Markus Schlosser: “Working like mad, because giving up is not an option!”

During the private practice sessions at the ‘Angelo Bergamonti’ circuit in the Lombardy region of Italy, it looked as though Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg had finally resolved the problems that had plagued them throughout the season. The Swiss-German duo clocked the second-fastest time twice on the 3.768-kilometre tarmac circuit. There was cautious optimism in the Gustoil Racing Team camp.

“But if we don’t improve by a second, we’re out of the running,” Schlosser realised afterwards. As feared, disillusionment soon followed. By the time qualifying came around, any faint optimism had evaporated, having failed to get beyond fifth place. “We can’t pick up the pace with new tyres. Unlike our rivals, I’m also unable to benefit from the new rear tyre size.”

In Schlosser and Krieg’s view, both Saturday’s sprint race and Sunday’s main race were unspectacular, taking place in extremely high temperatures. In particular, the special strength of the Swiss rider – known as the ‘tyre whisperer’ for his ability to pick up the pace in the closing stages of a race – has not come to the fore this year. “Normally, I get stronger and stronger as the race goes on. Now, I’m more or less in the mix after the start, but then, for some inexplicable reason, I drop back.”

“The real challenge was simply keeping the sidecar on the track at all and getting it through the left- and right-hand bends. Every lap was hard work – not the battle against the competition, but the battle with our own sidecar,” explained Schlosser after finishing 5th and 4th. “To be honest, we’re at a loss at the moment. The way it’s performing right now, it’s barely rideable. No matter what we change or which approach we try, we can’t find the root cause of the problem.”

“Giving up is still not an option, though. We’ll carry on working, keep searching and do everything we can to find the problem, even if it seems pretty hopeless at the moment. I’m working like mad and have already taken the sidecar apart and put it back together three times. It’s a case of carrying on searching, trying things out and hoping that we’ll finally find the crucial issue and get things back on track. One thing’s for sure: it won’t be for lack of effort on our part!”

Results, Sidecar World Championship Sprint Race, Cremona, 8 August 2026

Result, Main Race, Sidecar World Championship, Cremona, 9 August 2026

World Championship standings after 8 of 12 races