Morgan brothers weighing up their new year sidecar plans

Yet when it worked for brothers Kevin and Steven Morgan they showed competing with some of the best in the business was within touching distance.

The Morgans, from Ruyton-XI-Towns, near Shrewsbury, made the incredibly courageous decision to enter the world of sidecars – a sport that tragically claimed their father's life – this year.

Not only that, they also raced in the very same machine Kevin Morgan Senior was a passenger in when he suffered a fatal crash during the Isle of Man TT races in 2011, aged 59.

The accident during a practice session also claimed the life of driver Bill Currie, 67, from Ellesmere Port. But, undeterred, the brothers decided racing was for them and entered the Wirral 100 and FSRA F2 British Sidecar Championships.

It was Bill Currie's brother, Les, who made the initial call and asked the brothers if they would be interested in using the same LCR Yamaha sidecar.

Kevin said: "This year was always going to be a tough year as it was the first year on the LCR, which was totally different to anything we had previously raced.

"We put a lot of time and effort into the bike over the winter. When we first got it, it was in a pretty bad way.

"Despite all the work over the winter we really struggled with reliability all year with several blown engines and more breakdowns. That said, we did find a good direction in the second half of the year."

The brothers, despite their season-long setbacks, still rubbed shoulders will some of the current best road racing teams and came within an inch of winning the Wirral 100 club championship.

Kevin said: "Performance wise, I would say our best result was the second British Championship race at Donington Park.

"Despite having an electrical problem we secured a sixth placed finish.

"The best result of the year was winning the Wirral 100 club championship race in June at Angelsey.

"Our worst race of the year came when we travelled all the way to Croft in Darlington for a British Championship round.

"We had to change engines on Friday during testing and then we didn't even make it through qualifying before blowing up the second one."

Such memories have moved the brothers to turn their backs on the more expensive British championships next year but a return to action at club level could still be on the cards.

"We are not yet sure of the 2017 plans other than we know we won't be contesting the British championship," said Kevin.

"We can't afford to compete with the top guys and can't justify the amount of time off work it takes for the travelling and preparations.

"I personally can't thank Steve enough because without his time and efforts the bike wouldn't have got fixed in the first place, let alone the maintenance it then takes to carry on competing.

"Also thanks to Les Currie of Les Currie garages for allowing us to use the LCR, Jamie at Viking Motors for the paint jobs, Andy Rutter, and Border Automotive for the paint."