Patrick Werkstetter: The knee is holding up; nothing stands in the way of a World Championship comeback

With multiple International German Champion Josef Sattler as his team manager and mentor, Patrick Werkstetter quickly became Germany’s hottest prospect in sidecar racing. Last year, the young Bavarian was locked in fierce wheel-to-wheel battles with five-time world champion Pekka Päivärinta at the season finale in Oschersleben. In the first race, even the eventual world champion, Sam Christie, came off second best.

It seemed, then, that nothing stood in the way of a successful 2026 racing season. But then came the fateful skiing trip in January, which resulted in a cruciate ligament tear and an operation. Werkstetter left no stone unturned in his efforts to get back on his feet quickly, as he was determined to return to the racing circuit as soon as possible. However, whilst working as a bricklayer, his knee could not withstand the strain, making a second operation unavoidable.

The second cruciate ligament tear and the subsequent lengthy rehabilitation took up a great deal of time; half of the twelve World Championship races have already been completed. His hope of finishing the World Championship in the top six – or even higher – as he did last year is no longer a realistic prospect. Following the serious injury – on the advice of his doctors, he even had to change careers – the priority now is to get back to his former form as quickly as possible.

“To make things a bit more comfortable for Patrick in the sidecar, we’ve used the long break to extend the chassis by a few centimetres. With the ARS, that’s easily done without any major problems. We didn’t even have to adjust the fairing,” revealed the resourceful team boss from Triftern in Bavaria in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “Now he has more space and the adjusted position is better for his knee.”

Nach der langen Pause benötigt Werkstetter Hilfe von Pirat

Foto: Helmut Ohner

To put the battered knee through its paces ahead of a comeback, a three-day test was hastily arranged at the Pannonia-Ring, where there are benchmark figures from last year’s World Championship races. Even his passenger, Valentin Pirat, was flown in specially from France for the occasion. After just a few laps, it was clear that his knee was holding up and that the lap times were impressive given the long break.

Ahead of their World Championship comeback in Cremona, Italy (7–9 August), Werkstetter and Pirat will undergo one final performance test at the Red Bull Ring in early August as part of the Rupert Hollaus Race in the International Sidecar Trophy. By then at the latest, Sattler Motorsport will be able to assess whether the German-French duo is already in a position to compete once again amongst the fast teams.