That thrill is back. Markus Schlosser, three-time IDM Sidecar champion, is making his comeback. Marcel Fries is on board as his passenger.
Did you know? Markus Schlosser has racked up more wins in his IDM career so far than Superbike star Markus Reiterberger. The tally stands at 41 to 34. “I could hardly believe it when I added them up,” the Swiss rider marvels. “I’ve been around much longer, but Reiti has racked up an incredible number of wins in a short time. I thought he’d passed us, and I was really surprised by the result.” The lead could even grow. Schlosser plans to compete again in the IDM Sidecar and FIM Superside World Championships in 2019.
After a one-year hiatus, his focus is on returning to the World Championship. It’s not the first time. But the 47-year-old doesn’t do things halfway—everything has to be just right beforehand, or he’d rather sit it out. Unlike in the IDM, he’s still chasing the World Championship title to this day. Three years ago, the trained motorcycle mechanic and his then-passenger, Thomas Hofer, fell just short of the title due to an unfortunate crash at the end of the season. Now comes their next shot at it.
“I’m a tough guy,” Schlosser says of himself, and anyone who knows him wouldn’t dispute that. After the project was still hanging in the balance last fall due to financial difficulties, the bottleneck has been resolved.
Schlosser built the bike in his workshop. A brand-new Yamaha R6 engine powers the LCR chassis. Anything else was out of the question. “As a Swiss person, you ride a Swiss product,” Schlosser says. The chassis actually dates back to the era of Louis Christen, before he sold his company to the British Birchall brothers. Everything is built conventionally, with dry-sump lubrication and Yamaha components. Schlosser is aiming for podium finishes.
He also plans to compete with the bike as often as possible—as long as his finances allow—in the IDM, where the 600cc sidecars will now be given greater weight. They will start in the same field as the 1000cc riders but will be scored separately.
The smaller displacement class offers a platform primarily for World Championship riders who want to compete in the IDM in addition to the Grand Prix. In the World Championship, only 600-cc engines are permitted. There is not a single date overlap with the IDM schedule.
In the IDM, the IGG has so far insisted on 1000 ccm engines. They also make up the majority of the field. Schlosser still has a 1,000 cc chassis in his garage, “but it would be disastrous if I raced with a 600 cc engine in the World Championship and a 1,000 cc engine in the IDM. If I’m going to do something, I’ll do one thing—and do it right.” His new co-driver is Marcel Fries, who previously rode with Jakob Rutz, who finished 12th in the World Championship. His former co-pilot, Thomas Hofer, raced with Lukas Wyssen last season. Schlosser had provided technical support to both of them and doesn’t want to split up the crew. The first major training session will take place from March 18 to 22, 2019, in Val de Vienne, France.