Pole and race one to Steinhausen and Cluze

Race one this weekend started with the sun shining down on twenty sidecar teams. With the top four teams jostling for top spot in the Championship it was going to be a hot race, full throttle for all 15 laps no rest for any team. As the lights went out it was Tim Reeves and Ashley Hawes, “The Relocator” LCR Suzuki, who got a flyer of a start with Ben and Tom Birchall on their Mitchells of Mansfield, LCR, Yamaha, only a bike length from them. Jorg Steinhausen and Gregory Cluze, Steinhausen Racing, LCR, BMW were tucked right in behind the Birchall’s, Markus Schlosser and Thomas Hofer, Team Schlosser, LCR, Suzuki, were jostling for position against Pekka Paivarinta and Adolf Hanni, Team Suzuki Finland, LCR Suzuki who had just nipped in front of Sean Heggarty and Calum Lawson, Team Heggarty Lawson, LCR Suzuki, who got a great start just in front of Kurt Hock and Enrico Becker, Hock Racing, LCR, Suzuki. By the end of lap one all had changed at the front, Steinhausen and Cluze had got past the Birchall Brothers Ben and Tom, and Reeves and Hawes, Paivarinta and Hanni had also got past Schlosser and Hofer, and Hock and Becker got past Heggarty and Lawson. Hock and Becker started to make ground on the leading five teams and by doing this he was pulling Heggarty and Lawson with them, but by the latter stages of the race the pace at the front had increased and Hock and Becker followed by Heggarty and Lawson were to fall back slightly, but on the last corner on lap twelve Heggarty had a problem and had to pull off track, him and Lawson were to DNF, a very disappointed Sean said “the front wheel mudguard and bracket broke and wrapped round the front wheel, it’s a pity because we were having a great race with Hock and Becker, we will be ready for tomorrows race though” with them DNF this let Michael Grabmuller and Ueli Wafler, Delta Racing, LCR, Kawasaki, finish seventh, behind Hock and Becker in sixth, Hock said after the race “ we had to change an engine after yesterday, everything is okay, but we have to go faster” As the race came to an end Steinhausen and Cluze had pulled out a good gap to take the chequered flag in first position and have the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:30.748. They were overjoyed with their result, “this means a lot to the team, they have worked so hard, and it is great for the Championship” said Jorg. Crossing the line in second place was Paivarinta and Hanni who managed to overhaul Reeves and Hawes who finished third, Reeves said “I did not have a good front tyre and had some small problems with the bike, but Jorg drove a great race and his bike is going really well”. Schlosser and Hofer managed to get past the Birchall Brothers by lap ten and they were to take the flag in fourth place, with the Birchall Brothers Ben and Tom right on their tail in fifth. Sophia Kirchofer and Anna Burkard, Ladies Team Suisse finished the race in eighteenth place, “we are so happy to have finished a World Championship race, I can’t really believe it, it was great to race with the best, and I hope we can do better tomorrow, the bike is going well”. said Sophia. Tomorrow sees a 22 lap race and the teams will be hoping the weather holds and some of the teams will be hoping for better results.
Texte and photos Mark Walters