Mitch Godden and Paul Smith win in Rastede for the fifth time in a row

The International Sidecar Class on the 1,000-metre-long grass track in the beautiful Rasteder Schlosspark was once again fiercely contested. Eight teams lined up at the start, with five from each team allowed onto the track per heat. The track had been very well prepared in advance by Rasteder AC and was kept in pristine condition throughout the event. As a result, dust levels were kept to a minimum despite the high summer temperatures. There were no crashes.

The top favourites were last year’s four-time winners, Mitch Godden and his passenger Paul Smith. For the two Britons, racing on this magnificent track is a labour of love. “Yes, this really is my favourite track; I love being here because everything is just right,” beamed Godden in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com after the final.

In the end, a single point proved decisive in the British pair’s victory. They had 14 points to their name at the end of the final – one more than their closest rivals, Markus Brandhofer and co-driver Bridget Meijerink, had accumulated (13). These two teams really gave as good as they got in the heats. First the British were in the lead, then the Bavarian-Dutch duo. It was wheel-to-wheel and back and forth the whole time. Nerve-wracking.

After a total of five heats, the two rival teams were level on eleven points. Behind them, Raphael San Millan and co-driver Benedikt Zapf had ten points to their name, whilst the French pair Jerome Lespinasse and Lauryna Faget had seven. They had therefore also qualified for the final, as had Ole Möller with his Dutch co-driver Imani Hazekamp (5).

Clement Furet and Gilles Couprie narrowly missed out on the final with four points. Nicole Standke and her co-driver Alex Herrmann were no longer in contention for the final after struggling with technical problems. Right in the first heat, Britain’s Simon Field and his Dutch co-driver Dennis Smit were unlucky to suffer a breakdown, after which they were unable to continue.

The final produced a surprise result. Lespinasse and Faget took the lead and held on to it right to the finish line. Godden and Smith, and Brandhofer and Meijerink, gave it their all, but could only manage second and third place respectively. However, that proved decisive for the final standings. Godden/Smit were the overall winners, with Brandhofer/Meijerink finishing second.

Furthermore, the French pair took third place on the podium, as San Millan/Zapf could only secure one point in the final and were therefore level on points with Lespinasse/Faget. In that case, the better placing in the final was the deciding factor.

Results of the Rastede grass track race for I-teams:

• 1. Mitch Godden/Paul Smith (GB), 14 points

• 2. Markus Brandhofer/Bridget Meijerink (D/NL), 13

• 3. Jérôme Lespinasse/Lauryna Faget (F), 11

• 4. Raphael San Millan/Benedikt Zapf (Germany), 11

• 5. Oliver Möller/Imani Hazekamp (Germany/Netherlands), 5

• 6. Clement Furet/Gilles Couprie (F), 4

• 7. Nicole Standke/Alex Herrmann (Germany), 1

• 8. Simon Field/Joe Page (GB), 0

• Final: 1. Lespinasse/Faget, 2. Godden/Smith, 3. Brandhofer/Meijerink, 4. San Millan/Zapf, 5. Möller/Hazekamp.

Results of the Rastede I-Solo grass track race:

• 1. Dave Meijerink (NL), 20 heat points

• 2. Kenneth Kruse Hansen (DK), 19

• 3. Andrew Appleton (GB), 24

• 4. James Shanes (GB), 18

• 5. Stephan Katt (Germany), 10

• 6. Paul Cooper (GB), 12

• 7. Chris Harris (GB), 16

• 8. Patrick Kruse (DK), 14

• 9. Glenn Moi (N), 12

• 10. William Kruit (NL), 10

• 11. Mark Beishuizen (NL), 7

• 12. Timo Wachs (Germany), 4

• 13. Niek Meijerink (NL), 1

• 14. Jeffrey Sijbesma (NL), 0

• 15. Fabian Wachs (Germany), 0

• Last-Chance Heat: 1. Harris, 2. Katt, 3. Cooper, 4. Kruse, 5. Kruit, 6. Beishuizen, 7. Moi

• Final: 1. Meijerink, 2. Kruse Hansen, 3. Appleton, 4. Shanes, 5. Katt, 6. Cooper, 7. Harris (a)