The crowd in Assen got their money's worth on Sunday. The second race of the Sidecar World Championship, held as part of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB), kept the crowd guessing right up until the very end as to who would cross the finish line first—with Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) coming out on top.
Pressure from all sides
Starting from third on the grid, Payne put the pedal to the metal. With a strong move, the defending champion took the lead in the second corner. Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt (Gustoil Sidecar Racing/LCR Yamaha) also found a way past the pole-sitters, Sam and Tom Christie (Team Hannafin/LCR Yamaha), who initially dropped back to third place.
Behind them were Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément (LCR Yamaha), who had been forced to retire the day before through no fault of their own after a collision with the Birchall sidecar team, which had spun out. Neither Ben Birchall/Patrick Rosney (Birchall Racing) nor Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition) were able to compete after their rollovers in Saturday’s sprint race. They were followed by five-time world champion Pekka Päivärinta with Adam Christie (Hänni Racing/ARS Yamaha) and Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence (Dave Holden Racing/LCR Yamaha).
While Payne and Rousseau tried to pull away at the front, the Christie brothers were putting serious pressure on Markus Schlosser at the back. But the Swiss driver didn’t let himself be rattled and defended his position. As a result, Payne’s lead shrank—within a lap, the trio was back in a tight pack.
The safety car keeps things exciting
There was a moment of panic on the sixth lap: Lewis Nicol and Clément Conil suffered an engine failure that left an oil trail on the track. Race control sent the safety car onto the track, and the field was bunched up. Two strong duos were already missing: Ben Birchall/Patrick Rosney (Birchall Racing) and Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition) were unable to compete in the main race after rolling their cars in Saturday’s sprint race. After two laps, the race finally resumed—with the tension now at its peak.
Payne got off to a perfect restart and defended his lead with determination. Schlosser kept up the pressure and launched his first attack on the eleventh lap, but Payne countered immediately. This brought the Christies back into contention after they had initially lost ground at the restart.
In the penultimate lap of the 16-lap race, Schlosser made another move in the final chicane in the battle for the lead, but luck was not on his side. Quite the opposite, in fact. Instead of taking the lead, Schlosser and Schmidt lost momentum and slipped back to third place. It was a bold move that ended bitterly.
Payne keeps his cool
Despite the immense pressure, Payne held on to the lead all the way to the finish line—by a razor-thin margin of 0.311 seconds ahead of the Christie brothers, who put in a strong performance. Schlosser/Schmidt had to settle for third place after their failed attack. Blackstock/Lawrence confirmed their strong form with a fourth-place finish, while Päivärinta/Christie secured important points with a fifth-place finish.
In the final stages, Ellis/Clément (Team Ellis/Clément) slipped back behind the Laidlow brothers (Team Laidlow Racing 84). Patrick Werkstetter/Valentin Pirat (Bonovo Action/Sattler Motorsport/ARS Yamaha) once again shone with a strong eighth-place finish.
World Championship Standings Ahead of Oschersleben
Ahead of the season finale in Oschersleben in two weeks, on October 4–5, Payne/Rousseau now hold a 23-point lead over the Christies. For Schlosser/Schmidt, trailing by 41 points, the title is now only a mathematical possibility—it would take a minor miracle to turn the tide.
FIM Sidecar – Main Race Results:
- Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau (GB/F), ARS Yamaha
- Sam Christie/Tom Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Markus Schlosser/Luca Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha.
- Lewis Blackstock/Oscar Lawrence (UK), LCR Yamaha
- Pekka Päivärinta/Adam Christie (FIN/GB), ARS Yamaha
- Sam Laidlow/Jack Laidlow (UK), LCR Yamaha
- Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clement (GB/F), LCR Yamaha
- Patrick Werkstetter/Valentin Pirat (Germany/France), ARS Yamaha
- Robert Biggs/Ferry Segert (GB), LCR Yamaha
- Kevin Cable/Charlie Richardson (GB), LCR Yamaha