Werlte: Three out of five German sidecars qualify for the European Championship final

It was yet another brilliant grass-track race, watched by more than 5,000 spectators at the Hümmlingring in Werlte on Saturday evening. “And the best thing is that we had no accidents,” said Josef Hukelmann, chairman of MSC Hümmling Werlte, later expressing his delight at the successful motorsport event organised under his leadership.

The highlight of the racing evening was the European Grass-Track Sidecar Championship Challenge. The six best teams secured their places in the European Championship final in Berghaupten at the end of August through four heats, a B final and an A final. With Markus Brandhofer/Bridget Meijerink, Raphael San Millan/Benedikt Zapf, Achim Neuendorf/Johannes Schnaitter, Nicole Standke/Alex Herrmann and Ole Möller/Imani Hazekamp, no fewer than five teams holding DMSB licences were on the starting grid. Three made it through.

Markus Brandhofer and his co-driver Bridget Meijerink were outstanding

But first things first. Brandhofer and Meijerink put in a truly excellent performance on this lovely evening in the Emsland region. The Upper Bavarian at the helm and the Dutchwoman in the boat proved to be a perfectly matched pair. Not only did they win all four heats, but they also took the final A-final.

In this final race, which decided the overall standings, they struggled greatly after a somewhat weaker start to catch up with and then overtake the mixed French duo of Jérôme Lespinasse and Lauryna Faget. This race was breathtaking, but it also showed that the 541-metre-long Hümmlingring track had become increasingly easier to navigate as the evening progressed. Thanks to the track marshals.

The lads from MSC Berghaupten in a fair, friendly battle

San Millan and Zapf crossed the finish line in third place. The lads from MSC Berghaupten had already been locked in a thrilling duel with Neuendorf and Schnaitter in the fourth heat. In this brotherly and club-level duel – Raphael versus Achim – the younger of the two had come out on top at the throttle. In their final heat, however, San Millan/Zapf were left looking glum, as they were disqualified by the referee following an obstruction, resulting in a zero score.

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Neuendorf/Schnaitter had to take the detour via the B final. They won this ahead of the Danes Mike Frederiksen and Jorgen Qvistgaard, who both thus progressed to the final of six. Standke/Herrmann, who finished third in the B final, and Möller/Hazekamp, who finished fifth, were therefore not qualified for the final and, consequently, not for the European Championship final in Berghaupten.

Results of the European Challenge for pairs, Werlte (Germany):

• 1. Markus Brandhofer/Bridget Meijerink (D/NL), 20 heat points

• 2. Jerome Lespinasse/Lauryna Faget (F), 17

• 3. Raphael San Millan/Benedikt Zapf (GER), 13

• 4. Remi Valladon/Jonathan Bertrand (F), 14

• 5. Achim Neuendorf/Johannes Schnaitter (Germany), 9

• 6. Mike Frederiksen/Jorgen Qvistgaard (DK), 12

• 7. Nicole Standke/Alex Herrmann (Germany), 7

• 8. Barrie Bennett/Rowan Lucas (GB), 10

• 9. Oliver Möller/Imani Hazekamp (Germany), 9

• 10. Chris Neame/Zoe Pay (GB), 4

• 11. David Lizak/Lukas Hromadka (CZ), 3

• 12. Anthony Sarrailh/Benjamin Gregoire (F), 1

• B Final: 1. Neuendorf/Schnaitter, 2. Frederiksen/Qvistgaard, 3. Standke/Herrmann, 4. Bennett/Lucas, 5. Möller/Hazekamp, 6. Neame/Pay.

• A Final: 1. Brandhofer/Meijerink, 2. Lespinasse/Faget, 3. San Millan/Zapf, 4. Valladon/Bertrand, 5. Neuendorf/Schnaitter, 6. Frederiksen/Qvistgaard.

Solo Werlte results:

• 1. Zach Wajtknecht (GB), 23 points

• 2. Dave Meijerink (NL), 21

• 3. Jacob Bukhave (DK), 16

• 4. Romano Hummel (NL), 15

• 5. Patrick Kruse (DK), 15

• 6. Andrew Appleton (GB), 13

• 7. James Shanes (GB), 13

• 8. Paul Cooper (GB), 8

• 9. Stephan Katt (Germany), 7

• 10. Kenneth Kruse Hansen (DK), 5

• 11. William Kruit (NL), 4

• 12. Timo Wachs (Germany), 3

• 13. Daniel Spiller (Germany), 2

• 14. Fabian Wachs (Germany), 1

Handicap race for the Super Cup:

• 1. Dave Meijerink

• 2. Jacob Bukhave

• 3. Marcel Sebastian (B licence)

• 4. Marlon Hegener (B licence)

• 5. Louis Tebbe (B licence)

• 6. Zach Wajtknecht (d)