Sidecarcross world championship

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For the main article, see Sidecarcross

The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), held since 1980. The current champion for the 2007 season are Daniël Willemsen and Reto Grütter.

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2.1 History of the world championship 3 Format 4 Champions 5 Recent and current seasons 5.1 The 2006 season 5.2 The 2007 season 5.3 The 2008 season 6 Top-ten finishers in the world championship since 1995 7 External links 8 Sources 9 References

[edit] Overview

The World Championship in sidecar motocross is held annually form the European spring to autumn. The racing calendar includes races in various European countrys. The 2008 season will start with its first race on 20 April in Oss, Netherlands, consist of twelve Grand Prix and finish on 14 September 2008 in Rudersberg, Germany. This seasons calendar is considerably larger then the 2007 one which consisted of only eight races.

[edit] History

The history of international competition started with the FIM Cup in 1971, a form of an unofficial European championship, organised by the FIM. The first ever race was held on 25 April 1971 at Pernes-les-Fontaines, France.

From 1975, the competition was officially called European championship. From the 1980 season onwards, it carried the title World championship, even so, in practice, virtually all drivers and passengers are European and all races are held in Europe. In its history, there has never been a race outside Europe and majority of the races are in central Europe. The appearance of strong Latvian drivers however has taken races to the Baltic region in the last few years. As of 2007, 24 European countrys have hosted GP's, Germany holding number one spot there. Races have however also been staged at countrys with no strong sidecarcross connections, like Greece, Norway and Northern Ireland^[1].

The competitors in the world championship are mostly amateurs. Apart from racing in the world championship they also compete in their countrys domestic championship. The current world champion Willemsen also won the Dutch national championship this year. National championships are actually "open" events, non-nationals are permitted to compete, too. Sergis / Rasmanis for example also won the German championship in 1998^[2].

The highest number of championships has been won by Daniël Willemsen with six, who is also the current champion. The most successful team however is Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis with five titles together. The two missed out on a sixth title, when in 1999, they lost by only one point to Daniël Willemsen.

[edit] History of the world championship

The first edition of the world championship in 1980 saw the only German victory to date with the combination Reinhard Böhler / Siegfried Müller taking out the title. The year after, the championship went to the Netherlands with Ton van Heugten / Frits Kiggen / Sies Hurkmans. The next eight seasons, the Swiss riders triumphed. Emil Bollhalder / Karl Büsser won the championship in 1982 and 1983, both times with a narrow margin, 11 points in the first year and 28 in the second. Unlucky runner-up in the three seasons from 1981 to 1983 were the Germans Josef Brockhausen / Hubert Rebele, missing out quite narrowly and retiring in 1983 after the third attempt, as did Bollhalder, but as the world champion.

From 1984 to 1987, four titles went to Hansi Bächtold / Fritz Fuß. Again, there was no luck for the runner-up with the Dutch combination August Muller / Henk van Heek coming second in 1985, 86 and 87. In 1986, only 7 points separated winner from second place. Bächtold retired as the new record world champion in 1987.

Christoph Hüsser / Andreas Hüsser won the titles in 1988 and 1989 and continued to race after that until 1996, never coming close to another world championship again. Benny Janssen / Frans Geurts Van Kessel became the last to win one championship only when the finished on top in 1990, beating the German team Michael Garhammer / Ralf Haas by only 13 points and ending eight years of Swiss domination.

Eimbert Timmermans / Eric Verhagen from the Netherlands beat the Belgian duo Eddy Ramon / Gino Strubbe for the next two titles in 1991 and 92. After this, the world championship returned to Switzerland with Andreas Führer / Adi Käser equaling the record of four titles in a row from 1993 to 1996 and then retiring from the competition.

With Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis the 1997 championship went to Latvia for the first time. The tightest race for the championship so far saw them beat the German/Dutch team of Alois Wenninger / Henry van de Wiel by four points. The year after, they won again, this time with a twenty point gap to Daniël Willemsen / Marcel Willemsen.

