FIM Sidecar World Championship Le Mans

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No podiums today, both tomorrow after Gold race

Winners today Harry and Kevin

Photo credit Mark Walters

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Sprint race report from Mark Walters

FIM Sidecar World Championship.

Le Mans

Sprint Race.

“Payne and Rousseau in command”

There was spits of rain in the air just before the sidecar teams set off for the grid, but thankfully it did not come to anything.

First news was Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kolsch would not start the race, and have withdrawn from the rest of the championship.

As the race got under way it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who took the lead on the long drag up to the first corners, Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt were tucked in behind, Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie were next up with Sam and Tom Christie right beside them on the inside, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement were next up with Sam and Jack Laidlow next. What a move into the chicane before the “Dunlop” bridge from Ellis and Clement they moved up into second place behind Payne and Rousseau. It was disaster for Paivarinta and Christie going round the long right hand corner “La chapelle” they were to spin resulting with the Laidlow brothers nowhere to go, there was contact between the two teams leaving them out for the rest of the race, all drivers and passengers were ok.

After the action between Paivarinta/Christie, and the Laidlow brothers, this left a big gap to the rest of the field from the two leading teams, by the start of the second lap the rest of the field had time to regroup and settle down.

Payne and Rousseau were out in front but right with them was Ellis and Clement right with them, there was a fair gap to Schlosser/Schmidt who had Reeves/Wilkes right on their tail also the Christie brothers were right with Reeves/Wilkes, they made a move on the inside on the long drag up the hill to the chicane to pass Reeves/Wilkes. There was another gap then it was Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescuti fending off Ted and Vincent Peugeot, Peugeot also went for the pass up into the chicane. There was another fair gap and there was a freight train of sidecars heading up to the chicane. Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson were leading this, followed by Lennard Gottlich and Lucas Krieg, Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon, Patrick Werkstetter and Valentine Pirat, Joni and Tero Manninen, Markus Venus and Thomas Hoffer, Claude Vinet and Leane Marsal, Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek were next up after a bad start, Tristan Gadet and Adrien Blaise were fending off Cyril Vinet and Gerald Vinet, Stephane Gadet and Florian Colombin, bringing up the rear was Philippe Gallerne and Benjamin Luneau.

Half way through the race there were changes at the front, Schlosser/Schmidt had caught and passed Ellis and Clement for second, the Christie brothers were reeling in Ellis and Clement too. Reeves and Wilkes were fending off Ted and Vincent Peugeot for fifth place with Leglise and Cescuti next up, unfortunately for them they were to DNF in the next lap.

There was a great battle throughout the race between Cable/Richardson, Manninen, Venus/ Hoffer, Kirby/Salmon and a fast charging Archer/Sedlacek.

At the end of the race it was Payne and Rousseau who took the win to the delight of their team, Schlosser and Schmidt tried their hardest to catch Payne and Rousseau, but had to settle for second, they did have the fastest lap of the race though, a lap time of 1,42.921. A fair gap to the third place team of the Christie brothers who eventually caught and passed Ellis and Clement who took fourth. Reeves and Wilkes took fifth with The Peugeot’s not far behind for sixth.

Werkstetter and Pirat were out on their own and took seventh place with Gottlich and Krieg on their own too, eighth.

A good result for new team Joni and Tero Manninen they took ninth just in front of Venus/Hoffer, Cable/Richardson took eleventh just infront of Archer/ Sedlacek who had recovered well from a bad start. Kirby/Salmon took thirteenth.

The next five places were taken respectfully by Vinet/Vinet, Vinet/Marsal, Gadet/ Blaise, Gadet/Colombin, Gallerne/Luneau.

It was a good race to start the 2025 season off. The teams have it all to do again tomorrow but it will be 18 laps, starting at 11.50 local time.

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Gold race grid

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Race two

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Race two report from Mark Walters

FIM Sidecar World Championship,

Le Mans,

Race Two.

“Schlosser and Schmidt take win”

It was dry and warm as the sidecars took to the grid for the 18 lap race. There was drama as the teams lined up for the lights to go out, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau winners from yesterday’s race and pole sitters were wheeled off the line into pit lane, there was oil coming from there machine, this resulted in a start delay as track marshals were instructed to inspect the track for oil. This delay resulted that the race distance would be dropped from 18 laps to 12. Payne and Rousseau were allowed to start at the back of the grid after the delay. Unfortunately for them their machine gave up from the start, they would DNF.

It was Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt who took the lead from the beginning and they kept this until the chequred flag came out.

It was a right old tussle for the next placings at the chicane, Sam and Tom Christie were on the outside with Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie on the inside, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement were sandwiched in between, right behind was Sam and Jack Laidlow, who had worked well into the night making extensive repairs to their machine after contact with Paivarinta/Christie in yesterday’s race. Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes were getting squeezed out on the inside, but remarkably they all got through with no mishaps.

Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescuti had a good start they were just in front of Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat, then it was Ted and Vincent Peugeot. These three teams would have a good battle throughout the race.

Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek were next up, they had a better start than yesterday, but it was short lived for them as they were to retire only 5 laps in with technical problems.

Markus Venus and Thomas Hofer were next up with Joni and Tero Manninen just in front of Lennard Gottlich and Lucas Krieg, with Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson next, another good battle throughout the race between these four teams.

Claude Vinet and Leane Marsal were next up with Cyril Vinet and Gerald Vinet behind, Tristan Gadet and Adrien Blaise were right with Vinet, and it looked like a good race there but they were to DNF on lap eight.

Stephane Gadet and Florian Colombin were next with Philippe Gallerne and Benjamin Luneau at the back.

By the end of the race, Schlosser/Schmidt took the race win and the fastest lap time of 1,43.380.

Paivarinta and Christie fought hard and got past the Christie brothers to take second, with the Christie’s third, just in front of Ellis and Clement who took fourth. Reeves and Wilkes took fifth with nothing left in their tyres.

A great sixth place for the Laidlow’s who fought well with Reeves and Wilkes in the early stages of the race.

The Peugeot’s got the better of Leglise and Cescuti and Werkstetter and Pirat to take seventh, with Werkstetter and Pirat getting past Leglise and Cescuti for eighth.

Gottlich and Kreig took a good tenth, with Manninen/Manninen eleventh just in front of Venus and Hofer twelfth who were just in front of Cable and Richardson thirteenth.

Vinet/Vinet got the better of Vinet/Marsal for fourteenth, with Gadet/Colombin sixteenth and Gallerne and Luneau seventeenth.

Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon went out on lap two with a broken chain.

The Championship heads to Estoril, Portugal, next weekend for round two.

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Podium for race one

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Podium for race two

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Points