Following a three-week break in the schedule that gave teams a vital early-season window to regroup and refine their set-ups, action in the 2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship resumes this coming weekend (8-10 May) when round two takes place at Grobnik-Rijeka in Croatia.
Heading to the Automotodrom Grobnik with the series lead following a perfect performance at the opening round at Le Mans last month, former champions Harrison Payne (ARS Yamaha) and Kevin Rousseau are setting the pace at the top of the table as the series returns to the circuit for the first time since 2022.
After leaving France with maximum points following their two race wins, the British/French pairing got their campaign to regain the throne they lost last season off to the best possible start, but defending champions Sam and Thomas Christie (LCR Yamaha) and Finn Pekka Päivärinta (ARS Yamaha) with Adam Christie – the third of the British brothers – in the chair will be determined to end their early win-streak.
After exchanging second and third-placed finishes in France, Päivärinta/Christie are tied on points for second with the Christie brothers with the veteran Finn – a five-time FIM Sidecar Rider World Champion – and his twenty-eight-year-old passenger claiming the second step of the podium on a tie-break.
With two races across the weekend – an eleven-lap Sprint race on the Saturday followed by Sunday’s eighteen-lap Main race – the championship positions could change dramatically and the British/French pairing of two-time champions Todd Ellis (ARS Yamaha) and Emmanuelle Clément, who were fourth at Le Mans, cannot be ruled out of contention having tasted victory the last time the Croatian venue featured on the calendar.
Racing with his new German passenger Lucas Krieg, Swiss star and 2021 champion rider Markus Schlosser (LCR Yamaha) was disappointed with his performance last time out and has a point to prove this weekend, while the French son and father team of Ted and Vincent Peugeot (LCR Yamaha) were in impressive form on home ground at the opening round and could threaten the podium if they can maintain their momentum.
Britain’s multi-time champion Tim Reeves – who last won the FIM Sidecar Rider World Champion title in 2019 – with France’s Mélanie Farnier in the sidecar have also started the season looking strong and Reeves’ considerable experience around the Automotodrom Grobnik could be the decisive advantage he needs, although the French pairing of Paul Leglise (LCR Yamaha) and Marjorie Cescutti – who scored a debut podium together last season – are playing catch-up following a crash in Le Mans that sidelined them for the programme’s Main race.
Grobnik-Rijeka could also give fans their first opportunity to see the Australian team of Corey and Danyon Turner (ARS Yamaha) in world championship action together if Danyon, who was ruled out of the opening round through injury and replaced by former Schlosser passenger Luca Schmidt from Germany, is fit.
The opening eleven-lap Sprint race from Grobnik-Rijeka is scheduled to start at 12:40 (local time) on Saturday 9 May before the eighteen-lap Main race gets under way the following day at 11:55 (local time). To access the live timings, click here.
Selected rounds of the 2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship will be streamed LIVE on FIM-MOTO.TV. For more information click here.