World Sidecar Championship Assen 16/17/18 August

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Timetable

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Saturday stream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIJksKzLGEA

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Sunday stream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXKOGfmdPC0

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Preview from Mark Walters

FIM Sidecar World Championship.

Assen preview.

It has been a fair break since the last round in Most, the Czech Republic, eight weeks. But now the sidecar teams are back contesting the FIM Sidecar World Championship, this will be at the “Cathedral of Speed” Assen in the Netherlands. The 4.555 km circuit is a favorite with riders and fans, renowned for its fast and close racing.

In Most it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who were setting the pace from word go, but whatever they did they were always being pipped by Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt. This was the case in the two races too. Payne and Rousseau just lacked the speed that Schlosser and Schmidt had. The Christie Brothers Sam and Tom had a good weekend in Most, two third places for them.

Coming to Assen leading the championship with 122 points is Schlosser and Schmidt, the way the team have been performing this year you wouldn’t count them out for success here too, but Payne and Rousseau have been pushing them all the way, they are only 7 points adrift with 115.

Another team having a great season is Sam and Tom Christie they have 97 points and have been pushing the top two teams. They have been in the mix for race wins but the top two have just pipped them at the post as again the racing is so close.

Reigning champions, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement have been finding it hard this year with their machine setup, but having said that they are not too far off the top three, they are sitting with 90 points, they have gone well here in Assen in the past and they will be hoping for the same again, they will be looking for good podium placings.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie have 68 points so far, they will be wanting to have a good weekend and boost their points tally, they have been improving throughout the season with improvements they have done to their machine.

Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch sit in sixth with 54 points. Streuer will be wanting to have a good weekend here as this is his home GP. The team have had some bad luck early on in the season, but their lap times have been good.

Sitting equal with Streuer and Kolsch on 54 points is father and son team, Ted and Vincent Peugeot. The team have had a mixed season so far, some mechanical issues have hampered them during the season, if they can get this all sorted they will have a good run.

Lennard Gottlich and Lucas Krieg are sitting with 42 points, if it had not been for a bad meeting at Sachsenring at the beginning of the season they would have been further up the table, they would like to be mixing it with the Peugeot’s.

Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon will be wanting to have a good weekend here at Assen, their season has not gone so well so far, they have 39 points.

Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti round off the top ten with 35 points. They have been working hard to try and get their machine setup just how they want it, they will be hoping for a good weekend here in Assen.

Sam and Jack Laidlow have been having a great season contesting their domestic British championship this year. They too are having a good year learning the circuits and racing with the top teams in the FIM Sidecar Championship, they are sitting with 29 points so far in the championship.

Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat have come new into the championship, they have certainly showed great pace, especially at Most. They will hope to continue this in Assen, they have 23 points in the championship.

Rupert Archer will have Thomas Hofer passenger him again here in Assen, they had a good weekend in Most and will want to have the same in Assen they have 19 points.

Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson have 16 points, not what they want, but still they have had some great battles, especially with the team just in front of them in the championship, Archer and Hofer, also they continue their battles with Claude Vinet and Leane Marsal, they have not contested all meetings this year they have 4 points.

Markus Venus and Ondrej Sedlacek have been going steadily and getting used to their machine, they are enjoying the challenge, they have 8 points so far in the championship.

Pierre Leguen and Clemant Conil have 4 points, enjoying their racing and improving all the time on track.

Hopefully we will see Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes racing here in Assen, the team like Assen, and with Reeves living in Holland now this could be called his home GP. Also hopefully Paul Kirby and Tom Kirby will be back, they have 6 points from a good showing at Le Mans. Rob Biggs and Ferry Segars may manage this meeting too, this is passenger Segars home GP too.

There will be two races in Assen, Saturday 17th, a 9 lap race and Sunday 18th, a 16 lap race.

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Free Practice

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Q 1

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Qualifying one report

Mark Walters

Assen,

Qualifying one.

The weather had changed, it was dry and bright.

Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt led the field out for qualifying one, followed closely by Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes. These two teams were setting the pace. Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau were last out on track, although at the back they had a good clear track.
Reeves and Wilkes set their fastest time, a 1:46.912, early on in the session, as did Payne and Rousseau, they set a time of 1:46.447. Schlosser and Schmidt left it till later in the session, they topped the field with a time of 1:46.236. The top three teams are so close, all in the 1:46’s.

The Christie brothers had a good steady Q1. Sam and Tom set a time of 1:47.294, they had no problems.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie set a time of 1:47.636, the team were happy with this and hope to go better tomorrow.

Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch had no problems and set the sixth fastest time of 1:47.865.

Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement set off and straight away they had rear tyre problems, they were straight back into pit lane to sort this problem. At the end of the session Ellis got off the bike and had some burning of his foot. He continued during the session saying, “I had to man up, and get on with it”. Despite these problems the team set a time of 1:48.624.

Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon had no problems and set the eighth fastest time, a 1:48.678.

Another good qualifying for Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat, they set a time of 1:49.184, they will be going for better tomorrow.

Rounding off the top ten is Lennard Gottlich and Lucas Krieg, they set a time of 1:49.196, like Werkstetter and Pirat, they will be wanting to go better tomorrow.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is better, sunny and warm. Maybe the top times will be faster, but if too hot maybe not.

