[English below]
Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) were rewarded for a strong comeback, securing victory in the second race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship in Most. Sam and Tom Christie (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) took second place once again, while Paul Léglise and Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition/LCR Yamaha) celebrated their first World Championship podium finish.
Payne doesn't waste any time
Schlosser and Schmidt got off to a strong start and initially defended their pole position. But Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) also got off to a good start and moved right up behind the Swiss-German duo. Unlike in the sprint race the previous day, Payne was unable to overtake in the first corner this time. In the third sector, however, the British-French duo took advantage of a gap and zoomed past Schlosser to take the lead.
While Payne was making up ground at the front, Schlosser fell back slightly and was also overtaken by Léglise/Cescutti. Suddenly, the Schlosser team had slipped to third place. But there was no time to catch their breath, as Sam and Tom Christie were closing in from behind. However, they managed to successfully fend off the British duo’s attacks for the time being.
The nasty surprise
Then, in the fourth lap, came the shock for Payne/Rousseau and Team Steinhausen Racing: a technical failure forced the duo to retire. They rolled off the track—the engine had failed. “It’s a shame that this happened today. But we’ll be back in Assen with a new engine,” Harry Payne explained afterward. Just the day before, team boss Rolf Steinhausen had praised the engine, which had held up since the race in Estoril in April.
For Schlosser, that was the wake-up call. In the space of a single lap, he fought his way back from third place to the front—a strong move and the start of a flawless run to the finish. After setbacks in Hungary and the sprint race in Most the day before, this victory was truly satisfying. “We didn’t expect this result today, but of course we’re happy to take it,” said Markus Schlosser, who has now moved up in the overall standings.
The Christies have to grit their teeth
Behind the leading duo, an exciting battle raged between Léglise/Cescutti and the Christies. The French duo were extremely aggressive on the brakes, defended their position with fighting spirit, and posted significantly faster lap times than they had in qualifying. The British pair struggled to close the gap on the straights after repeatedly losing a few meters in the corners. It wasn’t until lap ten that Sam Christie pulled off the decisive pass—after that, there wasn’t much Léglise/Cescutti could do.
The Christie brothers thus secured second place once again. However, they weren’t satisfied with that. “I’m not happy with my own performance,” said Sam Christie. “I just made too many little mistakes today. But 20 points are important—that’s what counts for the championship.” With a total of 40 points this weekend, they are now tied with Schlosser/Schmidt in the overall standings—both teams are now in the lead with 148 points each.
A festive mood in the French team
For Paul Léglise and Marjorie Cescutti, third place was not only an outstanding result but also the first World Championship podium of their careers. “It’s incredible to finally be standing here on the podium. We gave it our all today, but we simply reached our limits,” said Léglise after the race, adding, “But the main thing is, we did it!”
Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) put in a solid performance and finished a distant but secure fourth—their best result of the season so far. Behind them, Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson (L&W Racing/LCR Yamaha) won the three-way battle against Markus Venus and Thomas Hofer (ITW Racing Team Venus/LCR Yamaha).
Joni and Tero Manninen (Manninen Sidecar Racing/LCR Yamaha) had some bad luck: Their engine failed on the final lap—the race was over for them, and they left a long oil trail behind them on the track.
Aiming for the Ace
The FIM Sidecar World Championship continues the weekend of August 15–18 in Assen—giving the teams plenty of time to repair their machines and reposition themselves strategically. Because one thing is clear: the season remains exciting—and wide open.
FIM Sidecar World Championship Results, Sprint Race Results
- Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha
- Sam Christie/Tom Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (F), LCR Yamaha
- Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (GB/CZ), ARS Yamaha
- Kevin Cable/Charlie Richardson (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Markus Venus/Thomas Hofer (GER/SUI), LCR Yamaha
DNF: Wiggert Kranenburg/Jermaine van Middegaal (NED/NED), LCR Yamaha
DNF: Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (GBR/FRA), ARS Yamaha
DNF: Joni Manninen/Tero Manninen (FIN), LCR Yamaha
———————————– English ———————————
Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) staged a strong comeback to secure victory in the second race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship in Most. Sam and Tom Christie (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) took second place again, while Paul Léglise and Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition/LCR Yamaha) celebrated their first World Championship podium finish.
Payne doesn't waste any time
Schlosser and Schmidt got off to a good start and initially held onto their pole position. However, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) also got off to a good start and moved right behind the Swiss-German duo. Unlike in the sprint race the previous day, Payne was unable to overtake in the first corner this time. However, the British-French duo took advantage of a gap in the third sector and sped past Schlosser to take the lead.
While Payne was making up ground at the front, Schlosser dropped back slightly and was also overtaken by Léglise/Cescutti. Suddenly, the Schlosser team was down to third place. But there was no time to catch their breath, as Sam and Tom Christie were pushing hard from behind. However, Schlosser/Schmidt were initially able to successfully fend off the British duo’s attacks.
The unpleasant surprise
The shock for Payne/Rousseau and the Steinhausen Racing team came on the fourth lap: a technical problem forced the team to retire. They pulled out—the engine had failed. “It’s a shame that this happened today. But we’ll be back in Assen with a new engine,” explained Harry Payne afterward. Just the day before, team boss Rolf Steinhausen had praised the engine, which had held up since the start of the season in Estoril.
For Schlosser and Schmidt, this was the wake-up call. Within a single lap, they fought their way back from third place to the top—a strong move and the start of a flawless drive to the finish. After setbacks in Hungary and the sprint race in Most, this victory was a real source of satisfaction. “We didn’t expect this result today, but of course we’re happy to take it,” said Markus Schlosser, who has now moved back up the overall standings.
The Christies have to grit their teeth
Behind the leading duo, an exciting battle raged between Léglise/Cescutti and the Christies. The French pair were extremely aggressive under braking, defended their position with fighting spirit, and set significantly faster lap times than in qualifying. The British duo struggled to close the gap on the straights after repeatedly losing ground in the corners. It wasn’t until lap ten that Sam Christie pulled off the decisive pass—after that, there wasn’t much Léglise/Cescutti could do.
Sam and Tom Christie thus secured second place once again. However, they were not satisfied. “I’m not happy with my own performance,” said Sam Christie. “I simply made too many small mistakes today. But 20 points are important—that’s what counts for the championship.” With a total of 40 points this weekend, the Christies have tied Schlosser/Schmidt in the overall standings—both teams now lead with 148 points each.
A celebratory mood in the French team
For Paul Léglise and Marjorie Cescutti, third place was not only a strong result, but also the first world championship podium of their careers. “It’s incredible to finally be on the podium here. We gave it everything we had today, but we simply reached our limits,” said Léglise after the race. “But the main thing is that we made it!”
Rupert Archer and Ondrej Sedlacek (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) rode a solid race and finished a distant but confident fourth—their best result of the season so far. Behind them, Kevin Cable and Charlie Richardson (L&W Racing/LCR Yamaha) won the three-way battle against Markus Venus and Thomas Hofer (ITW Racing Team Venus/LCR Yamaha).
Joni and Tero Manninen (Manninen Sidecar Racing/LCR Yamaha) were unlucky: Their engine failed on the final lap—the race was over for them, and they left a long trail of oil behind on the track.
Next Assen
The FIM Sidecar World Championship continues on the weekend of August 15–18 in Assen—giving the teams enough time to repair their machines and adjust their strategies. Because one thing is clear: the season remains exciting—and wide open.