FIM World Sidecar Championship round six Donington Park

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Timetable

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Live timing

https://livedatasbk.perugiatiming.com/

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Practice

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Qualifying one

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Qualifying two

Todd and Manny under lap record

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Combined qualifying

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Race one start grid

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Race one

New lap record Kershaw/Charlwood

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Race One Podium, Donington Park.

First place, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement.

Second Place, Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries.

Third Place, Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood.

Photo credit Mark Walters

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Race report from Wally

“Home win for Ellis and Clement”

It was hot! Temperatures in the high twenties, a massive crowd stayed on to watch the first 18 lap race for the FIM Sidecar World Championship.

It might have been a depleted field, but what a show the sidecar teams put on for the spectators.

As the lights went out it was Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries who got the drive from the line with Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement right with them, but going into the first corner Ellis and Clement got the better of Schlosser and Fries and took the lead. Harry Payne and Mark Wilkes were next up with the Christie Brothers Sam and Tom right with them. The Christie boys were certainly on the pipe as they drew up alongside Kershaw and Charlwood on the outside and the two teams could not be separated heading down towards “Craner Curves”. Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch were right in the wheel tracks of Kershaw/Charlwood and Christie/Christie. Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were next with Rob Biggs and Jake Lowther sticking with them. Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson were side by side with Rupert Archer and Steve Thomas, with Pierre Leguen and Leopold Rouby next.

Next time round Ellis/Clement led Schlosser/Fries with the Christie Brothers third, Kershaw and Charlwood had the better of Payne and Wilkes in fourth and fifth place, Streuer and Kolsch were sixth.
The top three teams settled down and Ellis and Clement were starting to make a small gap on Schlosser and Fries, who were also making a gap on Kershaw and Charlwood, but this was all to tighten up pretty quick. But still Ellis and Clement were trying to make a break for it. Payne and Wilkes by now had slotted into fourth place with the Christie Brothers next, but again there was nothing in it. Streuer and Kolsch were now locked in battle with Wyssen and Hofer and this was to be a good battle with the two teams swapping places often. Biggs and Lowther were on their own, but they were setting good lap times. Another great battle was going on at the back between Cable/Richardson and Archer/Thomas; again these two teams were swapping places often. Leguen and Rouby were on their own at the back.

At the front the battle raged on with none of the top three teams getting away, they were all evenly matched and as the laps counted down it looked like any one of the three could take the win, the pace was hot.

Payne and Wilkes were in a safe fourth but starting to fall back from the leading three. The Christie Brothers in turn were in a good safe fifth place.

The Wyssen/Hofer, Streuer/Kolsch battle raged on but Wyssen/Hofer were increasingly under pressure from Streuer/Kolsch and it was inevitable that Streuer/Kolsch would pass, but could they make a gap and get away, the answer was yes, a couple of small mistakes from Wyssen/Hofer broke the tow from Streuer/Kolsch and they started to make a gap.

Biggs and Lowther were in a safe eighth but they were starting to slow slightly, there was nothing visible for the team to slow, but they soldered on.

Lap 15 of the race saw Archer and Thomas retire from the race, leaving Cable and Richardson in a safe ninth place, with Leguen and Robuy tenth.

At the end of the race it looked like Schlosser and Fries could make a challenge for the lead and possibly the race win, but Ellis and Clement had everything under control. The team were delighted with their race win and extended their points in the championship. They had no problems throughout the race and will be going for another win in tomorrow’s race. Schlosser and Fries took second place just in front of third place team of Kershaw and Charlwood. All three teams were congratulating each and other on the slowing down lap and waving to the crowd who had just watched a great race. Kershaw and Charlwood were credited with the fastest lap and new lap record, a time of 1:36.282, the team were delighted with this.

Payne and Wilkes took fourth place, driver Payne was suffering from leg cramps, this was the reason for the team falling back on the leaders. This has happened before, so the team is looking into making adjustments, and try to solve this problem.

A great fifth place for the Christie Brothers Sam and Tom, they really enjoyed the race especially mixing it with top teams at the beginning of the race, they are looking forward to tomorrow’s race.

Streuer and Kolsch took a hard fought sixth place, the team were reasonably happy with this, but their machine is suffering from front end handling problems. And they were not so happy with how their engine was performing.

Wyssen and Hofer took seventh place, the team are very happy with this and they enjoyed their battle with Streuer and Kolsch. They had no machine problems and hope for another good day tomorrow.

Biggs and Lowther took eighth, the team had mixed reactions to this result, passenger Lowther really enjoyed his race, but driver Biggs was not so happy, he had big problems with the seating within the fairing of his machine, giving him problems braking and changing gear.
After all their problems at the beginning of the weekend, a great result for Cable and Richardson, they took ninth place. However driver Cable was suffering towards the end of the race, with the team trying to find the problem that plagued them earlier, there was a lot of things getting moved about with their machine, and they were not getting placed in the exact place as before, this was a problem for Cable, but none the less they enjoyed the race.

