Callum Crowe made history at the weekend when he became the first Manx-born competitor to podium in a World Sidecar Grand Prix event.

He was standing in for the injured Tom Birchall alongside the latter’s brother Ben in the Dutch GP at Assen.

Tom Birchall suffered torn shoulder ligaments in the previous round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship in Austria when the pair had a coming together with Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes.

‘Ben called me up a week earlier and I jumped at the chance of going to Assen with him,’ said Callum.

‘We didn’t qualify well as we got caught up in traffic, but we got third in the first [sprint] race and second in the longer race. We also got the fastest lap in the opener.

‘It felt good, but I didn’t have it in my diary to be in with Ben Birchall this season.’

Callum is on standby to also accompany Ben at the next round at Oschersleben in Germany over the weekend of October 7-8.

‘My aim now is to get a major sponsor onboard so that me and my brother Ryan can tackle the world championship together next year.

The Crowe brothers have had three TT podiums in three years since making their debut in 2019.

Birchall and Crowe started from fifth on the grid and ened up third in a close four-way finish blanketed by one second at the chequered flag.

The winners were Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement, with Reeves and Wilkes runners-up.

That was after Steinhausen Racing pair Payne and Rousseau had set the fastest time in qualifying to start the race in pole position, before going on to finish fifth.

Speaking on social media on Saturday evening, injured passenger Tom Birchall praised Crowe for his performance, saying: ‘The boys did gooood!! Callum Crowe stepped in to ride with Ben Birchall here @ttcircuitassen and put in a solid third place today in the sprint race.

‘Just to put it into perspective, they’ve never ridden together, Cal has never ridden this circuit, has never been on this bike and got the call-up a only few days ago. To finish third on the @fimsidecarworldchampionship is a huge achievement.

‘We’ve chipped away finding the speed and set-up since Friday, then halfway through the nine laps it started to gel and they made their way through from fifth on the grid.

‘Thanks to everyone who helped us to get to Assen after the crash last time out, especially Callum, his team and family for their support.’

Ellis and Clement cemented their position at the top of the overall standings by making it a double success with victory in Sunday’s main 16-lapper.

Behind them though, Birchall and Crowe improved on their third-place finish from the previous day by edging past the pairing of Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood to claim an excellent second place.

Likewise, Payne and Rousseau bettered their result from Saturday by coming out on top against brothers Sam and Thomas Christie to finish fourth and pick up some more valuable points.

These results mean that the Birchall brothers lie comfortably in second place in the overall FIM Sidecar World Championship standings, nine points behind leaders Ellis and Clement.

Payne and Rousseau lie fourth in the standings only one point behind Kershaw and Charlwood with two rounds remaining.

Callum Crowe also stepped in to partner Harry Payne in the final two rounds of the 2022 FIM Sidecar World Championship at Oschersleben and in Portugal.