In 1999, it was the thightest race ever when only one point at the end of the season separated the Willemsen brothers from the Latvian title holders. The final outcome of the season was not clear until the Willemsen brothers were cleared of having received outside assistance in the second-last race which clinched them the world title, since Artis Rasmanis had lodged a formal complaint^[3]. In 2000, Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis came back, beating Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge by 20 points, the last tight race to date. The Latvians became the new record holder after title number four and five in 2001 and 2002, Willemsen coming second all three seasons.

From 2003 to 2007, it was then the time for Daniël Willemsen to make up for lost titles and he won five in a row, becoming the most successful driver so far.

[edit] Format

Every Grand Prix weekend is split into two races, both held on the same day. This means, the 2007 season with its eight Grand Prix had sixteen races. Each race lasts for 30 minutes plus two rounds. The two races on a weekend actually get combined to determined an overall winner. While this overall winners receives no extra WC points, they usually are awarded a special trophy.

The 2007 season had 60 teams registered but not all of team raced in every event. All up, 48 of those gained competition points. The team Willemsen / Grutter dominated 2007, winning 15 out of sixteen straight, only failing in race 13 of the season when they scored no points at all.

Teams consist of a driver and a passenger, however, the drivers can and do exchange passengers during the season, often due to injury. An exchange of passenger does not affect the points a team has won up till then.

The point system for the 2007 season was as follows^[4]:

Place Points 1 25 2 22 3 20 4 18 5 16 6 15 7 14 8 13 9 12 10 11

Place Points 11 10 12 9 13 8 14 7 15 6 16 5 17 4 18 3 19 2 20 1

[edit] Champions

• FIM Cup winners 1971 to 1974

Season	Winners	Engine-Chassis
1971	Rikus Lubbers / Bart Notten / Brewers	Norton-Wasp
1972	Robert Grogg / Gerhard Martinez	Norton-Wasp
1973	Lorenz Haller / Samuel Haller	Honda-SPP
1974	Robert Grogg / Andreas Grabner	Norton-Wasp

• European Champions 1975 to 1979

Season	Winners	Engine-Chassis
1975	Ton van Heugten / Dick Steenbergen	Yamaha-Hagon
1976	Robert Grogg / Andreas Grabner / Andreas Hüsser	Norton-Wasp
1977	Robert Grogg / Andreas Hüsser	Norton-Wasp
1978	Robert Grogg / Andreas Hüsser	Norton-Wasp
1979	Emil Bollhalder / Roland Bollhalder	Yamaha-EML

• World Champions 1980 to present

Season	Winners	Engine-Chassis
1980	Reinhard Böhler / Siegfried Müller	Yamaha-Wasp
1981	Ton van Heugten / Frits Kiggen / Sies Hurkmans	Yamaha-Wasp
1982	Emil Bollhalder / Karl Büsser	Yamaha-EML
1983	Emil Bollhalder / Karl Büsser	Yamaha-EML
1984	Hansi Bächtold / Fritz Fuß	EML/Jumbo-EML
1985	Hansi Bächtold / Fritz Fuß	EML/Jumbo-EML
1986	Hansi Bächtold / Fritz Fuß	EML/Jumbo-EML
1987	Hansi Bächtold / Fritz Fuß	EML/Jumbo-EML
1988	Christoph Hüsser / Andreas Hüsser	KTM-VMC
1989	Christoph Hüsser / Andreas Hüsser	KTM-VMC
1990	Benny Janssen / Frans Geurts Van Kessel / Tiny Janssen	Honda-EML
1991	Eimbert Timmermans / Eric Verhagen	Kawasaki-EML
1992	Eimbert Timmermans / Eric Verhagen	Kawasaki-EML
1993	Andreas Führer / Adi Käser	Kawasaki-VMC
1994	Andreas Führer / Adi Käser	Kawasaki-VMC
1995	Andreas Führer / Adi Käser	Kawasaki-JHR
1996	Andreas Führer / Adi Käser	Kawasaki-JHR
1997	Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis	KTM-EML
1998	Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis	Zabel-BSU
1999	Daniël Willemsen / Marcel Willemsen	Zabel-BSU
2000	Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis / Ramon van Mill	MTH-BSU
2001	Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis / Christian Verhagen	MTH-BSU
2002	Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis	MTH-BSU
2003	Daniël Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis	Zabel-VMC
2004	Daniël Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis	Zabel-VMC
2005	Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge	Zabel-VMC
2006	Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge	Zabel-VMC
2007	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Zabel-VMC
2008

• Passengers in italics.

