SidecarCross World Championship, Varsseveld: Vanluchene/van den Bogaart are world champions

For Killian and Evan Prunier, the disaster began as early as Saturday’s qualifying session, when the engine failed just before their race. The European Championship runners-up managed, with great difficulty, to secure eighth place. Meanwhile, title contenders Vanluchene/van den Bogaart and Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton, having won their qualifying races on Sunday, were able to choose the best starting positions. Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider, finishing fifth in their group, and Dan Foden and Noah Weinmann, finishing fourth, also secured places on the front row of the grid.

Just before the first race, the French pair’s run of bad luck continued when their clutch hydraulics failed. Although the Pruniers tried to keep fighting, they were forced to retire after eight gruelling laps. For Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider, too, the race fell short of expectations with an eighth-place finish, whilst Vanluchene and van den Bogaart tactically wisely settled for second place behind Veldman and Lebreton.

This meant they had already secured the title. For the Belgian, it is his fourth World Championship crown following 2018, 2023 and 2024; for the Dutch co-driver, it is already his sixth gold medal following 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 (also with Vanluchene) and 2025. This makes Van den Bogaart the most successful passenger in the history of sidecarcross.

Wieder Weltmeister - Vanluchene und van den Bogaart (v. re.)

Foto: Koenigsbeck

In the second race, the newly crowned champions dominated with ease and did not let Veldman take the lead this time. Behind them, Prümmer and Schneider tried their best to pick up as many points as possible and even found themselves in fourth place at one stage. However, the effects of the training crash two weeks earlier began to take their toll, and Prümmer made a riding error. Meanwhile, the Pruniers fought their way up from fourteenth to seventh place.

The battle for the runners-up spot is wide open again

This means they now hold a lead of just one point in the battle for the runners-up spot. The final this coming weekend in Rudersberg promises to be correspondingly thrilling, especially as both teams are considered equally strong on hard tracks. Prümmer/Schneider most recently won the Grand Prix in Straßbessenbach and have already secured World Championship bronze. “We have nothing to lose and can only win,” Prümmer summed up.

The battle for fourth place in the World Championship is also still undecided. Tim and Sem Leferink got their sidecar stuck in the heavy, rain-soaked sand in the first heat, but managed to fight their way back up from fourteenth to seventh place, whilst Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard finished on the podium. In the second heat, the Dutch brothers turned the tables. The gap stands at just under eight points ahead of the final.

The battle for sixth place in the World Championship is also still undecided. Dan Foden and Noah Weinmann managed to move up from ninth to seventh in the standings, thereby keeping pace with Davy Sanders and Jens Vincent. However, they were not satisfied with their performance. “We simply lacked aggression this weekend,” commented co-driver Weinmann. Close behind them, Koen Grondman and Ross Vincent are lying in wait for a better position in the final World Championship standings. Daniels and Bruno Lielbardis, also in this group, were absent from Varsseveld due to an infection. Koen Hermans and his co-driver Dion Rietman were also absent from their home Grand Prix. Due to injury, the 2025 world champion will not be competing again this year.

Adrian Peter and Julian Zimmermann: A weekend to forget

Of the German teams, Adrian Peter and Julian Zimmermann were present at Varsseveld and had a weekend to forget. In qualifying, they were initially caught up in a crash. Two laps later, a broken steering damper rendered the sidecar unrideable. Starting from the second row of the grid, the German champions then tried their best to finish in the points. This looked promising – despite having to change their goggles in the pit – until the engine gave up the ghost shortly before the end. As there was nothing left to gain, the team decided against changing the engine.

Hofmann/Freygang also sat out the second race. In qualifying, the two Leons initially made contact with the starting grid, then Freygang tumbled headfirst out of the sidecar. To make matters worse, the steering damper turned out to be faulty ahead of the last-chance race and had to be replaced in a rush. Although Freygang was suffering from a headache and nausea, the pair managed to secure three points in Sunday’s first race. However, as his symptoms worsened, the German runners-up decided to sit out the second race.

Joel Hoffmann, once again co-driver to Daniel Willemsen, also failed to score any points. The weekend had begun promisingly with sixth place in qualifying, but then a faulty fuel pump dashed any hopes of a points-scoring finish after a strong start. In the second race, the Dutch-German duo had to settle for 22nd place. Hoffmann will contest the GP in Rudersberg with Patrick Hengster. Kelly Debruyne fared better than the multiple champion on the sand: riding with Andy Schlinnertz, the wife of the now six-time World Co-driver Champion finished eighteenth in the second race.

Results of the Motocross Sidecar World Championship in Varsseveld, Netherlands:

Race 1: 1 . J. Veldman/Lebreton (NL/F), SMT-KTM. 2. Vanluchene/van den Bogaart (B/NL), VMC-Zabel. 3. Wilkinson/J. Millard (GB), WSP-Husqvarna. 4. Sanders/J. Vincent (B/NL), WSP-Mega. 5. K. Grondman/R. Vincent (NL), VMC-Zabel. 6. Wijers/van Hal (NL), VMC-Zabel. 7. T. Leferink/S. Leferink (NL), VMC-KTM. 8. Prümmer/Schneider (D/A), VMC-AMS. 9. S. Veldman/van den Berg (NL), SMT-AMS. 10. Foden/N. Weinmann (GB/D), WSP-AMS. 11. N. Hendrickx/Kaethoven (B), VMC-Mega. 12. J. Brown/Booth (GB), VMC-AMS. 13. I. Kops/Koenst (NL), WSP-Husqvarna. 14. B. van den Heuij/S. van den Heuij (NL), EML-Mega. 15. De Cock/A. van de Wiel (B), VMC-AMS. 16. Mulders and M. van Deutekom (NL), WSP-Husqvarna. 17. Hodges/Henderson (GB), WSP-Husqvarna. 18. Hofmann/Freygang (D), VMC-Mega. 19. R. Käser/L. Käser (CH), VMC-KTM. 20. Langens/van Schijndel (NL), VMC-Husqvarna. 25. Peter/Zimmermann (Germany), VMC-Husqvarna. 28. D. Willemsen/Hoffmann (Netherlands/Germany), WSP-KTM.

Race 2: 1 . Vanluchene. 2. J. Veldman. 3. Leferink. 4. Wijers. 5. Prümmer. 6. Wilkinson. 7. K. Prunier/E. Prunier (F), WSP-KTM. 8. Foden. 9. Sanders. 10. Kops. 11. S. Veldman. 12. Mulders. 13. Hotze/N. Debruyne (NL/B), WSP-Husqvarna. 14. Van den Heuij. 15. Käser. 16. De Cock. 17. Brown. 18. K. Debruyne/Schlinnertz (B), WSP-AMS. 19. Kinge/Mackay (GB), WSP-AMS. 20. Grahame/J. Watson (GB), VMC-Zabel. 22. Willemsen.

World Championship standings after 22 of 24 races:

1. Vanluchene 534 points (World Champion). 2. Prunier 432. 3. Prümmer 431. 4. Wilkinson 359. 5. Leferink 351. 6. Sanders 258. 7. Foden 249. 8. Grondman 244. 9. Lielbardis 239. 10. Veldman 235. 15. Peter 100. 19. Hengster 69. 24. Heinzer 41. 22. Käser 35. 38. Hofmann 20. 39. Uhlig 17 each. 46. Buob 9.