FIM World Sidecar Championship Assen 15/16/17 August

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FIM World Sidecar Championship

Sunday live stream

https://www.youtube.com/live/Q1f5JaANZI ... twqEN45vtF

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Saturday live stream

https://www.youtube.com/live/R__4OSQfO_ ... rhVSUw8S-5

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Timetable

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Live timing

https://livetiming.raceresults.de/#/index

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Preview from Mark Walters

Will Assen break the deadlock in 2025 FIM Sidecar World Championship?

Following a break of almost two months, the 2025 FIM Sidecar World Championship resumes this coming weekend (16-17 August) with round five at the world-famous TT Circuit Assen – better known to its fans around the world as the Cathedral of Speed – in the Netherlands.


The first of two scheduled visits this season to the iconic circuit that has staged top-flight racing since 1955, the TT Circuit Assen is ideally suited to Sidecar racing and has featured on the FIM Sidecar World Championship every year the series has been staged since 2013.

With the seven-round series now past the halfway mark, it could not be any tighter at the top of the standings where, after a dramatic fourth round at Most in the Czech Republic in June, Markus Schlosser (Yamaha) and Luca Schmidt are tied on points with British brothers Sam and Thomas Christie (Yamaha) while defending champions Harrison Payne (Yamaha) and Kevin Rousseau are just three points further back.

An incredibly intense start to the season had seen the advantage swing between Schlosser/Schmidt and Britain’s Payne and his French passenger Rousseau before the reigning champions appeared to take command with a dominant victory – their fifth of the season – in Most’s Sprint race.

However, a mechanical issue while leading during the early stages of the following day’s Main race resulted in Payne/Rousseau failing to finish for the second time this year and when Schlosser/Schmidt took full advantage with their third race win of the season, the Swiss/German pairing moved to the top of the points table alongside the British brothers who were third in 2024.

Consistency has proved key so far for the Christie brothers who have yet to win a race this season, but have a one-hundred per cent podium record with five second-placed finishes and three thirds, although they know that victories could prove to be essential if they are to upgrade their bronze medals to gold ones at the end of the year.

While the leading three crews have monopolised most of this year’s podiums, there is so much strength in depth in the chasing pack that no-one can afford to rest on their laurels and there is no shortage of rival crews lining up behind them.

Although a distant fourth in the standings, sixty-nine points behind the leaders, Finnish legend and five-time champion rider Pekka Päivärinta (Yamaha) and his British passenger Adam Christie – the third of the Christie brothers in action this weekend – lead the chasing pack.

The French pairing of Paul Leglise (Yamaha) and Marjorie Cescutti recorded their debut podium together in Most’s Main race and will be aiming to carry this momentum into Assen and although they are not enjoying the greatest of seasons, the British/French pairing of Todd Ellis (Yamaha) and Emanuelle Clement took back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 and must be considered contenders.

Other crews that could be in contention include the all-British pairing of Kevin Cable (Yamaha) and Charlie Richardson, British rider Rupert Archer (Yamaha) and his Czech passenger Ondřej Sedláček and Germany’s Markus Venus (Yamaha) and his Swiss passenger Thomas Hofer.

The points-scoring action from Assen is due to get under way on Saturday (16 August) with the nine-lap Sprint race at 16:20 (local time) with the sixteen-lap Main race scheduled for Sunday (17 August) at 15:30 (local time).

#FIM | #FIMfamily | #FIMSideCar | #Assen

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Qualifying one

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Qualifying one report from Mark Walters

Assen,

Qualifying one.

“Payne and Rousseau set the pace”

Temperatures were still high but there was a little cloud in the sky for Q1 in Assen for the sidecar teams.

Despite having to change an engine between free practice and Q1, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau topped the time sheets setting the bench mark for Q2 tomorrow. They did however have a slight problem in Q1, they had a small oil leak but this did not cause any problems for them. This will be an easy fix for the team. Their time was 1;45.180.

Sam and Tom Christie had a good Q1, they did not have any problems and were happy with what they did, and their time was 1:45.643. They will see how things pan out in Q2 tomorrow, if they need to go faster they will be conservative with their tyres, but overall they are happy.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie are happy with what they have done today, they have had some new parts for their machine and they think these have helped with their lap times. They set a time of 1:45.653.

The fourth fastest time went to Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt, this was a 1:46.452. The team are not so happy with this, they made changes to their machine, but they think they may need to go back to the setting they had before, they will work on this.

Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement set the fifth fastest time; this was a 1:47.926. They have been doing work on their machine over the past weeks trying to improve it, things are getting there, they are starting to see the hard work paying off and they are starting to get back with the leading group, but they say they still have work to do.

Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti set the sixth fastest time, a 1:48.703. They are reasonably happy with this; they had no problems with their machine, and are looking for a better time in Q2 tomorrow.

Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg, are having some mapping problems with their machine, but despite this they set a time of 1:48.921. They will be looking to work on this before Q2 tomorrow, otherwise their machine is all good.

Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat have not had any problems with their machine and are getting back to full fitness after injuries sustained earlier in the season, they set a time of 1:49.266, good for eighth.

Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek are not so happy with their ninth place time of 1:49.996. They say they are over 1 second slower than their time from last year. They will be looking into this and will see what they can do tomorrow in Q2.

Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon set a time of 1:52.044. They have not had any problems with their machine, and it is Kirby’s first time here so he hopes for more laps and getting their lap time down.

Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson set a time of 1:52.439, they are hoping to better this in Q2 tomorrow, they are checking over their machine for this, but they too have had no problems with their machine.

Wiggert Kranenburg and Kevin Kolsch set a time of 1:52.726. They are reasonably happy with this and with more track time they will go faster, their machine is all good to go.

Raymond and Calvin Leidekkers are happy with what they have done so far, they are getting used to a new machine and this is the first time they have raced at this level, they hope they can improve tomorrow.

Joni and Tero manninen are having a nightmare day, they did not set a time as they have electrical problems with their machine, they are trying to solve this problem, and hope they will get going tomorrow.

Qualifying 2 will be at 11.40 tomorrow local time.

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Qualifying two

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Qualifying report from Mark Walters

“Payne and Rousseau start from pole position”

Conditions were good, slight cloud cover but still warm for the sidecar teams.

Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau will start from pole position; they did not improve their lap time in Q2. The team spent a fair bit of time in pit lane keeping a check on the lap times from the other teams.

Sam and Tom Christie went slightly faster in Q2; they will start second on the grid alongside Payne and Rousseau.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie are really happy with their third place on the grid; they too spent time in pit lane checking times of the other teams.

Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt were hoping for a better time in Q2, but this did not happen, the team are disappointed with this, but they will see how things go in the race.

Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement had a lot to do in Q2. They were disqualified from Q1 yesterday for a tyre infringement, so they had it all to do again. They will start from fifth place on the grid.

Joni and Tero Manninen did not set any times yesterday due to electrical problems. They rectified this problem, and are happy to be racing today.

Most teams did improve their lap times in Q2, but were holding back conserving tyres for the race, which will start at 16.20 local time.

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Combined qualifying

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Race one

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Race one report from Mark Walters

Assen,

Race one,

“Payne and Rousseau Take Win”

The sun was out and a light breeze for the 9 lap sprint race in Assen as the sidecar teams lined up on the grid.

The lights went out and straight away it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who took the lead from Sam and Tom Christie, Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie were right on the tail of the Christie brothers, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement were tussling with Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti for position, there was a very small gap, then it was anyone’s guess who would come out in front after the first corner, eight teams going for it.

By the end of lap one and all teams had settled down a bit, Payne and Rousseau led from the Christie brothers from Paivarinta and Christie, Leglise and Cescutti were in fourth just in front of Ellis and Clement, Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt were in sixth spot with Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat seventh. Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg slotted into eighth, Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek were next up with Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon, they were fending off Joni and Tero Manninen, Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson were next up just in front of Wiggert Kranenburg and Kevin Kolsch, Raymond and Calvin Leijdekkers were at the back.

Lap two, Ellis and Clement took fourth place from Leglise and Cescutti.

Mid race, Schlosser and Schmidt were on the move, they were catching Leglise/Cescutti. Streuer and Vissenberg had settled down to a steady pace in seventh place. There were good battles going on behind them between Werkstetter/Pirat, Archer/Sedlacek, Manninen, Kirby/Salmon, Cable/Richardson, Kranenburg/Kolsch. Leijdekkers were steady at the back, but driver Raymond was having problems with his gear change.

Lap seven saw leaders Payne and Rousseau coming into the last chicane and the Christie brothers were closing fast, the two teams made contact, leaving Payne and Rousseau taking a very tight line into the corner, unfortunately the Christie brothers ran way out wide nearly spinning their machine, but they managed to hold it, it was enough time for Paivarinta and Christie to nip past into second place, the Christie brothers managed to regroup back in third giving chase to Paivarinta and Christie.

