After a restart, the second race of the FIM/IDM Sidecar class was a nail-biter. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément (Team Ellis/Clément/LCR Yamaha) won the second race of the FIM Superside World Championship by a razor-thin margin of 0.090 seconds, ahead of the British duo Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood (Kershaw Racing/LCR Yamaha). The Christie brothers (Hannafing Racing/LCR Yamaha) battled their way to third place against Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha).
The sidecar race began with a false start by Pekka Päivärinta and Ilse de Haas (Team Bonovo Action Team/LCR Yamaha), followed by a spin by Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau in the chicane at the Red Bull Ring—introduced last year—and ended with a race stoppage after a duel between Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes (Team Bonovo Action Team/ARS Yamaha) and the Birchall brothers (Wyckham Blackwell by Birchall). Tom Birchall’s sidecar overturned in the collision and landed upside down. Reeves and Wilkes immediately rushed to help right the vehicle, under which the rider was still trapped. Both Ben and his passenger, Tom Birchall, sustained injuries and were treated at both the medical center and the hospital. Since the accident occurred after just the second lap, race control ordered a restart over a distance of 15 laps. As a result, the penalty for Päivärinta’s false start was rescinded.
In the second attempt—with the Birchalls, Reeves/Wilkes, and Bennie Streuer/Kevin Kölsch all out of the race—things heated up right from the start between Payne and Ellis. A series of aggressive passing moves and counterattacks followed one after another, until Kershaw/Charlwood finally closed in and joined the fray.
Kershaw left Payne behind and put pressure on Ellis/Clément, who were leading the pack. But the reigning world champions fended off their opponents’ attacks, riding at the absolute limit. The climax of this thrilling contest finally came on the last lap: Both teams were neck and neck in the final lap and entered the chicane at the same time, causing Emmanuelle Clément to bump heads with the sidecar. In the final corner before the home stretch, Kershaw launched one last attack, but Ellis came out of the corner with more momentum and won the race by a razor-thin margin of 0.090 seconds. “Even though the head-to-head with Kershaw really hurt, it was a fantastic race,” said Emmanuelle Clément after the podium ceremony. In the overall standings, second place hasn’t changed much for the two of them. However, with 36 new points, they are now only a handful of points behind the leaders, the Birchalls.
Behind Ellis and Kershaw, an equally thrilling battle was unfolding between Payne and the Christie brothers. This duel was no less physical, with plenty of aggressive maneuvering, so it remained unclear right up to the final turn who would come out on top. But in the end, it was Sam and Tom Christie who crossed the finish line just two-tenths of a second ahead of Payne and Rousseau.
In the IDM Sidecars, Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Seventy-Four Racing Team/LCR Yamaha) took first place. The father-son duo also put in a strong performance, finishing fifth among the World Championship riders. Rupert Archer and Adam Christie (Hannafing Racing/LCR Yamaha) finished second. Lennard Göttlich and substitute passenger Uwe Neubert (Team Bonovo Action Team/LCR Yamaha) fought their way up from second-to-last on the grid to eighth place, securing the third podium spot in the IDM standings.
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After a restart, the second race of the FIM/IDM Sidecar class came down to the wire. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément (Team Ellis/Clément/LCR Yamaha) won the second race of the FIM Superside World Championship by a narrow margin of 0.090 seconds over the British duo Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood (Kershaw Racing/LCR Yamaha). The Christie brothers (Hannafing Racing/LCR Yamaha) battled their way to third place against Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha).
The sidecar race began with a false start by Pekka Päivärinta and Ilse de Haas (Team Bonovo Action Team/LCR Yamaha), continued with a spin by Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau at the Red Bull Ring’s new chicane introduced last year, and ended with a race stoppage following a duel between Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes (Team Bonovo Action Team/ARS Yamaha) and the Birchall brothers (Wyckham Blackwell by Birchall). Tom Birchall’s sidecar overturned as a result of the collision and landed on its head. Reeves and Wilkes immediately came to the rescue to right the vehicle, which still had the rider underneath. Both Ben and his passenger Tom Birchall sustained injuries and were treated at both the Medical Centre and the hospital. As the accident occurred after the second lap, the stewards ordered a 15-lap restart. This meant that the penalty for the early start was withdrawn.
In the second race, with Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kölsch no longer on the grid alongside the Birchalls and Reeves and Wilkes, things got heated between Payne and Ellis right from the start. Exciting overtaking maneuvers and counterattacks followed one after another until Kershaw and Charlwood finally closed in and joined the battle.
Kershaw left Payne behind and put pressure on Ellis/Clément, who were leading the field. But the reigning world champions fended off their opponents’ attacks while pushing their bikes to the absolute limit. On the final lap, the thrilling contest finally reached its climax: Both teams were neck and neck as they entered the chicane at the same time, causing Emmanuelle Clément to bump her head against the sidecar team. In the final corner before the finish straight, Kershaw made a final attack, but Ellis came out of the corner with more momentum and won the race by a razor-thin margin of 0.090 seconds. “Even though the headbutt with Kershaw hurt quite a bit, it was a fantastic race,” said Emmanuelle Clément after the award ceremony. In the overall standings, not much has changed for the pair in second place. However, with 36 new points, they are now just a handful of points behind the leaders, the Birchalls.
Behind Ellis and Kershaw, an equally tense battle between Payne and the Christie brothers began at the same time. There was no shortage of aggressive maneuvering in this duel either, so it remained unclear who would come out on top until the final turn. But in the end, it was Sam and Tom Christie who finished just two-tenths of a second ahead of Payne and Rousseau.
In the IDM sidecars, Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Seventy-Four Racing Team/LCR Yamaha) took first place. The father-son team also performed well, finishing fifth among the World Championship riders. Second place went to Rupert Archer and Adam Christie (Hannafing Racing/LCR Yamaha). Lennard Göttlich and substitute co-driver Uwe Neubert (Team Bonovo Action Team/LCR Yamaha) fought their way up from second-to-last on the grid to eighth place, securing third place on the podium in the IDM standings.
World Championship/IDM Sidecar, Race 2:
- Todd ELLIS/Emmanuelle CLEMENT (GBR/FRA)
- Stephen KERSHAW/Ryan CHARLWOOD (GBR)
- Sam CHRISTIE/Tom CHRISTIE (GBR)
- Harry PAYNE/Kevin ROUSSEAU (GBR/FRA)
- Pekka PÄIVÄRINTA/Ilse DE HAAS (FIN/NLD)
- Ted PEUGEOT/Vincent PEUGEOT (FRA)
- Rupert ARCHER/Adam CHRISTIE (GBR)
- Lennard GÖTTLICH/Uwe NEUBERT (GER)
- John HOLDEN/Jermaine MIDDEGAAL (GBR/NLD)
- Kevin CABLE/Charlie RICHARDSON (GBR)
- Max ZIMMERMANN/Ronja MAHL (GER)
- Peter KIMESWENGER/Ondrej SEDLACEK (GER/CZE)
IDM Sidecar, Race 2:
- Ted PEUGEOT/Vincent PEUGEOT (FRA)
- Rupert ARCHER/Adam CHRISTIE (GBR)
- Lennard GÖTTLICH/Uwe NEUBERT (GER)