It was incredibly hot and humid ahead of proceedings for the ninth round of the FIM Sidecarcross World Championship. The very rapid hillside track would test the best and with so much at stake at the top, no-one could afford to slip up.
Report by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC
A good entry of forty-one crews would ensure maximum gate size with Last Chance needed to sort out the final places. One local team of particular interest was Patrick Hengster and his lady passenger Celina Jahn. She came from the equestrian world of eventing, so is no stranger to steep drops and climbs.
Free practice looked good, with the track being in great shape and all teams attacking the downhill jumps with enthusiasm. Etienne Bax and Ondrej Cermak looked impressive as indeed did Marvin Vanluchene/Nicolas Musset and Koen Hermans/Ben Van Den Bogaart. The battle at the top was going to take on extra significance this weekend.
Spectating and enjoying the action was Gert Van Werven having had his right collar-bone re-plated and re-inforced.
Timed Practice
With Etienne Bax/Ondrej Cermak already posting fast times they had to find something extra-special this time out.
As expected in Group “A”, Vanluchene, Hermans and Keuben were fast from the word go, as the Lielbardis twins held a strong fourth ahead of returning Dan Foden and Ryan Humphrey. Heinzer/Betschart were also fast and looked good with the left-hand sidecar. That is pretty much as it finished, with the Leferink boys retiring once again with mechanical issues. Vanluchene’s best time was 1.56.555, four tenths quicker than Hermans.
Group “B” and it was Bax’s turn to shine. As always, he kept his powder dry, saving the fastest lap until deep into the session. There was nothing between the Prunier brothers, Wilkinson/Millard, Prummer/Steegmans and Sanders/Rostingt with ten minutes remaining. Bax and Cermak were clearly fastest, but still over one second off Vanluchene’s time set in the previous session.
Suddenly, the return of Julian Veldman was heralded by a very quick lap with Rodolphe Lebreton alongside as they went third behind Tim Prummer.
Let’s also give a shout out for Austria as Benjamin Weiss and Patrick Schneider put in a cracking lap to bounce into third fastest with less than two minutes left.
Then, sensationally, Bax closed to an almost identical lap time to Vanluchene, with a 1.56.644 to claim a pole start for his qualifying race. Sanders/Rostingt grabbed second choice.
Qualifying race one – From the gate it was neck and neck up the hill between Hermans, Vanluchene and Adrian Peter/Joel Hoffmann. It was an incredible start for the latter crew, but Hermans got the verdict, leading for the opening lap with Vanluchene breathing down his neck.
Lap two and the red plate was already ahead and pulling away. The Lielbardis boys were locked in a frantic scrap with Marco Heinzer/Reudi Betschart, with Dan Foden/Ryan Humphrey doing a great job behind them.
With six laps gone, Hermans began to turn the wick up and banged in a fastest lap pulling him close again to the race leaders. Foden now held a good fifth place ahead of the Leferink brothers and Justin Keuben. Eight laps done and Hermans was right on Vanuchene’s tail looking for a way past.
Some twenty-five seconds behind came Daniel and Bruno Lielbardis, so we had Zabel, AMS and Mega engines in that order, with Heinzer’s KTM making it four different power plants.
Still Hermans/Van Den Bogaart chased to get the lead back and were even closer next time around, but it was not to be. Final lap and Vanluchene held on, securing himself a good gate pick.
Result
Qualifying race two – Down went the gate and away up the hill streamed the pack. It was touch and go between Bax/Cermak and Killian/Evan Prunier but the French brothers led the opening lap with Bax going ahead on lap two.
Tim Prummer/Jarno Steegmans were a strong third with Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard fighting with Willemsen/Wesselink and Davy Sanders/Luc Rostingt.
The Prunier boys were having a titanic ride in second, but the momentum seemed to be with Prummer as he closed on them.
Over half-distance and Bax was now cruising to victory barring problems and Prunier was holding on well in a brilliant second place. The French champions were very much at home on this going.
Wilkinson/Millard were now on a charge, relegating Prummer and setting sail for the Prunier brothers. There was time enough for them to do it, and their tails were up. Prummer was not playing ball though and re-took the British crew with three minutes left on the clock.
From a bad start, Julian Veldman and Rodolphe Lebreton were now up to sixth place and closing on Weiss/Schneider for fifth. Behind Veldman came Brown/Cooper having something of a come-back ride and looking good.
Meanwhile, Bax/Cermak were now thirty seconds clear and taking this one by storm.
On the final lap, Wilkinson moved past Weiss with Prummer getting stuck, to make it to third on the final lap.
Result
Last Chance – There was a wealth of talent still hoping to make it through to join the automatic twenty-four, so the final six places were hard fought.
Based on one fast lap, the luck six were –
Result