[edit] Recent and current seasons

[edit] The 2006 season

For main article see 2006 Sidecarcross world championship

The top twelve teams of the 2006 season were:

Position	Team	Equipment	Points	Wins	Second	Third
1	Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge	Zabel-VMC	341	13	—	—
2	Evgeny Scherbinin / Sergei Sosnovskikh	MTH-APZ	258	—	5	3
3	Marco Happich / Meinrad Schelbert *	Zabel-VMC	243	1	1	2
4	Maris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks	KTM-AYR	231	1	4	2
5	Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx	Zabel-VMC	217	—	—	1
6	Andy Burgler / Martin Betschart	KTM-VMC	211	—	2	2
7	Joris Hendrickx / Eli Piccart	KTM-AYR	180	—	—	1
8	Stuart Brown / Luke Peters	Zabel-VMC	165	—	—	1
9	Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal	Zabel-VMC	157	—	—	1
10	Marcel Willemsen / Bjorn Roes	Zabel-VMC	137	—	—	—
11	Josef Brustmann / Stefan Urich	KTM-NPH	117	1	—	—
12	Janis Daiders / Lauris Daiders	Zabel-VMC	115	—	—	—

• Equipment listed is motor and frame.
• Marko Happichs only win of the season came with Mark Watson as passenger, who raced at the German GP with him.

[edit] The 2007 season

For main article see 2007 Sidecarcross world championship

The top ten of the 2007 season were:

Position	Team	Equipment	Points	Wins	Second	Third
1	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Zabel-VMC	375	15	—	—
2	Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx	Zabel-VMC	286	—	2	7
3	Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis	KTM-Mefo	242	1	8	1
4	Andy Burgler / Martin Betschart	KTM-VMC	196	—	—	2
5	Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal	Zabel-VMC	191	—	—	—
6	Maris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks	KTM-AYR	184	—	4	1
7	Marco Happich / Meinrad Schelbert	Zabel-VMC	180	—	1	1
8	Joris Hendrickx / Eli Piccart	KTM-AYR	177	—	—	1
9	Tomas Cermak / Ondrej Cermak	JAWA-Mefo	153	—	—	—
10	Janis Daiders / Lauris Daiders	KTM-AYR	148	—	—	—

• Equipment listed is motor and frame.

[edit] The 2008 season

For main article see 2008 Sidecarcross world championship

The calendar for the 2008 season^[5]:

Date	Place	Race number	Winner Race 1	Winner Race 2	Overall GP winner
20 April	Oss	1 + 2	Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis	Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx	Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx
11 May	Jinin	3 + 4	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter
18 May	Chernivtsi	5 + 6	Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis
1 June	Cingoli	7 + 8	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter
8 June	Bourg Bruche	9 + 10	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter	Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter
13 July	Genk	11 + 12
20 July	Strassbessenbach	13 + 14
3 August	Slagelse	15 + 16
10 August	Kegums	17 + 18
17 August	Kivioli	19 + 20
7 September	Dardon Guegnon	21 + 22
14 September	Rudersberg	23 + 24
28 September	Genk *	N/A	not a championship event	not a championship event	not a championship event

• The Sidecarcross des Nations in Genk on 28 September 2008 is a non-championship event but part of the calendar.
• Only Kegums and Rudersberg have been part of the 2007 race season, all other ten courses are new compare to last season.

[edit] Top-ten finishers in the world championship since 1995

Apart from the finishes listed, most of those drivers/teams have also had finishes outside the top-ten in those years. The teams finishing in the top-ten over the last 13 seasons:

