Markus Schlosser has had enough. Luck deserted him once again at the penultimate round of the Sidecar World Championship in Assen, while Pekka Päivärinta won the sprint race ahead of defending champion Harry Payne. The weekend in the Netherlands could prove decisive in the title race.
First, brothers Sam and Tom Christie (Team Hannafin/LCR Yamaha) secured pole position in qualifying, much to everyone’s surprise. They are known for their consistency and have always finished on the podium so far. But the fact that they would also dominate qualifying at the TT Circuit as part of the Superbike World Championship came as a surprise. The British duo even beat the lap time set by Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) in August by two and a half seconds. Last month, the Sidecar World Championship had already been on the track as part of the IDM. Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) secured second place on the grid. Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau started the race from third on the grid.
The World Championship title is up for grabs among these three teams. Today’s rain-soaked sprint race was a preview of a dramatic showdown. Things got off to a turbulent start. Ben Birchall and Patrick Rosney were too aggressive right from the start and made contact with Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément before rolling over.
Markus Schlosser, who had been in the lead, veered just a millimeter onto the white line and spun out. Because the team couldn’t get back on the track immediately, the competition zoomed past him on both sides. When the Swiss driver and his German co-pilot were able to continue, all they could do was limit the damage. They finished in seventh place, just 2.218 seconds ahead of the second German-speaking team of Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat. Schlosser had to collect himself first. “I just can’t believe it. So many drivers cross the white line and nothing happens. I just get close and it’s already over. When everything goes right for us in qualifying, we lack luck in the race,” said Schlosser, visibly shaken. Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti hit the white line and spun out.
Payne faces pressure from the WildCard driver
Starting from fourth on the grid, Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie raced their way to the front. The five-time world champion from Finland shone as he did in his prime. He was completely in his element on the slippery track. In the winter, he races on ice back home. Päivärinta won the race with a 7.8-second lead over Payne/Rousseau, whom he had consistently overtaken. It was his 35th World Championship victory.
The British-French duo had a lucky escape. In the final two laps, they were overtaken by Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence and had nothing to smile about. The nose of Blackstock’s sled was the first to nudge Rousseau’s boot. On the final lap, the bodywork with the red-gold-black honeycomb pattern appeared right next to the defending champions. Payne successfully fended off the pass and crossed the finish line 0.468 seconds ahead of the wildcard driver once again.
The End of a Success Story
For the Christie brothers, an extraordinary winning streak came to an end. In the Netherlands, the British pair failed to make it onto the podium for the first time this year. They have lost some ground in the World Championship standings. Schlosser/Schmidt have a much harder blow to swallow. Payne leads with 205 points, ahead of Christie (191) and Schlosser (179).
Sprint race results:
1. Pekka Päivärinta/Adam Christie (FIN/GB), ARS Yamaha
2. Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (GB/F), ARS Yamaha
3. Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence (GB), LCR Yamaha
4. Sam Christie/Tom Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha
5. Sam Laidlow/Jack Laidlow (GB), LCR Yamaha
6. Bennie Streuer/Manon Vissenberg (NL), ARS Yamaha
7. Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha.
8. Patrick Werkstetter/Valentin Pirat (D/F), ARS Yamaha
9. Lewis Nicol/Clement Conil (GB/F), LCR Yamaha
10. Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (GB/CZ), ARS Yamaha