It’s hot in Estoril. In Portugal, that doesn’t just refer to the weather, but also to the final round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship. Will Switzerland’s Markus Schlosser win his second world title this Sunday, November 10, 2024, or will Britain’s Harry Payne take the title for the first time? Twelve teams are on the starting grid, and two races will be held.
At noon, the sun is shining brightly over the 4.182-km-long Circuito do Estoril, with temperatures reaching 27 degrees, and on Saturday, practice sessions will begin, which will also determine the starting grid. World Championship leader Markus Schlosser is in high spirits—“more so than I’ve been in a long time,” as he himself says. He has nothing to lose. The Swiss driver already became world champion three years ago.
Schlosser is even daring to experiment in the final. There has been plenty of time over the past few weeks to fine-tune the sidecar’s aerodynamics. The last Sidecar World Championship race before the final took place in Oschersleben in early October. Whether the new, much rounder shape of the fairing will improve top speed will become clear tomorrow during practice. “In theory, it’s better, but we won’t be able to really test it until Saturday,” says Schlosser, adding, “but we can easily revert to the old setup if needed.” His 21-year-old passenger, Luca Schmidt from Schleiz, has the chance of a lifetime this weekend to become world champion for the first time.
Schlosser/Schmidt (Gustoil Sidecar Racing) hold a seven-point lead over their closest rivals, Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing). Both teams have already made history at the Circuito do Estoril. Schlosser clinched his world championship title here in 2021, and Payne won his first GP race on this track that same year. The battle for the world championship crown is playing out exclusively between these two teams, as they have repeatedly taken turns winning races throughout the current season.
The defending champions, Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément, are not in Estoril. Until now, they had been hot on the heels of the British brothers Sam Christie and Tom Christie, trailing by three points. The Christie brothers, however, have arrived and will likely retain third place overall, barring any unforeseen incidents. Otherwise, mathematically speaking, even the current fifth-place duo, Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie, would still have a chance at third place.
Where are the young German drivers? Kevin Kölsch will start in sixth place overall as the co-driver for Dutch driver Kevin Streuer. Lennard Göttlich and Lucas Krieg are not at Estoril and therefore remain in tenth place overall.
The fact that both races will be held on Sunday isn't sitting well with all the teams. The schedule leaves little room for contingencies and resolving them. The times: 11:15 a.m. for the sprint race (10 laps) and 3:10 p.m. for the main race (17 laps).