Driver	Passenger	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Daniël Willemsen	Reto Grütter													1
Daniël Willemsen	Sven Verbrugge *						2	2				1	1
Daniël Willemsen	Kaspars Stupelis									1	1
Daniël Willemsen	Alfons Eggers *								2
Daniël Willemsen	Marcel Willemsen *			3	2	1
Kristers Sergis	Artis Rasmanis		6	1	1	2	1	1	1
Kristers Sergis	Kaspars Stupelis											2		3
Kristers Sergis	Sven Verbrugge									2	7
Andreas Führer	Adi Käser	1	1
Jan Hendrickx	Tim Smeuninx *									6	9	7	5	2
Andy Burgler	Martin Betschart												6	4
Vaclav Rozehnal	Marek Rozehnal												9	5
Maris Rupeiks	Haralds Kurpnieks									9		3	4	6
Marco Happich	Meinrad Schelbert											5	3	7
Marco Happich	Thomas Weinmann										2
Marco Happich	Gerwin Wijs								5	7
Marco Happich	Sebastian Boehme						10	9
Joris Hendrickx	Eli Piccart *											8	7	8
Tomas Cermak	Ondrej Cermak													9
Janis Daiders	Lauris Daiders													10
Evgeny Scherbinin	Sergei Sosnovskikh								9		4	4	2
Stuart Brown	Luke Peters								6	5	5		8
Stuart Brown	Jason Peters											9
Marcel Willemsen	Bjorn Roes												10
Jarno van den Boomen	Henry van de Wiel											6
Werner Wittman	Premysl Novotny										8	10
Are Kaurit	Jurgen Jakk									4	3
Are Kaurit	Sven Verbrugge								4
Are Kaurit	Arvo Laksberg				6	5	7	5
Eric Schrijver	Christian Verhagen									10	6
Bertram Martin	Bruno Kaelin										10
Wilfred van Werven	Eli Piccart								3	3
Benoit Beaumont	Henry van de Wiel							10	10	8
Benoit Beaumont	Emmanuel Rostaing				8
Henrik Söderqvist	Tobias Sylwan					3	5	3	7
Aivar Korjus	Jurgen Jakk					8	9	6	8
Jacky Janssen	Wiljam Janssen	4	4	10	7	6	6	4
Klaus Weinmann	Thomas Weinmann	2	5	4	3	4	3	7
Peter Steegmans	Christian Verhagen		8	5	9	10		8
Alois Wenninger	Henry van de Wiel *		3	2	4	7	4
Francois Barat	Sebastian Bellaund						8
Gerton Kops	Gerwin Wijs					9
Gerton Kops	David Keane			8
Gerton Kops	Sies Hurkmans	7	10
Wolfgang Kühn	Jochen Zimmermann	5		9	5
Karl Fussenegger	Josef Meusburger	6		6	10
Dominik Schoch	Hans Ruedi Schläpfer			7
Martin Gölz	Hans Ruedi Stettler	3	2
Günther Goovaerts	Sven Verbrugge		7
Andreas Lenherr	Hans Ruedi Schläpfer		9
Andreas Lenherr	Reinhard Weber	10
Geert Devoldere	Gino Strubbe	8
Chris Etheridge	Gary Withers	9

• In 2005, Ludo Somers raced as passenger with Jan Hendrickx in some races.
• In 2005, Roger van de Lagemaat raced as passenger with Joris Hendrickx in some races.
• In 2002, Dagwin Sabbe raced as passenger with Daniël Willemsen in some races.
• In 2001, Premysl Novotny raced as passenger with Daniël Willemsen in some races.
• In 1999, Alco van de Ketterij raced as passenger with Alois Wenninger in some races.
• In 1997, Sven Verbrugge raced as passenger with Daniël Willemsen in some races.

[edit] External links

• The official FIM website
• Sidcarcross.de with results and dates for the 2008 season (in German)
• Website of the current world champions Team Willemsen

[edit] Sources

• The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com
• Seitenwagen-Motocross website with pictures and results (in German)
• The John Davey Grand Prix Pages - Results of all GP's up until 2005

[edit] References

1. ^ COUNTRIES WITH MOST ALLOCATIONS OF GP
2. ^ http://www.sidecarcross.de/home/home.htm Statistik/Hall Of Fame
3. ^ DECISION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DISCIPLINARY COURT OF 4 OCTOBER 1999
4. ^ Ergebnisse: World Sidecarcross Championships 2007
5. ^ 2008 SYNCHRO CALENDAR - FIM CHAMPIONSHIPS & PRIZES

v • d • e FIM Sidecarcross World championship seasons FIM Cup 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 FIM Sidecarcross European championship 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 FIM Sidecarcross World championship 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009