The FIM World Sidecar teams will have had a break of six weeks since the last round in Croatia. We are getting to the nitty gritty part of the season now. But with six races to go and double points being awarded at the last round in Estoril, Portugal, all is to fight for.
Round six of the championship will be in Oschersleben, Germany, at the 3.667km “Motorsport Arena” The circuit was opened in 1997 and is 30km from the city of Magdeburg.
Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries will come to Oschersleben leading the championship with 210 points with their LCR, Yamaha. The Swiss pair like and go well here in Oschersleben, Schlosser’s smooth and fast driving style suits the fast technical circuit. They will be hoping to increase their championship lead over the weekend.
41 points adrift and second in the championship is the rookie team of Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement. Driver Ellis has raced here before; he stood on the podium last year at the “Bonovo Action Superprix” so he and Clement will be looking for good results over the weekend with their LCR, Yamaha, and hope to close in on Schlosser and Fries for the championship.
Third in the championship with 135 points is Pekka Paivarinta and Ilse de Haas with their LCR, Yamaha. Paivarinta and De Haas have been enjoying their racing this year, maybe at times not the result they want, but they have been consistent throughout the season and they both have stood on the podium in the past here.
Fourth with 125 points is Stephen Kershaw and Ryan Charlwood on their LCR, Yamaha. Kershaw and Charlwood have certainly got their season back up and running after some bad luck early in the season. Kershaw has never been to Oschersleben but I am sure he will get to grips with the 3.667km circuit pretty fast.
Tim Reeves and Kevin Rousseau with their Adolf RS, Yamaha sit with 110 points in the championship. They have had an up and down season so far. Qualifying seems to go well for the team, but then they seem to hit problems during the races whether it be electrical or mechanical. With a possible 200 points left for race wins in the championship, Reeves and Rousseau will fight hard for these points.
Sixth place in the championship so far goes to Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer, the Swiss pair will hope they can have a good weekend in Oschersleben. They have had set up problems with their LCR, Yamaha at previous rounds, but they will have been working hard to resolve these problems.
Three teams wanting to upset the top runners will be Bennie Streuer and Jeroen Remme with their Adolf RS, Yamaha. Streuer has stood on the podium here many times, and if he had been race fit from the beginning of the season, I am sure the team would have been fighting for a top place in the championship. Josef Sattler and Luca Schmidt with their Adolf RS will be hoping for a good weekend here, they have been going well in their domestic IDM championship, and will know their way round the Oschersleben circuit. Kees Endeveld and Hendrik Crome with their LCR, Yamaha are sitting in eighth place in the championship. The team has had a nightmare season so far, a lot of unexplained electrical problems have plagued the team throughout. They will be hoping to turn that around over the weekend.
Claude Vinet and Melanie Farnier are sitting in ninth place of the championship with their LCR, Yamaha, it has been a big learning curve for the team this year but they have been working hard throughout and are enjoying the racing, this will be another new track for the team.
Peter Kimeswenger and Kevin Kolsh with their LCR Yamaha will be hoping to add to their points tally in the championship, they are in eleventh and a good weekend here will be just what the team want.
Kevin Cable and Kyle Masters will be back here in Oschersleben, they missed out in Croatia. The team raced here last year, so they will be hoping for a trouble free weekend with their LCR, Yamaha.
There will be four other teams going for glory here in Oschersleben. Slovenian driver Janez Remse with his Austrian passenger Manfred Wechselberger with their Adolf RS Yamaha had a good weekend in Croatia albeit they had gearbox problems. Robert Biggs and Jeroen Schmitz with their LCR, Yamaha will be hoping for a trouble free weekend, they have been having a good season, but the team has had some niggly problems with their machine too. A welcome return for the next two teams, they have raced in the championship in past years. Philippe Gallerne and Yann Druel with their RCN, Kawasaki. And Scott Lawrie with Shellie Smithies with their LCR, Yamaha. Lawrie and Smithies have been having a good season in the British domestic championship, but have had problems too.
There will be two 21 lap races, the first on Saturday 2nd and the second on Sunday the 3rd of October.
Mark Walters
News
FIM Sidecar World Championship: Oschersleben, Gremany, Preview.
