Werkstetter/Pirat in Cremona: World Championship comeback with mixed feelings

As the teams in the Sidecar World Championship were competing for the first time on the circuit named after Angelo Bergamonti, the MV Agusta works rider who died in a crash in 1971, they were given the opportunity to take part in two additional practice sessions familiarise themselves with the 3.768-kilometre circuit and find the optimal set-up for the suspension and gear ratios.

After the first session, Patrick Werkstetter – who had been battling for months to make his comeback following a knee injury – and his passenger Valentin Pirat were fourth behind Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau, Ted Peugeot/Vincent Peugeot and Sam Christie/Tom Christie, picking up exactly where they’d left off at the 2025 World Championship finale in Oschersleben.

The German-French duo proved the following day that this result was no fluke, finishing sixth in the second private practice session. And the Sattler Motorsport/Bonovo Action team continued in the same vein in the first free practice session. They opted not to take part in the second free practice session in the sweltering heat to spare both riders and equipment.

Ironically, it was during qualifying that things did not go to plan for last year’s sixth-placed World Championship finishers. Tenth on the grid was not to their liking. The heat took its toll on the pair and they were well off their times from the previous practice sessions. “We hope to have everything back under control by the race – then it’s time to go on the attack,” was their motto afterwards.

Luck and bad luck go hand in hand in motor racing

In Saturday’s sprint race, everything ran like clockwork for them again and, from their perspective, things happened in quick succession. One rival after another was powerless to stop their forward momentum. Already in eighth place at the halfway point of the 12-lap race, they managed to make up two more places before the finish.

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The job was done; Sunday would be time for the free programme. She managed to shake off two rivals as early as the opening lap, and by the first third of the 18-lap race, she had also overtaken world champion Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg – with whom she’d been locked in a wheel-to-wheel-to-wheel duel on equal terms for several laps, had been pushed back to seventh position.

Just as everything seemed to be under control, reality set in. Werkstetter/Pirat were let down by technical issues. “The oil pressure dropped suddenly; seven seconds later, the engine seized up,” revealed team boss Josef Sattler. “We don’t yet know why it happened. It might perhaps be down to the fuel foam, which is slowly dissipating.”

Instead of securing further valuable points for the World Championship, they were forced to retire from the race just a few laps before the chequered flag. “The retirement is obviously frustrating, but that’s racing. We’re definitely taking the positives from Cremona with us, though. Patrick and Valentin haven’t lost their touch during the long break and are in excellent form.”

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

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

Standings after 8 of 12 races