SidecarCross World Championship in Rudersberg: Bronze for Prümmer/Schneider

At the penultimate Grand Prix in Varsseveld, the Netherlands, Tim Prümmer and Patrick Schneider had managed the feat of reducing their deficit to Killian and Evan Prunier to just one point. Undoubtedly a good starting position from which to turn their already-secured bronze medal into silver at the final. But it was not to be. In Saturday’s qualifying race, the German-Austrian duo were in the lead until Prümmer lost engine power, allowing the new world champions Marvin Vanluchene and Ben van den Bogaart, as well as Dan Foden and Noah Weinmann, to overtake them. In Group B, the Pruniers crossed the finish line in second place behind Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard.

The resulting loss of a further point was a blow the Prümmer team could live with. However, the World Championship bronze medallists were to lose further points in the very first race. Whilst the Pruniers won the start ahead of Wilkinson and Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent, Prümmer, close behind, narrowly avoided a crash. For Foden and Weinmann, who were racing towards the first right-hand bend on the inside, space became tight and their car scraped the track barriers. Somehow, the English-German duo still managed to keep their team under control. Behind them, the new world champions also found themselves in trouble and laid their team on its side.

At the end of the starting bend, Julian Veldman and Rodolphe Lebreton went off the track. Whilst the driver and the sidecar tumbled towards the next section of the track, Lebreton – who had fallen out of the sidecar – was struck by following sidecars. However, the incident looked worse than it was. The Frenchman, known for his resilience, was soon back on his feet, and in the end the pair crossed the finish line in thirteenth place.

Adrian, Peter and Julian Zimmermann remained unscathed by the commotion and entered the next set of bends in sixth place. In the midfield, Patrick Hengster/Joel Hoffmann, the Swiss pair Sven and Marc Buob, and Leon Hofmann/Leon Freygang managed to find their place. Jan Hoormann was forced to retire after ten laps because his co-driver, Paul Kinder, had injured his hand.

The Leferink brothers were unable to compete in the main races. Co-driver Sem had sustained a knee injury during Saturday’s practice session. As a result, fourth place in the World Championship went to Wilkinson and Millard without a fight. The Lielbardis twins also had to pull out. During qualifying, it became apparent that co-driver Bruno was still too weak to complete the races following his illness. Furthermore, Remo and Luca Käser, as well as Pierre Seifert and Jens Brummer, were unable to compete in the main races due to injury.

The Pruniers maintained their lead right to the finish, whilst Prümmer and Schneider had to settle for third place behind Wilkinson and Millard. This meant the gap to their rivals now stood at seven points. The battle for sixth place was also incredibly close. Against this backdrop, it is understandable that the world champions ended their chase behind their compatriots Sanders and Vincent. They needed every point to keep Foden and Weinmann at bay – especially after the latter had managed to squeeze past them. Moreover, an attack by Vanluchene could also have led to a crash, which was absolutely to be avoided given the SXoN taking place next weekend in Dardon Gueugnon/F. After all, the Belgians are among the favourites there.

Wilkinson/Millard won the second, less turbulent start ahead of the Pruniers and Foden/Weinmann, whilst Prümmer/Schneider emerged from the first lap in twentieth position. Admittedly, they had made up a few places shortly afterwards. In the end, however, fifth place was not enough, as Killian and Evan Prunier had by then established themselves in second place behind the champions, who were once again in commanding form. Foden/Weinmann, for their part, managed to keep Sanders/Vincent at bay, yet in the final standings they fell three points short of sixth place.

Immerhin Bronze - Tim Prümmer, Patrick Schneider (v.l.)

Foto: TEAM PRÜMMER

Of the German-speaking teams, Peter/Zimmermann repeated their performance from the first race, whilst the Buobs and Hengster/Hoffmann also picked up their final points of this World Championship season. The two Leons, however, were not so fortunate: they were forced to retire due to a faulty side wheel.

Whilst multiple world champion co-driver Ben van den Bogaart capped off the season with another race victory, his wife Kelly Debruyne, driving with Andy Schlinnertz, picked up three World Championship points after finishing 23rd in the first race. Viktorija Vareikate, with Gregory Raymond as her driver, remained without any points, however. Meanwhile, the rider and co-driver merry-go-round is already in full swing. However, apart from Tim Prümmer, who plans to compete next year alongside the Belgian Loet van der Putten – who is sidelined due to injury – there are no concrete announcements as yet.

Results of the Motocross Sidecar World Championship, Rudersberg/Germany:

Round 1: 1. K. Prunier/E. Prunier (F), WSP-KTM. 2. Wilkinson/J. Millard (GB), WSP-Husqvarna. 3. Prümmer/Schneider (Germany/Austria), VMC-AMS. 4. Foden/N. Weinmann (Great Britain/Germany), WSP-AMS. 5. Sanders/J. Vincent (Belgium/Netherlands), WSP-Mega. 6. Vanluchene/van den Bogaart (Belgium/Netherlands), VMC-Zabel. 7. Peter/Zimmermann (Germany), VMC-Husqvarna. 8. Wijers/van Hal (Netherlands), VMC-Zabel. 9. Auvray/Steegmans (F/B), WSP-Husqvarna. 10. S. Buob/M. Buob (CH), VMC-Husqvarna. 11. Hengster/Hoffmann (D), VMC-KTM. 12. Hofmann/Freygang (Germany), VMC-Mega. 13. J. Veldman/Lebreton (Netherlands/France), CPD-KTM. 14. De Cock/A. van de Wiel (Belgium/Netherlands), VMC-AMS. 15. I. Kops/Koenst (NL), WSP-AMS. 16. G. Carcreff/Hupon (F), VMC-Zabel. 17. G. Kinge/Mackay (GB), WSP-AMS. 18. N. Hendrickx/Kaethoven (B), VMC-Mega. 19. S. Gouin/K. Gouin (F), VMC-Husqvarna. 20. Grahame/J. Watson (GB). VMC-Zabel. 25. J. Hoormann/Kinder (D), VMC-Zabel. 28. Seifert/Brummer (DCH), VMC-Husqvarna.

Race 2: 1. Vanluchene. 2. Prunier. 3. Wilkinson. 4. Foden. 5. Prümmer. 6. Sanders. 7. Peter. 8. Hendrickx. 9. Veldman. 10. Wijers. 11. Hodges/Henderson (GB), WSP-Husqvarna. 12. Buob. 13. Hengster. 14. Carcreff. 15. Kops. 16. Kinge. 17. Gouin. 18. K. Debruyne/Schlinnertz (B), WSP-AMS. 19. Grahame. 20. Rogers. 22. Hofmann.

World Championship final standings after 24 races:

1. Vanluchene 579 points (World Champion). 2. Prunier 483. 3. Prümmer 470. 4. Wilkinson 406. 5. Leferink 351. 6. Sanders 292. 7. Foden 289. 8. Veldman 255. 9. Wijers 255. 10. Grondman 245. 14. Peter 128. 16. Hengster 87. 26. Heinzer 41. 29. Käser 35. 33. Buob 29. 34. Hofmann 29. 40. Uhlig 17 each.