FIM/IDM Sidecar: Schlosser Secures a Double Victory with Fighting Spirit

Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt and Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau put on a spectacular sidecar racing performance in the second race at Most. In the end, Schlosser/Schmidt emerged as the lucky winners and took the top two spots.

The second race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship, held as part of the International German Championship (IDM), turned into a cat-and-mouse game between Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) and Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) in the battle for the win.

Right after the start, Harry Payne overtook pole-sitter Markus Schlosser on the inside of the first corner with a strong braking maneuver and took the lead. The two Christie brothers, Sam and Tom (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha), settled in just behind them and were chased by Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement (Team Ellis/Clement Racing/LCR Yamaha). The field stayed tightly bunched for a long time. Despite going full throttle, there was no escape for Payne, as Schlosser stayed right on the Brit’s heels. Todd Ellis also kept the pressure on Christie.

Starting in the sixth round, Schlosser began his first attempts to get past Payne. But every move ended with the Brit pushing him back with a counterattack. Todd Ellis also looked for opportunities against Sam Christie, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Payne tried to pull away at the front with three personal-best laps. But Schlosser and Schmidt also picked up the pace and used the long start-to-finish straight to come out of the slipstream with more momentum and pass Payne. The driver with the number 45, however, fought back resolutely time and again.

The race continued in this fashion until the penultimate lap, when the final showdown between Payne and Schlosser took place: On the straight, Schlosser made another move to pass. Payne held his ground, so both drivers entered the first chicane side by side. Payne drifted slightly onto the grass next to Schlosser, who consequently came out of the second corner with more grip and had the better line. Fighting tooth and nail, Schlosser ultimately won the duel and took the victory. “It was a perfect weekend for us,” said Markus Schlosser, satisfied with his own performance and that of his sidecar. The 2021 world champion had, among other things, improved the sidecar’s aerodynamics in recent weeks, which paid off in both races. Schlosser and Schmidt leave Most with a one-two finish and as leaders in the World Championship.

Sam and Tom Christie managed to hold off Ellis's attacks and once again finished in third place. The reigning world champions, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement, were unable to find an opening to overtake and finished fourth, followed by Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie in fifth place and Bennie Streuer and Kevin Kölsch (Team Streuer/ARS Yamaha) in sixth place.

Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Seventy Four Racing Team/LCR Yamaha) crossed the finish line in seventh place, thereby also winning the race in the IDM standings. Lukas Wyssen/Ema Salmon (Team Gustoil Sidecar Racing/LCR Yamaha) finished eighth in the World Championship and second in the national championship, followed by Lennard Göttlich/Lucas Krieg (Bonovo Action Junior-Team ADAC Sachsen e.V./ARS Yamaha) in ninth and third place, respectively.

Rookies Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat (Team Bonovo Action/Sattler Motorsport/ARS Yamaha) rounded out the top 10.

Results of the FIM Sidecar World Championship, Race 2