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Q 2

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Q 1 & Q 2

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Qualifying two report and photos from Mark Walters

Assen,

Quilifying two.

“Schlosser and Schmidt are tops!”

The sun was out, a lovely day for racing, the air is fresh too.
Qualifying two started, would the sidecar teams be faster than Q1 yesterday? Yes, all teams went faster, and it is so close.

Drama on the out lap between Lennard Gottlich/Lucas Krieg, and Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon, Gottlich/Krieg went off track and came back on, Wyssen and Salmon had nowhere to go and contact was made, Wyssen and Salmon entered pit lane and changed their wheel arch, but there was no more for Gottlich and Krieg. After the session when back in their garage, Wyssen discovered that his chassis had damage, despite this they set the 10th fastest time a 1:48.168. They are checking over their machine and hope they will make the race. Gottlich and Krieg however think their weekend is over, but they will assess the situation more.

Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt set the fastest time, a 1:45.865. They are the only team in the 45’s, but only 0.233 ahead of the second team.

Sam and Tom Christie are really pleased with their time of 1:46.098, they had no problems and felt their machine was feeling great.

Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau set the third fastest time of 1:46.198. They are happy with this despite having a small problem with their braking system.

Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch set the fourth fastest time a 1:46.424. All was good with the team and are happy with their machine, they hope for a good race.

Next up in fifth with a time of 1:46.791 is Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes, they made some changes to their machine yesterday, but they felt they went the wrong way with these, but they are really happy with how things are going.

Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement are a lot happier today, they set a time of 1:46. 862. They made small adjustments for today and feel they are going in the right direction.

The top six are all so close it is anyone’s guess who comes out on top.

Sam and Jack Laidlow had a good Q2, they made adjustments to their machine after yesterday and were really pleased how they went, they set a seventh best time of 1:47.525.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie set the eighth fastest time of 1:47.631. The team are not too happy with this, they felt that they were going well but when they saw their lap time they were a bit disappointed, the team are making adjustments before the race later today.

Ted and Vincent Peugeot are a lot happier today with how things went, they set the ninth fastest time, a 1:47.856, they are looking forward to the race later.

The race later is over 9 laps and will start at 17:00 local time.

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Race 1

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IDM

Race one

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Race one report from Mark Walters

“Pink is the colour for Payne and Rousseau”

Sun was out, track was hot and 9 laps it was for the sidecar teams in Assen.

The lights went out and Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt got the perfect start from pole. But it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who took the lead out of the first corner, and they were to keep this through the first complex of corners, with Schlosser and Schmidt on their tail. Sam and Tom Christie slotted into third with Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch fourth. Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes were in fifth fending off Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement. Sam and Jack Laidlow were in sixth with Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie seventh. There was a small gap then came Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon, Ted and Vincent Peugeot, Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti, with Rupert Archer and Thomas Hofer fending off Robert Biggs and Ferry Segers. Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson were next up, Rogier Weekers and Marcel Fries followed cable and Richardson, Raymond Leijdekkers and Sarissa Ter Steeg next with Philippe Gallerne and Florian Colombin rounding off the field.

Claude and Cyril Vinet did not start, they had a mechanical issue heading to the holding area. Patrick Werkstetter and Valentine Pirat did not start either. Lennard Gottlich and Lucas Krieg were nonstarters too.

The race was close throughout, but the front four teams made a small gap to the next group.

There was a good battle going on between Wyssen/Salmon, Leglise/Cescutti, the Peugeot’s and Archer and Hofer.

Biggs and Segers, Cable and Richardson were out on their own; it turned out a lonely race for these two teams.

Markus Venus and Ondrej Sedlacek pulled in after lap one, also Gallerne/Colombin on lap 5.

As the race was drawing to a close it looked like Schlosser/Schmidt were drawing in Payne/Rousseau which made a small gap to the Christie Brothers, with Streuer and Kolsch in a safe fourth. Reeves and Wilkes were having a good battle fending off Ellis and Clement. Paivarinta and Christie were on their own now too but in a safe seventh place.

With one lap to go there was a very high speed crash for the Laidlow Brothers Sam and Jack, they lost the back end of their machine in the very fast left hand corner before the chicane going onto the start finish straight. Their machine went upside down with driver Sam stuck in the fairing and Jack thrown clear lying on the track. The pair were taken to the medical center, for checks. They did come back to the paddock, but later were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.

It was a very delighted Payne and Rousseau who took the race win over Schlosser and Schmidt with the Christie Brothers third. Streuer and Kolsch took fourth, and they were credited with the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:45.438.

Reeves and Wilkes crossed the line just in front of Ellis and Clement for fifth.

Paivarinta and Christie seventh a good distance in front of Wyssen and Salmon in eighth.

Leglise and Cescutti took the French honors in front of the Peugeot’s in ninth.

Archer and Hofer took eleventh with Biggs and Segers twelth.
Cable and Richardson were thirteenth, with Weekers and Fries fourteenth. Leijdekkers and Ter Steeg were fifteenth.

Tomorrow there will be a 16 lap race starting at 15:40 local time.

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IDM

Race two

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Worlds

Race two