The sidecars competing in the FIM Sidecar World Championship put on a truly spectacular show for spectators on Sunday during the main race at Assen as part of the IDM. In the end, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing) secured their second victory of the weekend—and with it, a one-two finish—after an impressive comeback.
In the second race, one question took center stage: Would Tom and Sam Christie (Team Hannafin) finally clinch the long-awaited victory this time? So far this season, they hadn’t finished higher than second—which, however, had at least earned them second place in the championship.
Christies on the Rise
It became clear right from the start: The Christie brothers had no trouble keeping up with Payne and Rousseau. After just two laps, Sam Christie launched an attack and passed Payne on the long start-finish straight. He quickly built up a small lead, while Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie (Hänni Racing) also surged past Payne. Was the Steinhausen team experiencing technical difficulties? Or was Payne deliberately conserving his tires for the long 16-lap race?
By the middle of the race, Payne had found his rhythm again, caught up with Päivärinta, and set off in pursuit of the leading Christies. A fierce battle for the lead ensued: Payne applied pressure, but the Christies held their ground at every turn. On the penultimate lap, Payne finally used the slipstream to pass them—and didn’t relinquish the lead until the finish line. “For a while, I couldn’t quite keep up with the pace, which is why we fell back,” Payne explained. “But then I found my groove again and had a new burst of energy, so we were able to fight our way back up.” With this one-two finish, Payne/Rousseau have reclaimed the championship lead—still ahead of the consistently strong Christies, who once again had to settle for second place on the podium. But there was no sign of frustration whatsoever: “That was a fast race and a lot of fun. We were able to keep up with the leaders—we showed that today, and that was important to us,” said Tom Christie, who also praised Payne’s tire management.
Päivärinta gets in on the action; Schlosser is helpless
Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie also put in a strong performance at Assen. With a second-place finish and a third-place finish, they showed fighting spirit and consistently stayed among the leaders. In the overall standings, however, the duo remains in fourth place.
The weekend didn’t go as well for Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmid (Team Schlosser). A glitch with the clutch made things difficult for them in both races, forcing them to run at only half power. Both starts went poorly, causing them to drop back a few positions early on and forcing them to fight their way back to the front. Despite some impressive passing moves against Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition) and Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement (Ellis/Clement Racing), they ultimately finished no higher than fourth in both races. With 26 points from Assen, Schlosser slips from first to third place in the overall standings—now 21 points behind Payne/Rousseau.
Ellis/Clement finished fifth both times, followed by Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (Team Hannafin). Since five of the 14 sidecar teams dropped out of the second race due to technical issues, Paul Kirby/Emal Salmon (KRT), Joni and Tero Manninen (Manninen Sidecar Racing), and Wiggert Kranenburg/Kevin Kölsch (Flying Dutchmen) rounded out the top 9.
The Sidecar World Championship will now take a four-week break before returning to Assen in September—this time as part of the British Superbike Championship (BSB). The grand finale will take place in early October at the Sidecar Festival at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
FIM Sidecar World Championship, Main Race
- Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (GB/F), ARS Yamaha
- Sam Christie/Tom Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Pekka Päivärinta/Adam Christie (FIN/GB), ARS Yamaha
- Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha
- Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clément (GB/F), LCR Yamaha
- Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (GB/CZ), ARS Yamaha
- Paul Kirby/Emal Salmon (GBR/FRA), ARS Yamaha
- Joni Manninen/Tero Manninen (FIN), LCR Yamaha
- Wiggert Kranenburg/Kevin Kölsch (NLD/GER), LCR Yamaha
DNF: Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (F), LCR Yamaha
DNF: Benni Streuer/Manon Vissenberg (NLD/CGE), ARS Yamaha
DNF: Patrick Werkstetter/Valentin Pirat (GER/FRA), ARS Yamaha