The second qualifying session for the sidecars at the Schleizer Dreieck shook up the starting grid a bit. As expected, there was no challenging Tim Reeves/Mark Walkes (Adolf RS F1 Yamaha) for pole position in the 600cc sidecar class. Right next to them, however, the top 1000cc team of Andres Nussbaum/Manuel Hirschi (LCR F1 Suzuki) will line up—a formidable pair. However, the Swiss duo doesn’t have much of a cushion over their 1000cc class rivals. “John Smits and Mike Roscher are strong. I need to find something before the first race that makes us faster,” mused Hirschi. “The track is so awesome and there are so many spectators here.”
Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau (LCR F1 Kawasaki) were looking to find a comfortable setup. They’ll start from third position. “We worked on the electronics and replaced two sensors,” the Dutchman reported. “It wasn’t much, but it feels better.” Streuer had planned to do only eight laps in the second practice session. “But once you’re out on the track, you don’t think about it anymore,” he said. That caused a small problem: fuel. “When the bike started jerking, I knew I had to steer toward the pit lane as fast as I could.”
Fourth and fifth on the starting grid are the 1000cc sidecar teams of John Smits/Gunter Verbrugge (RCN F1 Yamaha) and Mike Roscher/Anna Burkard (LCR F1 BMW). They are followed by Markus Schlosser/Marcel Fries (LCR F1 Yamaha) and Scott Lawrie/Brad Gorrie (LCR F1 Suzuki). The German duo Josef Sattler/Uwe Neubert (Adolf RS F1 Kawasaki) finished eighth in qualifying.