AFTER a three-week lay off, Easingwold's nine-time sidecar world champion Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead are back in action this weekend.

They're competing in the 2004 Eastern Airways British Sidecar Championship at Brands Hatch in Kent. Five wins from eight races held so far in the series give them the advantage of going into the event with a useful 44-point lead.

With races tomorrow and Sunday afternoons it'll be a busy weekend and although the Team Castrol Suzuki have been off the track for three weeks it has been a memorable period for Webster.

"I was very honoured to officially receive my Freeman of the City presentation last week at the Guildhall. It's a very great honour to be recognised by the city I've grown up in, and I was very proud," said Webster.

Looking ahead to the challenging 4.2km Kent circuit, Webster said: "It's good that we've got two races. Over the years we've been shifted around from Sunday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, so having a race both days is the best of both worlds, so we can't moan too much."

Snapping at his heels for most of the season at British Championship events have been Team M&M brothers Tim and Tristan Reeves, who are based just down the road from Brands Hatch. Seen as local heroes and Brands experts, they'll be trying their utmost to put one over on Webster and will be using Webbo's 2003 title-winning bike.

"I've no doubt that Tim and Tristan will be putting in a bit extra this weekend, and they are fast round there and it is virtually their back garden. But it's also one of my favourite circuits and we've done well there over the last few seasons, and we of course want to keep the pressure on for the title," said Webster.

As well as Reeves, Webster will also face severe pressure from German Rolf Steinhausen and his Scarborough passenger Trevor Hopkinson. Steinhausen was not pleased at Webster winning at the German championship round at the Nurburgring last month, and may feel he has a point to prove.

Webster and Steinhausen also had a memorable race long battle at last year's World Championship round at Brands.

There will be a 2004 Sidecar World Cup after the Superside management, who run the UEM European Championship series, completed negotiations with the sport's world ruling body, the Federation International de Motocyclisme.

A World Cup will be based on three rounds - all to be held at Schleiz in Germany over the weekend of September 4 and 5.

That will mean the Assen British Championship round scheduled for the same day will be cancelled.

The UEM series was also booked for a visit to Schleiz on September 19 and will still run.

Team Castrol star Webster said: "It'll be a shame we are not now going to Assen, which is my favourite track of all. We usually have a lot of people going over there.

"We will be at the Schliez meeting though because although there are three races, the middle one will also count towards the UEM championship. If we don't go, we risk losing both titles."

The reason for the late change of mind is apparently that the FIM have been able to award a sidecar World Championship or World Cup every year since the series was inaugurated back in 1949, and did not wish to miss a year.

While it is pleasing to see a prestige title for competitors to aim for, one can only wonder why the FIM didn't step in at the beginning of the year when a planned full-season Sidecar World Championship run in conjunction with the World Superbike Championship collapsed.

Updated: 11:06 Friday, July 30, 2004