Schlosser and Schmidt had made up a place too; they had passed Leglise/Cescutti for fifth and giving chase to Ellis and Clement.

The battle between Kirby/Salmon and Manninen had gone in favour of Manninen after Kirby/Salmon made a small mistake dropping them one place.

By the end of the race it was a relived Payne and Rousseau who took the race win from Paivarinta and Christie by 0.957. They also had the fastest lap of the race a time of 1:45.948. The Christie brothers held onto third despite their near spin, and sustaining damage to their fairing and exhaust.

Schlosser and Schmidt passed Ellis and Clement on the last lap for fourth place.

Leglise and Cescutti took sixth place to the delight of all the team.

It turned out a lonely race for Streuer and Vissenberg but they held onto seventh place to the delight of passenger Vissenberg this was her first world championship race.

Werkstetter and Pirat held off Archer and Sedlacek for eighth place, who were happy with this result.

Manninen held onto tenth place in front of Kirby and Salmon, both teams were happy with how the race went for them.

A last lap pass by Kranenburg and Kolsch saw them take twelth place from Cable and Richardson, both these teams are making adjustments to their machines before tomorrow’s race.

Leijdekkers took the final place, fourteenth, they are happy with this as it is their first world championship race with this machine, and despite their problem with changing gear.

A lot of teams are making adjustments to their machines before tomorrow’s 16 lap race which will start at 15.30 local time.

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Gold race

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FIM Sidecar World Championship

Points update after Gold race from Assen

Harry Kevin 195

Sam Tom 184

Team Schlosser 174

Pekka Adam 115

Penultimate round back in Assen with BSB 19-21 September

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Race two report from Mark Walters

“Two in a row for Payne and Rousseau”

It was overcast but warm for the start of the 16 lap race in Assen for the sidecar teams.

The lights went out, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau got the perfect start they wanted, they were followed by Sam and Tom Christie who had Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie right with them. Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti had the inside line from Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement, Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt nipped up the inside of Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat, Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg were on the inside of Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek, there was a small gap then it was Joni and Tero Manninen, next up was Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson who were just in front of Paul Kirby and Ema Salmon who were in front of Wiggert Kranenburg and Kevin Kolsch with Raymond and Calvin Leijdekkers bringing up the rear.

Lap two saw Cable and Richardson pull off when their gearbox sprocket stripped the shaft. A change for the lead too, the Christie brothers had passed Payne and Rousseau, Kirby and Salmon had also passed Manninen.

Paivarinta and Christie passed Payne and Rousseau on lap 3 for the second place, also Streuer and Vissenberg passed Archer and Sedlacek, moving them up to eighth.

The top three teams were holding place, but Schlosser and Schmidt were on the move, they had caught and passed Ellis and Clement on lap 5 for fourth place, they gave chase to the leading three teams pulling Ellis and Clement along with them, but Schlosser and Schmidt’s pace was starting to get to great for Ellis and Clement who started to fall back a little. This lap was not good for Leglise and Cescutti, they had a rear upright break putting them out of the race.

Half distance, the top five teams were holding their places, but still Schlosser and Schmidt were reeling in the leading three teams slowly but surely. Streuer and Vissenberg had their engine expire on lap 9, DNF for them.

Getting to the final stages of the race, Payne and Rousseau had repassed the Christie brothers for the lead on lap fourteen; there was also a change for sixth, Werkstetter and Pirat DNF when their chain jumped from the rear sprocket letting Archer and Sedlacek take the place, also moving everyone else up one spot.

As the race came to an end it was anyone’s guess who would win, Schlosser/Schmidt had caught the leading three teams, these four teams were putting a show on for the spectators, close, close racing.

At the chequred flag it was Payne and Rousseau who took the win from the Christie brothers, with Paivarinta and Christie third, Schlosser and Schmidt took fourth, and it was so close you could have covered the four teams with the chequred flag! Schlosser and Schmidt had the fastest lap of the race a time of 1:45.232.

Ellis and Clement took a good fifth place with Archer and Sedlacek sixth, Kirby and Salmon were delighted with their seventh place, Manninen also really pleased with eighth having lost out on lap time earlier in the weekend. Kranenburg and Kolsch also pleased with their ninth place.

Albeit one lap down the Leijdekkers took a fine tenth place, they are pleased with this result.

The next round will be back here in Assen next month supporting the BSB championship.