The Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is gearing up for one last highlight of the season: This year, the final rounds of the FIM Superside World Championship will not be held in Portugal as usual, but will take place over a weekend in the Magdeburger Börde as part of the Sidecar Festival. Over 200 sidecars are expected on the 3.696-kilometer track, providing plenty of racing action not only in the World Championship finale but also as part of the Northern Sidecar Cup, the International Sidecar Trophy, and the Camathias Cup. Demo and taxi rides round out the program. Anyone who wants to hop into a sidecar and take a few laps will have the chance to do so this weekend.
Title race remains wide open heading into the finale
With twelve of the season’s 14 races completed, the situation is clear but by no means decided: Defending champions Harry Payne and his co-driver Kevin Rousseau (Steinhausen Racing/ARS Yamaha) head into the final as the points leaders. The British-French duo has secured eight wins and two second-place finishes so far and holds a 21-point lead over Sam and Tom Christie (Team Hannafin/LCR Yamaha). However, two retirements this season have already shown that even small mistakes can turn the championship on its head once again.
For the Christie brothers, this is their last chance not only to fight for the title but also to finally secure their first win of the season. With the exception of one race, they’ve finished on the podium after every race so far—but never in first place. If the Christies win both races, Payne/Rousseau can gain a maximum of 26 points to defend their lead—so excitement is guaranteed.
Breakup, a new passenger, and withdrawal
Markus Schlosser (Team Schlosser/LCR Yamaha) hasn’t given up hope of winning his second world championship title since 2021 either. Although his title chances are purely mathematical—he trails by 41 points—the ambitious Swiss rider will give it his all in the final round to make the decisive difference. In his yellow-and-black sidecar, he will be competing with a new co-pilot: Following his recent split from Luca Schmidt, German rider Lukas Krieg will now be taking his place alongside him. Krieg has also been without a team as of today, after his former rider, Lennard Göttlich, officially retired from sidecar racing.
The battle for fifth place was actually set to be between Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clément (Ellis/Clément Racing/LCR Yamaha), Rupert Archer/Ondrej Sedlacek (Hannafin/LCR Yamaha), and Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (521 Competition/LCR Yamaha). However, neither Ellis nor Leglise will be competing in the final. Patrick Werkstetter/Valentin Pirat (Bonovo Action/Sattler Motorsport/ARS Yamaha), on the other hand, currently in ninth place, could throw everything they have into the mix to climb a few more spots in the overall standings by the end. For the German-French duo, this could also be their last race weekend together: According to team boss Sepp Sattler, their participation in the upcoming season is currently still uncertain and not financially secured.
Training and race times
The action kicks off on Friday with free practice. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, at 10:15 a.m., followed by the sprint race at 4:15 p.m. The main race takes place on Sunday, October 5, at 2:20 p.m. All sessions can also be followed via live timing.