The track was wet, the sun came out, but the decision on tire choice for the second qualifying session of the Sidecar World Championship finale in Portugal was clear-cut: All 13 teams that had traveled to the event took to the Circuito do Estoril on rain tires. The conditions were perfect for Pekka Päivärinta and his 20-year-old passenger, Luca Schmidt from Zeulenroda: pole position ahead of defending champions Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement and the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom.
People say he shows no emotion. But anyone who thinks that doesn’t know Pekka Päivärinta. Tears streamed down the face of the five-time sidecar world champion. Securing pole position with German champion Luca Schmidt in the LCR Yamaha sidecar really got to him. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he let the tears flow freely.
One after another, the teams had pulled into the pits to switch to slicks for the drying track and pick up speed. Päivärinta had delayed his pit stop for a long time. The 52-year-old Finn had only two laps left to set a top time. But he was ready right on cue: no one could beat his time of 1:48.609 minutes. Pole position was his. Co-driver Luca Schmidt was nearly over the moon with joy and, for a change, was briefly speechless—just like his mother Monja, who had been watching everything from the track side. There were simply no words. Schmidt is competing alongside Pekka Päivärinta in a World Championship round for the first time in Portugal, and the pairing is proving to be a stroke of luck, just as it was at the Finnish Championship a few weeks ago.
The battle for grid positions for the races—the sprint race takes place today at 4:40 p.m. German time—was decided in the final two and a half minutes of qualifying. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement fell back to second place behind Päivärinta, trailing by 1.120 seconds. The Birchalls shot up from the middle of the field to third on the grid and will now try to capitalize on their title chances from the second row—with a little luck, they might still pull it off. Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau handled the conditions well enough to finish fourth. The brothers Sam and Tom Christie will line up fifth on the grid.
Starting grid:
1. PÄIVÄRINTA (FIN)/SCHMIDT (DEU)
2. ELLIS (GBR)/CLEMENT (FRA)
3. BIRCHALL (GBR)/BIRCHALL (GBR) 0
4. PAYNE (GBR)/ROUSSEAU (FRA)
5. CHRISTIE (GBR)/CHRISTIE (GBR)
6. KERSHAW (GBR)/CHARLWOOD (GBR)
7. STREUER (NLD)/KÖLSCH (DEU)
8. LEGLISE (FRA)/CESCUTTI (FRA)
9. ARCHER (GBR)/CHRISTIE (GBR)
10. LE BAIL (FRA)/LEVEAU (FRA)
FIM Sidecar: Pekka and the tears at the final race of the year
The track was wet, the sun came out, but the decision on tire choice in the second qualifying session for the Sidecar World Championship final in Portugal was clear: All 13 teams that arrived took to the Circuito do Estoril on rain tires. The conditions were perfect for Pekka Päivärinta and his 20-year-old co-driver Luca Schmidt from Zeulenroda: pole position ahead of the defending champions Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement and the Birchall brothers, Ben and Tom.
He is said to show no emotion. But anyone who thinks that doesn’t know Pekka Päivärinta. The five-time sidecar world champion had tears streaming down his face. His pole position with junior Luca Schmidt in the LCR Yamaha sidecar was weighing heavily on his mind. He was overcome with emotion and let the tears flow freely.
One after another, the teams pulled into the pits to switch to slicks for the drying track. Päivärinta had held off on his pit stop for a long time. The 52-year-old Finn had only two laps left to set a top time. But he was ready to go: no one could beat his 1:48.609. Pole position was his. Co-driver Luca Schmidt was beside himself with joy and, for once, was speechless—just like his mother Monja, who had been watching everything from the side of the track. There were simply no words. Schmidt is competing in Portugal for the first time with Pekka Päivärinta in a WRC race, and the pairing has turned out to be a stroke of luck, just as it was in the Finnish Championship a few weeks ago.
The battle for grid positions for the races—the sprint race takes place today at 4:40 p.m. German time—was decided in the final two and a half minutes of qualifying. Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement dropped to second place behind Päivärinta, 1.120 seconds behind.The Birchalls surged forward from the middle of the field to third on the grid in an attempt to perhaps capitalize on their second-row starting position and secure a title with a bit of luck. Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau handled the conditions well enough to finish fourth. Rounding out the top five on the grid were brothers Sam and Tom Christie.