 9th at Brands Hatch on Good Friday and were 6th in the practices at Oulton Park in the Anglo-American championships the following Monday - they are fighting against the odds. Without financial backing they will be unable to get in the top of their field. Their four-stroke Kawasaki 950 is no match for the two-strokes against which they are competing in the world class machinery which is sponsored by such big names as Good-Year, Shell and Champion. Bryan commented: "Although we might manage a 15th in the TT, we are just outclassed in terms of money after that. Unless we find sponsorship, we might have to contemplate packing the whole thing in next year."