Our sport is well-known for its family connections, and in particular the numerous sibling pairings who have taken to the track together over the decades. We can look back to the seventies and beyond with Lorenz and Thomas Haller, Swiss farmers, wrestling their beefy Honda four-cylinder 750 Wasp round the Grand Prix circuits of Europe.
Even the list of champions has a smattering of brotherly teams, the first being Emil and Roland Bollhalder who won the series in 1979, its final year of European status. In the eighties we saw former 250cc GP runner Christof Husser lift two consecutive titles for Switzerland with his vastly experienced brother Andreas, already a three-times European champion with Robert Grogg.
Now in the modern world, there is every chance we will see history repeat itself after more than four decades. There is huge talent in sibling teams from countries across Europe, and we saw some of those names in action as Grand Prix race winners in the 2024 season.
From France we had national champions Killian and Evan Prunier. The third-placed Pruniers are back for more with an even higher level of preparation and determination.
They were complimented in 2024 by Romaric and Josselyn Chanteloup who have once again announced another full campaign. It is good to see strong representation from France with two prominent French Grands Prix in the plan for 2025.
The Netherlands gave us Tim and Sem Leferink who took victory in race one Strassbessenbach. This pairing showed their true colours on more than one occasion and are certainly capable of upsetting the established applecart. Germany provided the Weinmann brothers Joshua and Noah, a young and improving pair following in family footsteps of Klaus and Thomas.
Most impressive of all came Daniels and Bruno Lielbardis from Latvia, who carried the red plate for the first half of the season as they looked like favourites to take the title. It was not to be however, so they are back for more next season. Other family affairs making fleeting appearances included Gwendal and Damien Carcreff from Brittany and the Italian Lasagna brothers.
Away from the sibling theme but still with the top teams in the standings, we find Stephan Wijers and Han van Hal. This pair made it into tenth place on their Zabel VMC in 2024 with a new goal of a top eight finish for the new season. It will be good to see them back, as they worked well together, having had some strong rides later in the year.
Finally, we have already mentioned the acute shortage of left-hand passengers in the UK, and the impact that is having on some teams. The same is not true however, for the right-handed brigade, and France in particular. At least two top-class passengers are seeking Grand Prix rides in 2025, having made their availability known to us. Frenchman Bastien Chopin, who has ridden alongside many notable drivers, among them colourful Italian Zeno Compalati, and more recently compatriot Romaric Chanteloup, is keen to feature regularly on the world stage, as is another experienced French passenger with a French national title to his name, Teddy Rousseau. Both men have the qualities to succeed and would welcome an approach from any good driver looking for their services.
Many other top teams have yet to state their plans, but the list is building nicely, so stay with us as we continue to bring you everything as it happens here on www.fimsidecarcross.com and all our social media platforms.
From Barry Nutley.
