The sidecar race in Assen was a spectacle of the highest order. A total of 20 teams lined up at the start. For Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes (Adolf RS F1 Yamaha), the race was about clinching the title early in the 600cc class. The seven-time world champion started from pole position and took a risk: despite the partially wet track, the Brit had already put on slicks. His starting position was, of all places, on a damp patch. A drama seemed to be unfolding. Reeves nearly came to a standstill when the lights turned green. The tires found no grip. The superstar was overtaken. Meanwhile, Josef Sattler/Uwe Neubert (Adolf RS F1 Kawasaki) went full throttle and took the lead.
But what was that? Reeves came out of the first lap in the lead—and with a comfortable advantage! The 47-year-old had gone all in and worked his way to the front without batting an eye. In the second lap, the order of the top four was the same as in practice: Reeves/Wilkes ahead of Markus Schlosser/Marcel Fries (LCR F1 Yamaha), Sattler/Neubert, Bennie Streuer/Kevin Rousseau (LCR F1 Kawasaki). The 600cc teams were bunched up tight. But Streuer had no luck this weekend: he retired in the seventh of nine laps.
Meanwhile, Schlosser was closing in on Reeves and entered the final lap trailing by a mere 0.388 seconds. But he couldn’t manage to beat Reeves even once this year. Reeves/Wilkes have won every IDM race so far in the 2019 season and, as of today, are also the new IDM champions ahead of schedule. Now it’s time to celebrate.
Schlosser was a bit annoyed that he couldn’t pass the British team anymore. The opportunity had never been as good as it was today. “Two more laps and we would have caught Reeves,” co-driver Marcel Fries was pretty sure. But things hadn’t gone smoothly for Sattler either. The platform on the sidecar where Uwe Neubert sits had broken off. “That pushed the fender against the wheel, and we were constantly braking,” Neubert reports, explaining, “That’s why there was so much smoke coming from our bike.” Sattler noticed it because the handlebars suddenly started wobbling.
In the 1000cc class, John Smits/Gunter Verbrugge (RCN F1 Yamaha) dominated, finishing ahead of Scott Lawrie/Emanuelle Clement (LCR F1 Suzuki) and Andres Nussbaum/Manuel Hirschi (LCR F1 Suzuki). That was not to the liking of Mike Roscher/Anna Burkard (LCR F1 BMW). The German-Swiss duo leads the overall championship but finished only in sixth place. That cost them crucial points. Nussbaum/Hirschi have now closed the gap to nine points and are, so to speak, right on their heels in the title race. The season finale at Hockenheim at the end of September will be a nail-biter.