aggregate). Hardman teamed up with highly experienced driver Dennis Keen for the 1983 Isle of Man TT which saw them become an established partnership. Campaigning a Yamaha outfit, disappointment featured in the opening race which resulted in a retirement, however they subsequently claimed their first top ten finish when 7th place was secured in the second sidecar race. At the 1984 TT a retirement again befell Keen and Hardman in the opening race, however the second race saw a credible 6th-place finish. Keen and Hardman took 7th place in the opening sidecar race at the 1985 Isle of Man TT, which also saw them take the outfit through the 100 miles per hour race average with an average race speed of . Hardman partnered Keen for a fourth consecutive season in 1986, and again they saw mixed results at the Isle of Man TT posting a retirement in the opening race before taking 8th place in the second race of the meeting. Following his time partnering Keen, Hardman took the chair for Michael Burcombe which saw them finish in 13th place at the 1987 Sidecar Race 'A' followed by a retirement in the Sidecar Race 'B'. A marked improvement in 1988 saw Burcombe and Hardman take their Ireson Yamaha home in 7th place in the sidecar 'A' race which in turn was followed up by 5th place in the 'B' race. By 1989 Hardman was recognised as one of the leading sidecar passengers in the race paddock and this led to his partnership with Dave Molyneux. For the 1989 Sidecar Race 'A' the duo took their place on the starting grid at the TT Grandstand alongside pre-race favourites Mick Boddice and Chas Birks and experienced crews such as Kenny Howles and Steve Pointer; Lars Schwartz and Leif Gustavsson; and Dave Saville and Richard Crossley. After the 3 punishing laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course, covering of racing, Molyneux and Hardman brought their 750cc Bregazzi Yamaha across the line in 1st place, claiming victory by the narrow margin of one second on corrected time from Howles & Pointer in a race time of 1hr 4mins 57seconds, recording an average speed of . This was followed by 3rd place in the Sidecar 'B' race where Molyneux and Hardman upped their average race speed to allowing them to claim the Sidecar TT victory on aggregate over the two legs of the meeting. The