The Place

FIM Sidecar World Championship.
Pannonia Ring, Hungary.
Sprint Race Report.
“Birchall back on Top Spot”
Remse Racing had been working flat out trying to get their machine ready for the 9 lap sprint race. They were having mechanical problems. They changed an engine between qualifying sessions earlier in the day. But they still had a problem after doing this. The pit gate had closed for the “Sprint Race”. All the team needed was another five minutes, and they would have been on the grid for the race, but it was not to be. They would not start the race. A big blow to the team, after so much hard work.
The temperature was still way up in the thirties even at six pm in the evening. It was still going to be a hard race albeit only 9 laps.
As the lights went out it was The Birchall Brothers who got the whole shot into the first series of corners, next up was Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes, with Pekka Paivarinta and Jussi Veravainen on the back wheel of Reeves and Wilkes. There was a small gap, and then it was Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries, they were fending off a fast starting Sam and Adam Christie, who in turn were fending off Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert. Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau were on the tail of Sattler and Neubert, but Streuer and Rousseau had Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer bearing down on them. Kees Endeveld and Jeroen Remme had a fast starting Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement giving it their all to get by. Next up was Jakob Rutz and Bjorn Bosch. Rupert Archer and Stephen Thomas had made a blistering start off the line, the team made up four places into the first corner; however they were to get swamped by these teams they had passed into the second corner. Archer and Thomas lost all the momentum they had and ended up trailing at the back of the field.
At the front the battle was starting to hot up, Reeves and Wilkes managed to get by the Birchall Brothers with Pavarinta and Veravainen slotting into and keeping a nice safe third place. There was a noticeable gap starting to appear between Paivarinta/Veravainen and the fourth place team of Schlosser and Fries, who intern were starting to make a gap on Sattler and Neubert who had managed to pass the Christie Brothers. Streuer and Rousseau were starting to get the hurry up on and started pushing the Christie Brothers, but the Christie’s were well up for this, this was to turn out to be a great battle between the two teams
Wyssen and Hofer were not sure how far they could push their machine, they were not fully convinced that their machine was mechanically okay to push fully at one hundred percent, but they were still managing to fend off Leglise and Clement.
Endeveld and Remme settled down to what was to be a lonely race for the team. But they were to stay out of trouble and were to finish the race in tenth place.
Rutz/Bosch and Archer/Thomas were to have their own battle, but Archer never really recovered from the second corner sacking. He did manage to get back up to Rutz/Bosch though, but there were just not enough laps for him to get by. Rutz/Bosch were to take eleventh place with Archer/Thomas twelfth
By the end of the race the Birchall Brothers were starting to put Reeves and Wilkes under a lot of pressure. The two teams were fighting hard to keep their place in the race. But like so many races in the past, the Birchall Brothers were better in certain parts of the circuit and then Reeves and Wilkes would have the upper hand. However after some cracking overtake maneuvers, it was the Birchall Brothers, Ben and Tom who would take the race win from Reeves and Wilkes, the gap was only 0.336 between the two teams. Reeves and Wilkes were credited with the best lap time of the race, a time of 1:59,352
Pekka Paivarinta and Jussi Veravainen were to take a safe third place the team were happy with this, but driver Paivarinta felt that his machine was a bit down on power.
Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries were to take a safe fourth place. The team were happy with this considering the problems they encountered earlier in the day.
A delighted Sam and Adam Christie took a great fifth place. They fought hard for this throughout the race with Streuer and Rousseau. And they eventually passed the sixth place team of Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert, who in the final stages of the race were having gearbox problems. Despite this problem with the gearbox, overall the team are delighted with this result.
Streuer and Rousseau were starting to have a small problem with their machine, a bit like Paivarinta and Veravainen. They felt that they were not getting the full power they had at the beginning.
Wyssen and Hofer were surprised, but pleased to take eighth place, just in front of the ninth place team of Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement, who also were pleased with this result.
Tomorrow there will be a 15 lap “Gold Race” starting at 12:50 local time. Temperatures will be high, so it will be a hard race for the teams.

FIM Sidecar World Championship.
Pannonia Ring, Hungary.
Gold Race Report.

