Round 5 of the FIM Sidecar World Championship in Assen

With the fifth round of the FIM Sidecar Championship heading back to Assen. The championship is starting to hot up.  Only nine points separate first and second place, and only five points separate third and fourth place.

The two teams battling for top spot in the championship just now are, Pekka Paivarinta and Adolf Hanni, and they have been steady all through the season so far.  Two wins, two seconds and a third, which puts them in top spot, compared with second place team Jorg Steinhausen and Ashley Hawes, who have one win, two seconds and two thirds.  They will be fighting hard for top honours in Assen, but this might be a problem, because last time in Assen, it was The Birchall Brothers Ben and Tom who were standing on top of the podium, and who would not bet on them being there again, with their on form performances in the last two GP’s

Another team to stand on the podium this year and now sitting fourth in the championship, Scott Lawrie and James Neave who were sitting third from round one in Aragon Spain, they have been knocked down to fourth, by the aforementioned, on form team of Ben and Tom Birchall.  Lawrie and Neave had a disappointing race last time out in Germany, but they like the Assen track, so will be looking to bounce back with a good result.

Michael Grabmuller and Manfred Wechselberger from Austria have been slowly working their way up the championship board with some good steady races, getting good points.  However they will need to keep at it, as Kurt Hock is regrouping his season, after a monster crash in Croatia, where he and regular passenger Enrico Becker were injured.
Hock is over his injury, but has had to call on the services of Maik Ziegel to stand in for Becker who will not be fit for Assen.

Local team, Bennie Streuer and Geert Koerts will want to put in a good performance for their fans.  Last time here they finished a good fifth place, and it’s the fastest the Dutch team have been round here, so they will want to do the same or better, this time.  Another team from Holland is Kees Kentrop and Danny De Haas, they missed the last round, so they will want to go well and move up the championship board.  And maybe overtake fellow countrymen Streuer and Koerts in the championship as there is only six points between them.

There will be 17 lap race on the Sunday over the 4.542km circuit which is run in a clockwise direction.

Words & pictures Mark Walters