Tenth place went to Leguen and Robuy, they were happy with this, they had no problems with their machine, but the team were a little nervous when the blue flags were getting waved as the faster teams were bearing down on them as they did not want to interfere or obstruct with their battle. But they enjoyed the race and are looking forward to the race tomorrow.

The second 18 lap race will start at 15.15 local time.

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Race two

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Race two Donington Park podium.

First place, Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood.

Second place, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement.

Third place, Harry Payne and Mark Wilkes.

Photo credit Mark Walters

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Race two report

“Kershaw and Charlwood victorious at home”

Once again it was very hot at Donington Park, a bit overcast and a fair breeze blowing.

News just before race two was that 2000 pounds had been pledged to the race winner by Sommai Nantakoon from “DAO” racing, this was done as the sidecar teams set off on their warm up lap, so none of the teams knew about this until the end of the race, what a great prize.

As the lights went out it was Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries who once again got the run from the start followed by Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement, Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood got a better start than yesterday, they slotted into third. Harry Payne and Mark Wilkes were next up running on the outside of Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch in fifth place. Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were on the inside of Sam and Tom Christie who were way out on the outside of the track. Rob Biggs and Jake Lowther were in eighth place with Rupert Archer and Steve Thomas in ninth. Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson were in tenth with Pierre Leguen and Leopold Rouby in eleventh.

Cruel luck once again hit Streuer and Kolsch, passenger Kolsch fell from the outfit at the “Melbournn Hairpin” Kolsch remounted the machine but Streuer pulled into pit lane, he had seen the Kolsch had been injured and blood was visible from his arm, Streuer decided it was best not to continue.

Lap two saw a big change in the top four teams. Schlosser and Fries were relegated down to fourth, Payne and Wilkes had passed Kershaw and Charlwood for second place, and then they had a great run into the first corner and made a pass on Ellis and Clement for the lead. This was to last for a couple of laps, then Ellis and Clement took the lead once again but they pulled along Kershaw and Charlwood with them, this put Payne and Wilkes back to third. Schlosser and Fries were holding fourth but did not look happy; they were falling away from the leading three teams.

It was turning out to be a lonely race for the Christie Brothers in fifth, Biggs and Lowther in sixth, Wyssen and Hofer seventh, Archer and Thomas eighth, Cable and Richardson ninth, and Leguen/Rouby tenth.

Lap eight saw Biggs and Lowther pull into pit lane with the same problem as they had yesterday, their seat in the fairing was flexing far too much for them to continue.

Lap nine, Archer and Thomas pulled into pit lane with rear grip problems; they did not rejoin the race.

At the front the battle was raging on but Ellis and Clement with Kershaw and Charlwood had started to make a small gap on Payne and Wilkes in third. Schlosser and Fries were falling even further back in fourth place, it was the end for them on lap twelve, they pulled into pit lane, with both Schlosser and Fries getting off their machine and going straight to the back of the machine to investigate to what the problem could be. They were suffering from a severe vibration from the back but were not sure what the cause was, they headed back to their pit garage.

Again like yesterday, the spectators were getting their money’s worth, Ellis and Clement were in a great battle with Kershaw and Charlwood, the two teams were passing each and other at every opportunity they could. In the end though it was Kershaw and Charlwood who made the pass that would stick, it was close though, any mistake by them and Ellis and Clement would be back in the lead. This was not to be; Kershaw and Charlwood held onto the lead and took the chequred flag for the win, the team were extatic, so pleased with this result. Ellis and Clement took second, only 0.305 behind Kershaw and Charlwood, They too were happy with this, the two teams had a great race and congratulations were all round. Payne and Wilkes took a great third place and were credited with the fastest lap of the race a time of 1:36.341. They now are hoping to get driver, Payne, leg problem sorted before their next outing.

A great fourth place for the Christie Brothers, they had no problems with their machine, but it was a lonely race for them, but a great result for the team, another solid weekend for them.

Like the Christie boys, Wyssen and Hofer had a lonely race, but another good weekend for them they took fifth place. The team are really happy with this. Wyssen did have a slight problem during the race though, he had a stone come into the kneeler tray where his knee was positioned and could not get rid of it, and it made gear changing very sore.

After all the problems Cable and Richardson had at the beginning of the weekend it turned out not too bad for the team. Another good result, they took sixth place. The team are heading home very happy with this.

Luguen and Rouby took a good seventh place, the team are really pleased how their weekend has gone, no machine problems, the first time at Donington Park and their first year racing at this level, all good experience for the team.

The next race weekend for the world sidecars will be in Oschersleben Germany 30th September.

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Points update from John Newton

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Only two DNFs out of all the top 4 teams so far, that's impressive!