FIM SideCar Championship
Rd2, Pannoniaring (Hungary)
Gold Race report The heat was intense, but there was a small breeze, so this would be good for the sidecar teams as they lined up on the grid for the 15 lap “Gold Race” at the “Pannonia Ring” Hungary.
As the lights went out, Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes led the rest of the field the first sequence of corners. To his left was Ben and Tom Birchall in second, to his right in third was Pekka Paivarinta and Jussi Veravainen, right behind was Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert in fourth. Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries were just to the side of Sattler and Neubert in fifth. Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau were way out on the inside of the circuit in sixth spot just in front of Sam and Adam Christie. Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were tucked in behind Sattler and Neubert in eighth. Kees Endeveld and Jeroen Remme were in ninth place just in front of Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement. Jakob Rutz and Bjorn Bosch were in front of Rupert Archer and Stephen Thomas, with Janez Remse and Manfred Wechselberger bringing up the rear.
During the early stages of the race the front three teams were doing a bit of josseling about. Paivarinta and Veravainen took the lead from Reeves and Wilkes with the Birchall Brothers down to third. A few laps later, Reeves and Wilkes were back in front followed by the Birchall Brothers, then Paivarinta and Veravainen in third. However, these teams knew that tyre life was going to be a big factor in the race. So maybe there was a bit of tactics playing a part here.
Lap seven of the race saw Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries up to fourth place, Joseph Sattler and Uwe Neubert had pulled out for a DNF. They had mechanical problems, a reoccurrence of their gearbox problems from yesterday. Schlosser and Fries were to keep this position through out the race. A lonely race for them.
Like yesterdays “Sprint Race” Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau were locked in a battle with Sam and Adam Christie. This battle would last the distance of the race but it was Streuer and Rousseau who were having the upper hand over the Christie Brothers.
Lukas Wyssen and Thomas Hofer were to have a lonely race in seventh, just like their fellow countrymen Schlosser and Fries in fourth.
Rupert Archer and Stephen Thomas were having problems with their machine from lap five, the team tried to nurse their machine along, but the problem was to get worse and the had to DNF on lap seven.
Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement were to have a steady race, but towards the end of the race they were having some issues with fuel, but they managed the situation pretty well.
There was to be a good tussle between Janez Remse and Manfred Wechselberger and Kees Endeveld and Jeroen Remme through out the race. This was good for Endeveld/Remme, they enjoyed racing with Remse/Wechselberger, not like the lonely race they had yesterday. However, Remse/Wechselberger were to have some small mechanical problems towards the end of the race which slowed them, letting Endeveld/Remme pass and take ninth place at the end of the race, Remse/Wechselberger took tenth.
They were happy, just to get a race and finish after the problems they had throughout the weekend.
Jakob Rutz and Bjorn Bosch finished the race in eleventh place but they were one lap down.
By the end of the race, Reeves and Wilkes were stamping their authority on the race. They were pulling away from the Birchall Brothers, who in turn were making a good gap between themselves and Paivarinta and Veravainen. It was clear that Paivarinta and Veravainen were having handling issues with tyre grip, they were in a safe third place, but it was a hard race for the team.
A delighted Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes fought hard for the race win, and again were credited with the fastest time in the race, a 2:00,723.
Ben and Tom Birchall took second place, they were happy with the result. They just could not stay with Reeves and Wilkes today. But they are looking forward to the next round in Oschersleben, Germany.
Paivarinta and Veravainen took a good third place albeit a hard third. They also are looking forward to Oschersleben.
Markus Schlosser and Marcel Fries had a lonely race, but fourth place was a great result for the team, they had a lot of work to do to their machine over the weekend.
Bennie Streuer and Kevin Rousseau won the battle between themselves and the Christie Brothers. They took fifth place, but the team think maybe they have a problem with their machine, they feel it is down on power.
Sam and Adam Christie were delighted with their sixth place. They have had some good battles with Streuer and Rousseau over the weekend, just what the team needed.
Wyssen and Hofer had a hard weekend, working on their machine, and not knowing if they could go full gas. But they are happy with their seventh place in the race.
Eighth place went to Paul Leglise and Emmanuelle Clement. They managed to get their machine over the line in the end. They were happy to finish, and get the result.
The next round will be at Oschersleben, Germany, in three weeks time. There will be two races there too, so lots of championship points to be had. Mark Walters