2026 SidecarCross World Championship in Madona: Prümmer/Schneider close the gap in Latvia

In Madona, Latvia, the World Championship participants were greeted by exemplary facilities and flawless organisation, but also by what was arguably the most challenging track of the season. Of the championship’s core contingent, just twelve teams had made the journey to the Baltic states. Fortunately, numerous sidecar teams from the region took the opportunity to compete in the Grand Prix, meaning spectators were treated to a reasonably full starting grid.

From a German perspective, Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider were, of course, in the line-up. Furthermore, Nick Uhlig and Philipp Oettel did not want to miss the Baltic round, now that rider Uhlig had recovered from his injury. The other German sidecar teams opted not to make the long and costly journey, as they no longer had any chance of securing a good position in the standings anyway.

However, two German pillion riders were present in Madona: Noah Weinmann, riding with Dan Foden, and Joel Hoffmann. The latter had not wanted to turn down an offer from Daniel Willemsen. After all, when do you ever get the chance to line up in the sidecar of the most successful sidecar motocross rider of all time, with ten individual World Championship titles to his name? Admittedly, Willemsen is no longer within reach of the podium places. But the 51-year-old still has enough pace for a place in the top 10, as he proved in Madona.

In Qualifying Group A, Prümmer/Schneider crossed the line in third place behind Tim and Sem Leferink and Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart. Willemsen/Hoffmann followed in seventh, with Uhlig/Oettel in ninth. The Group B race was won by Killian and Evan Prunier, ahead of Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard and Foden/Weinmann. World champion Koen Hermans crashed and is thought to have suffered a concussion, which ruled him out of Sunday’s race. Rupeik’s son, Rihards, was also unable to progress beyond Saturday’s preliminary round due to injury.

In another day of glorious summer weather, the Leferink brothers took the lead at the start of the first race on Sunday, ahead of Prümmer/Schneider and Vanluchene/van den Bogaart. But then the local heroes Daniels and Bruno Lielbardis, who had got off to a slow start, charged up the field from the back and drove to victory in brilliant style. Meanwhile, the teams led by Prümmer and Leferink became entangled. It took a while before both sidecars, with the Leferinks in the lead, were able to get back up to speed. Shortly afterwards, the Prümmer/Schneider sidecar, which had just overtaken them, was also forced to take a brief break, and Prümmer/Schneider inherited the final podium place.

Willemsen and Hoffmann had got off to a poor start and crashed whilst attempting to overtake Uhlig and Oettel, who were subsequently forced to retire. In contrast, Foden/Weinmann managed to stay in the top ten for the entire race – always taking care not to expose the Englishman’s injured hand to any unnecessary risk.

After the second start, Vanluchene/van den Bogaart soon pulled away from the chasing pack. Prümmer/Schneider battled for third place behind the Leferinks. Due to a driving error (in Prümmer’s own words), they temporarily dropped back to fifth place, whilst Wilkinson/Millard surged forward. At one point, Koen Grondman/Ross Vincent – who had been in fine form all weekend – also joined the battle for the podium places. In the end, however, Prümmer/Schneider managed to fight their way back up to second place and thus finished the Latvian Grand Prix in second place overall. The Prunier brothers, on the other hand, finished the race in fifth place and now hold a lead of just fifteen points. With Mickunai MX Park in Lithuania and Varsseveld/NL (12–13 September) on the calendar, there are two further sand races to come – a scenario that suits Prümmer more than Prunier.

Foden/Weinmann managed to climb to sixth place, ahead of the Leferink brothers who had got stuck in the sand, and thus drew level with the luckless Hermans/Rietman in the World Championship standings. In contrast, the Lielbardis twins were forced to retire after their sprocket was bent by one of the numerous stones. Willemsen/Hoffmann crossed the line in tenth place behind Stephan Wijers. The Dutchman, who had sacked Joel Hoffmann two weeks ago, clearly couldn’t get through the sand any faster with his former co-driver Han van Hal either. Uhlig/Oettel, meanwhile, once again ended the race after two laps due to a technical fault. That leaves the only mixed pair in the starting field to mention: Grégory Raymond and his Lithuanian partner Victorija Vareikaite scored points towards their World Championship tally in both races.

Results of the Motocross Sidecar World Championship in Madona, Latvia:

Heat 1: 1. D. Lielbardis/B. Lielbardis (LV), WSP-Mega. 2. Vanluchene/van den Bogaart (B/NL), VMC-Zabel. 3. Prümmer/Schneider (D/A), VMC-AMS. 4. K. Grondman/R. Vincent (NL), VMC-Zabel. 5. Wilkinson/J. Millard (GB), WSP-Husqvarna. 6. K. Prunier/E. Prunier (F), WSP-KTM. 7. T. Leferink/S. Leferink (NL), VMC-KTM. 8. Foden/N. Weinmann (GB/D), WSP-AMS. 9. Wijers/van Hal (NL), VMC-Zabel. 10. Sanders/J. Vincent (B/NL), WSP-Mega. 11. D. Willemsen/J. Hoffmann (NL/D), WSP-KTM. 12. Lihtsa/Lamp (EST), WSP-Husqvarna. 13. Normak/Dukulis (EST/LV), VMC-Zabel. 14. Karing/Nitsoo (EST), WSP-KTM. 15. J. Pirtinas/Aleksejevs (LT/LV), WSP-Mega. 16. Raymond/Vareikaite (F/LT), VMC-KTM. 17. De Cock/de Vylder (B), VMC-Husqvarna. 18. Jensen/Petersen (DK), WSP-KTM. 19. Lubgans/Antons (LV), WSP-Husqvarna. 20. Hotze/Roosileht (NL/EST), WSP-Husqvarna.

Race 2: 1. Vanluchene. 2. Prümmer. 3. Wilkinson. 4. Grondman. 5. Prunier. 6. Foden. 7. Leferink. 8. Sanders. 9. Wijers. 10. Willemsen. 11. Normak. 12. Raymond. 13. Karing. 14. De Cock. 15. Jensen. 16. Reesna/Mäki (EST/FIN), WSP-Husqvarna. 17. J. Padinki/N. Padinki (FIN), VMC-Zabel. 18. Hotze. 19. Lubgans. 20. Z. Pirtinas/Zaliauskas (LT), WSP-Mega.

World Championship standings after 18 of 24 rounds:

1. Vanluchene 427 points. 2. Prunier 384. 3. Prümmer 369. 4. Wilkinson 318. 5. Leferink 267. 6. Lielbardis 208. 7. Foden and Hermans 203 each. 9. Grondman 201. 10. Sanders 190. 15. Peter 100. 18. Hengster 69. 20. Heinzer 41. 27. Käser 27. 32. Hofmann and Uhlig 17 each. 39. Buob 9.