“Reeves and Wilkes take Gold”
The heat was intense, but there was a small breeze, so this would be good for the sidecar teams as they lined up on the grid for the 15 lap “Gold Race” at the “Pannonia Ring” Hungary.
As the lights went out, Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes led the rest of the field the first sequence of corners. To his left was Ben and Tom Birchall in second, to his right in third was Pekka Paivarinta and Jussi Veravainen, right behind was Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert in fourth. Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries were just to the side of Sattler and Neubert in fifth. Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau were way out on the inside of the circuit in sixth spot just in front of Sam and Adam Christie. Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were tucked in behind Sattler and Neubert in eighth. Kees Endeveld and Jeroen Remme were in ninth place just in front of Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement. Jakob Rutz and Bjorn Bosch were in front of Rupert Archer and Stephen Thomas, with Janez Remse and Manfred Wechselberger bringing up the rear.
During the early stages of the race the front three teams were doing a bit of josseling about. Paivarinta and Veravainen took the lead from Reeves and Wilkes with the Birchall Brothers down to third. A few laps later, Reeves and Wilkes were back in front followed by the Birchall Brothers, then Paivarinta and Veravainen in third. However, these teams knew that tyre life was going to be a big factor in the race. So maybe there was a bit of tactics playing a part here.
Lap seven of the race saw Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries up to fourth place, Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert had pulled out for a DNF. They had mechanical problems, a reacurance of their gearbox problems from yesterday. Schlosser and Fries were to keep this position through out the race. A lonely race for them.
Like yesterdays “Sprint Race” Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau were locked in a battle with Sam and Adam Christie. This battle would last the distance of the race but it was Streuer and Rousseau who were having the upper hand over the Christie Brothers.
Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were to have a lonely race in seventh, just like their fellow countrymen Schlosser and Fries in fourth.
Rupert Archer and Stephen Thomas were having problems with their machine from lap five, the team tried to nurse their machine along, but the problem was to get worse and the had to DNF on lap seven.
Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement were to have a steady race, but towards the end of the race they were having some issues with fuel, but they managed the situation pretty well.
There was to be a good tussle between Janez Remse and Manfred Wechselberger and Kees Endeveld and Jeroen Remme through out the race. This was good for Endeveld/Remme, they enjoyed racing with Remse/Wechselberger, not like the lonely race they had yesterday. However, Remse/Wechselberger were to have some small mechanical problems towards the end of the race which slowed them, letting Endeveld/Remme pass and take ninth place at the end of the race, Remse/Wechselberger took tenth. They were happy, just to get a race and finish after the problems they had throughout the weekend.
Jakob Rutz and Bjorn Bosch finished the race in eleventh place but they were one lap down.
By the end of the race, Reeves and Wilkes were stamping their authourity on the race. They were pulling away from the Birchall Brothers, who inturn were making a good gap between themselves and Paivarinta and Veravainen. It was clear that Paivarinta and Veravainen were having handeling issues with tyre grip, they were in a safe third place, but it was a hard race for the team.
A delighted Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes fought hard for the race win, and again were credited with the fastest time in the race, a 2:00,723.
Ben and Tom Birchall took second place, they were happy with the result. They just could not stay with Reeves and Wilkes today. But they are looking forward to the next round in Oschersleben, Germany.
Paivarinta and Veravainen took a good third place albeit a hard third. They also are looking forward to Oschersleben.
Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries had a lonely race, but fourth place was a great result for the team, they had a lot of work to do to their machine over the weekend.
Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau won the battle between themselves and the Christie Brothers. They took fifth place, but the team think maybe they have a problem with their machine, they feel it is down on power.
Sam and Adam Christie were delighted with their sixth place. They have had some good battles with Streuer and Rousseau over the weekend, just what the team needed.
Wyssen and Hofer had a hard weekend, working on their machine, and not knowing if they could go full gas. But they are happy with their seventh place in the race.
Eighth place went to Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement. They managed to get their machine over the line in the end. They were happy to finish, and get the result.
The next round will be at Oschersleben, Germany, in three weeks time. There will be two races there too, so lots of championship points to be had.