Germany always introduces its fans to something different and exciting. This year Strassbessenbach featured sidecar teams spanning three generations of the sport. The very first FIM world champion was a German, Reinhard Bohler, partnered by Siegfried Muller riding a British Wasp chassis powered by a Yamaha engine in 1980. Prior to that, there had been a “750 European Cup” series which featured teams from across Europe.
The sport has stayed very much alive in the nation, with a wealth of talent emerging in the modern day as the quest for the next German world champion goes on. This weekend we were graced with a veteran class and at the other end of the spectrum, a host of youngsters, all keen to master the sport. They would learn much from what was about to unfold.
Free Practice – With the track in great condition, and the weather set to be hot all weekend, the teams got their first look. Group “A” saw the Leferink brothers (who were race winners here last year) topping the early times from Koen Hermans/Ben van den Bogaart and Tim Prummer/Jarno Steegmans.
Group “B” featured the Prunier brothers, second in the title chase, strutting their stuff at the front, with Stuart Brown/Scott Grahame looking good too. The returning Dan Foden appeared to have clicked with Noah Weinmann, as the Anglo-German duo circulated well. Half-way though the session, the Lielbardis twins continued their return to form moving second fastest, only to be bettered by Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent. Closing stages and the Lielbardis boy upped the pace to go top, followed by Justin Keuben/Dion Rietman.
Group “A” timed practice – Once again, these two sessions are all about the gate position for the qualifying races in the afternoon. With thirty-six teams attending (eighteen in each session) there would be fierce competition for the best times.
Hermans van den Bogaart came out on top with Benny Weiss/Patrick Schneider less than one second behind. The Austrians were close to home and are popular in Germany. Tim Prummer/Jarno Steegmans also showed strongly with Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard doing a great job just half a second off in fifth. The young Swiss brothers, Remo and Luca Kaser rounded out the top ten, so they would have a reasonable start position.
Group “B” timed practice – Keuben/Rietman carried their momentum forward into this thirty-minute session, a clear second faster than the chasing pack. As expected, Killian and Evan Prunier were also fast, as were Sanders/Vincent from Daniel and Bruno Lielbardis. Dan Foden, on his comeback ride, had the speed, but it would remain to be seen if he could sustain the pace over race distance. With a 1.54.836, Keuben looked to have done enough. The Prunier brothers made fourth fastest ahead of a very satisfied Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann.
Group “A” Qualifying Race – At exactly 3pm local time, the gate dropped for the eighteen teams. Daniel Willemsen made another of his lightning starts to get the hole shot ahead of the Leferink brothers and Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard.
Koen Hermans had the sidecar wheel lift off the line, and had to back off a touch, giving him work to do. He then got stuck in chasing Benny Weiss/Patrick Schneider and Tim Prummer/Jarno Steegmans, with Daniel Willemsen still fighting hard in the middle of this lot for third, fourth and fifth places. Tim Prummer gave it his utmost but gradually succumbed to the relentless pressure from Hermans, as the Leferinks opened the gap at the front. Wilkinson/Millard seemed to like the going, and rode a solid race, holding the Leferinks in sight, although unable to get on terms.
Meanwhile, Hermans closed on Weiss/Schneider making for a tight three-way scrap. This raged all the way to the flag with the Austrians holding firm, denying Hermans an extra qualification point. Wilkinson/Millard were delighted with their result, disclosing in the post-race interview their desire to win the title.
At the flag, Willemsen had dropped to sixth, narrowly avoiding being caught by Stephan Wijers/Han van Hal who recovered well from a lowly start
Result – 1/ Leferink/Leferink, 2/ Wilkinson/Millard, 3/ Weiss/Schneider,
4/ Hermans/van den Bogaart, 5/ Prummer/Steegmans, 6/ Willemsen/Gabor,
7/ Wijers/van Hal, 8/ Gordejev/Lebreton, 9/ Peter/Hoffmann,
10/ Kaser/Kaser, 11/ Brown/Booth, 12/ Erlecke/Freygang
Group “B” Qualifying Race – This holeshot almost went to the Lielbardis twins, but Justin Keuben pipped them to it. This pair of outfits cut loose at the front chased by the Prunier brothers, Sanders/Vincent and a brilliantly starting Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann.
Keuben/Rietman looked to be running away with this one, and then on lap three, they slowed, and eventually retired with a broken exhaust.
Lielbardis needed no second bidding, making a good effort extending the lead from Killian/Evan Prunier. The French Champions were honest enough to admit they did not particularly enjoy the track, describing it as “not interesting, too fast, and the same for everyone”
Behind Foden/Weinmann, two other British outfits made a good sight for lovers of the left-handed sidecar. Stuart Brown/Scott Grahame and Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson both held van de Lagemaat/de Veene at bay for the entire race, holding their positions throughout.
At the front, it was the Lielbardis twins of old, with the Pruniers and Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent maintaining their good run of form on all types of going as they completed the top three.
Result – 1/ Lielbardis/Lielbardis, 2/ Prunier/Prunier, 3/ Sanders/Vincent,
4/ Foden/Weinmann, 5/ Brown/Grahame, 6/ Hodges/Henderson,
7/ van de Lagemaat/de Veene, 8/ Chanteloup/Chanteloup,
9/ Bolliger/Leutwyler, 10/ Knubben/Maas, 11/ Hengster/Jahn,
12/ Verhees/Verhees
Last Chance – This shootout for the six places to fill the grid was dominated by Keuben/Rietman who banged in one fast lap at the start, which put them over three seconds ahead of the rest. This was never going to be beaten, but the other five places were fiercely fought over by crews all in the same ballpark. Tobias Hertfelder/Niki Debruyne did a great job holding third fastest for most of the session, but then were conquered when it mattered most, towards the end. Nonetheless they made it through sixth fastest.
Result – 1/ Keuben/Rietman, 2/ Mulders/Van Deutekom,
3/ Hofmann/Zimmerman, 4/ Devoldere/Torbier, 5/ Buob/Buob,
6/ Hertfelder/Debruyne, 7/ Hoormann/Schlinnerz, 8/ Gouin/Gouin
Two Grand Prix races take place tomorrow, so stay with us here for all news plus other updates here on www.fimsidecarcross.com along with all our social media platforms.
From Barry Nutley.
