The teams competing in the FIM Sidecar World Championship hit the ground running on Friday in Most. Following the first free practice session in the morning, the first qualifying session was already on the schedule for the afternoon. However, the surprise appearance by Lennard Göttlich and Lukas Krieg (Team Lausitz / ADAC Sachsen / ARS Yamaha) turned out to be a one-time guest appearance this weekend.
Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing / ARS Yamaha) set the fastest time on Friday. They were already in the lead during free practice and confirmed their top form in qualifying with a lap time of 1:40.359—securing first place. The British-French duo brought their speed from the Pannoniaring with them to the Czech Republic. “Things are going better than we expected,” said Rolf Steinhausen, who worked intensively with the team on the bike’s handling dynamics during the seven-week break. “We put in a lot of hours and also thoroughly disassembled and inspected the engine again,” Steinhausen continued. It’s the same engine they’ve been using since Estoril in April—and it’s running like a well-oiled machine.
Christie Brothers Stay in the Running, Schlosser Dissatisfied
Sam and Tom Christie (Hannafin / LCR Yamaha) also continued their positive momentum and initially finished in second place. However, the brothers weren’t entirely satisfied. “The bike just isn’t working the way we want it to,” Tom Christie explained afterward. Despite technical issues, they posted a strong lap time of 1:40.463—just one hundredth of a second slower than Payne/Rousseau.
There was little satisfaction in the Schlosser team either. Although Markus Schlosser and his co-driver finished in third place, just 0.273 seconds behind, the competition currently seems to have a slight edge. “The other teams are a bit ahead of us right now,” Schlosser remarked critically. Both in Hungary and now in Most, the team is working hard to close the gap to the leaders again.
Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition / LCR Yamaha) were provisionally in fourth place. Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek (Hannafin / LCR Yamaha) followed in fifth place, ahead of Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson (L&W Racing / LCR Yamaha).
Safety Decision for Göttlich/Krieg
For Lennard Göttlich and Lukas Krieg, their last-minute attempt to compete in the fourth championship race came to an end after eight laps. Although the engine—which had been made race-ready at short notice following the engine failure at the Pannoniaring—held up, unusual noises made Göttlich suspicious. “As a precaution, we decided to pull the sidecar out of the race to prevent further damage,” he explained.
The second qualifying session begins on Saturday at 10:10 a.m. That’s when we’ll find out who will start from pole position in the championship race at Most.
Results: FIM Sidecar World Championship, Qualifying 1
- Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (GB/F), ARS Yamaha
- Sam Christie/Tom Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha
- Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (F), LCR Yamaha
- Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (GB/CZ), ARS Yamaha
- Kevin Cable/Charlie Richardson (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Joni Manninen/Tero Manninen (FIN), LCR Yamaha
- Markus Venus/Thomas Hofer (Germany/Switzerland), LCR Yamaha
- Wiggert Kranenburg/Jermaine van Mioddegaal (NLD/NLD), LCR Yamaha