Peter/Zimmermann on course for the title – heated discussions in Dolle

Up until now, both the teams and I, as a reporter, had regarded the motocross event in Dolle as a professionally organised affair. This time, however, things seemed to have gone a bit awry in a number of respects around the sand track north of Magdeburg – to put it bluntly. It started with the fact that there apparently weren’t enough marshals on duty for the car park, so that some spectators who’d travelled by car sneaked through the paddock to park as close to the track as possible.

There also seemed to be a shortage of marshals, meaning the circuit had to be shortened from 3,200 to 1,350 metres. To remedy the staff shortage, as participants also reported, attempts were made to recruit volunteers from the paddock to act as marshals – mind you, without any proper training. But that wasn’t all. In sweltering 35-degree heat, drivers’ representative Adrian Peter, backed by several teams, urged organisers to shorten the race distance. This was rejected on the grounds that it was a ‘German Championship’. The fact that the second race then had to be abandoned after twelve laps (more on this below) is not without a certain degree of controversy. Needless to say, we confronted the MSV with the teams’ criticisms, but had received no response by the time this article went to press.

As expected, only sixteen sidecars had made their way to Dolle. Dan Foden and Noah Weinmann were absent, as were Nick Uhlig and Philipp Oettel, due to injury. Pierre Seifert had no co-driver and – according to Radio Fahrerlager – is said to have ended his season early and already sold his sidecar. At least a few teams who had not previously taken part in German Championship races did turn up.

As expected, the championship leaders Adrian Peter and Julian Zimmermann were considered the favourites. In the first race, the fastest in practice fully lived up to expectations and won ahead of Leon Hofmann and Leon Freygang. Third place went to the occasional DM riders Joshua Torge and Florian Plettke, ahead of Jan Hoormann, who continues to ride with Paul Kinder following the shoulder injury sustained by his regular co-driver, Simon Hildebrand. Bad luck for Patrick Hengster and Justin Blume: due to a sidecar pair crashing in front of them, they initially got stuck in deep sand and were delayed before getting back up to speed. As they were lapping the field, Uwe and Tom Kutschke got in their way. As a result, they remained in seventh place in the race. Apart from Peter and Hofmann, only Torge, Hoormann and Hengster managed lap times under two minutes.

Before the second start, Hofmann and Freygang initially had a problem with the ignition. However, this was sorted out quickly. Things went less smoothly for Peter/Zimmermann: an O-ring in the clutch hydraulics gave out. As a result, the championship leaders had to fight their way through the deep sand to the front. Hengster/Blume took the holeshot, but were then overtaken by Hofmann. In the end, Peter also overtook them. However, anyone who witnessed in 2023 how Hengster – already fast on hard tracks back then – struggled through the sand had to admit that the former solo rider has learnt a great deal since then.

Helicopter deployment following an incident

On the twelfth lap, Paul Kinder fell out of Hoormann’s sidecar due to dehydration and had to be airlifted away by helicopter. This brought the race to a premature – and now enforced – end. The race organisers could have done without that making the headlines.

Now, one can accept the argument that the German Motocross Championship is an endurance sport and that the competitors must pace themselves according to their own judgement, even under extreme conditions. On the other hand, the competitors in this niche sport are not full-time professionals. Accordingly, the conditions should be adjusted where necessary, as responsible organisers have done in the past. Ultimately, the riders themselves are far better placed than race organisers to determine where physical limits are likely to be reached. In this respect, organisers would be well advised not to simply brush aside the riders’ concerns. With this in mind, MSV Dolle can only hope that Paul Kinder will be fit again soon.

This coming weekend sees the Belgian Grand Prix in Lommel. Representing Germany will be Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider, who are keen to defend at least their third place in the World Championship against Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard. With summer temperatures set to continue, Peter and Zimmermann will carefully weigh up whether to collect further World Championship points or to focus on the German Championship round taking place a week later in Schwedt, near the Polish border, in order to secure their first German Championship title. Hofmann/Freygang, Hengster/Blume and Jan Hoormann also appear to have little motivation at present for a trip to the sandy track at Lommel. Nevertheless, Lommel remains well worth a visit, if only for the clash between the French Prunier brothers and Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart.

Results: Motocross Sidecar German Championship, Dolle/D (Round 1):

1. Peter/Zimmermann (D), VMC-Husqvarna

2. Hofmann/Freygang (D), VMC-Mega

3. Torge/Plettke (D), WSP-Mega

4. J. Hoormann/Kinder (D), VMC-Zabel

5. Günther/Böhme (D), VMC-KTM

6. Veit/Hink (D), WSP-Zabel

7. Hengster/Blume (D), VMC-KTM

8. D. Schellmann/Gutekunst (D), VMC-Zabel

9. Karsunke/Benning (D), VMC-KTM

10. N. Häcker/J. Häcker (D), VMC-Zabel

11. Ueckermann/Asmus (D), WSP-Zabel

12. Ziller/Wächter (D), WSP-KTM

13. Paulitz/Heinrich (D), WSP-Zabel

14. U. Kutschke/T. Kutschke (Germany), WSP-Zabel

15. Wegner/Miedl (D), WSP-Zabel

16. Bednarek/Borde (D), Trtec-Zabel

Results of the Motocross Sidecar German Championship, Dolle/D (Round 2):

1. Hofmann

2. Peter

3. Hengster

4. Hoormann

5. Günther

6. Torge

7. Karsunke

8. Häcker

9. Schellmann

10. Ueckermann

11. Kutschke

12. Paulitz

13. Ziller

14. Veit

DM standings after 10 of 16 races:

1. Peter – 230 points

2. Hofmann – 198

3. Hengster – 163

4. Schellmann – 118

5. Häcker – 114

6. Hoormann – 94

7. Uhlig – 91

8. Seifert – 83

9. Ziller – 84

10. Seifert – 83

11. Foden – 71