Winter arrived with a vengeance overnight ahead of Saturday qualifying at the 2024 Sidecarcross of Nations in the Czech Rebublic at Loket, with cold, wet conditions greeting the teams for free practice. They scrubbed most of the surface mud away from the track, closely followed by the quads doing even more clearing of the surface. Despite the adverse conditions, speeds were high, and everyone made it round in style.
Three qualifying races for groups “A”, “B”, and “C” were scheduled for the afternoon, the starting positions for which were drawn by ballot in an open witnessed session Friday afternoon.
The crowd was undeterred, just as they had been for the scheduled team presentation on Friday evening. All the organisers, FIM officials and all competing team members were introduced to a large raucous crowd, fuelled by enthusiasm and the inevitable liquid refreshment.
Qualifying Race “A” – This was a fine start for Belgium in the competition as newly-crowned world champion Marvin Vanluchene with Robbe de Veene alongside, had a “gate to flag” win, although they were pressed in the early stages by Team GB’s Dan Foden/Josh Chamberlain and then by triple French champions Killian and Evan Prunier. These three teams made the running with Koen Hermans and Ben van den Bogaart playing catch-up for Team Netherlands. They made their way past the British crew into third, but that was as far as they got. The Latvian pairing of Janis and Lauris Daiders showed their class early on along with Ular Karing and Oliver Lamp of Estonia, and both teams hung on for at least half of the race. Tim Prummer/Jens Vincent also had a poor start, making it through to fifth at the flag, passing the Baltic country teams in the process.
Qualifying Race “B” – Thomas Hamard/Matis Hupon did their typical flying start to lead for France. It was not long before Davy Sanders/Jarno Steegmans took control, never to look back. They built a twenty-second lead over the French team, who in turn had their hands full with the Estonians Normak and Kasesalu. The Czechs Tomas and Jakub Vejchoda were also featuring well, but eventually succumbed to the chasing pack.
Tim Leferink, with Dion Rietman standing in for his brother, did not have the best start, but soon began to make progress. They soon closed on the Estonian pair, but passing was a different matter. With Sanders/Steegmans opening an ever-increasing lead, the battle behind was where the interest lay. There were four outfits in line astern and coming fast were also Stuart Brown and Lewis Gray. They were eventually to bring it home in fifth place ahead of the Weinmann brothers.
Into the closing stages, Leferink went third, only for the Estonian Normak to re-claim the place one lap later. Sanders backed off but kept enough in hand to win comfortably for Belgium. With Vanluchene’s group “A” win, things were looking good for Belgium.
Qualifying Race “C” – Gert Gordejev took Estonia into the lead from the gate, as he and Niki Debruyne claimed the holeshot. They set a cracking pace, chased by the British Champions Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard. For France, Guennady Auvray and Rodolphe Lebreton were also in this leading trio, with the Lielbardis brothers from Latvia recovering from a none too special start. Gert van Werven was another who had to work hard to get into the mix and this he did, following the Lielbardis boys through as they claimed place after place until they were on Wilkinson’s tail. Gordejev ended up in fifth after giving everyone a run for their money, as indeed did Auvray/Lebreton. In sixth sat Italy with the Lasagna brothers, and that was where they finished.
Race day of the 2024 FIM Sidecarcross of Nations at Loket in the Czech Republic was another cold start to race day, but this time, the skies were clear. Morning warm-up set the scene for what we knew would be great racing on a well-prepared track. A good crowd, many dressed in national flags and traditional costume had spent the night in the campsite and were very much up for having a good time.
With three sidecar and three quad races to enjoy, there would be much to see, and we were broadcasting every moving moment of the action, with post-race interviews from the successful teams.
Race One (A+B) – A cracking start took Killian and Evan Prunier into an immediate lead which they were never to relinquish. The triple French Champions were on great form to round off the season. Marvin Vanluchene and Robbe de Veene slotted second up the hill, with Dan Foden/Josh Chamberlain alongside them. Foden moved ahead and Vanluchene spent a fair amount of effort closing the British crew down. He had to be careful because Koen Hermans/Ben van den Bogaart were making way up to the leaders from a slower start.
Koen admits he has not yet perfected the start technique with the new Mega engine. It was also another strong showing from the Normak/Kasesalu duo from Estonia, who proved difficult for them to pass. Once up to second place, Vanluchene settled and Hermans had then to contend with Foden. Twice he passed the British crew and twice they regained the position, once when Hermans got stuck in a rut behind them. Foden was able to get going quickly, but Hermans was not so lucky.
Tim Leferink was also making ground and looking threatening, as indeed were Tim Prummer and Jens Vincent. The German team had a good battle with Leferink and eventually made the pass.
At the same time, Hermans had regained his composure and leapt past Vanluchene on one of the back jumps, desperate to narrow the twenty-second deficit on race leaders Killian and Evan Prunier.
Going into the final lap, Prummer had closed on Foden, now in fourth place and made a serious downhill lunge to make the pass. There was heavy contact between the two outfits, resulting in strong words from the British crew. The result was a fourth place for Germany and a fifth for team GB.
Prunier’s victory was extremely impressive, with team-mates Hamard/Hupon following them home out of the top ten in fourteenth place.
Race Two (B+C) – There were some big names in this one, so the start would once again be crucial. The opening race showed how difficult it was to overtake, and every position would count. Down went the gate and the charge up the hill was on. Gert Gordejev/Niki Debruyne again were electric out of the gate, with Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard in hot pursuit.
Sanders/Steegmans were as reliable as ever. Always in the mix, and they were at the sharper end this time.
In fourth were the Lielbardis brothers with teammates Rupeiks/Liepins around mid-pack at this point. Very soon Wilkinson was in front with the Lielbardis brothers very much on his case. The newly crowned runners-up in the World Championship had a devastating turn of speed and hassled Wilkinson lap after lap. We were not to know, but on lay seven, the nut securing the main suspension pivot spindle on Wilkinson’s bike had broken, with the spindle then working its way out into the sidecar. Brett was obliged to keep it trapped with his left foot for the remainder of the race. Once the Latvians were past, they had opened a thirty-second lead by the flag.
Sanders and Tim Leferink/Dion Rietman had a good scrap, with the Weinmann brothers right with them as the race unfolded. These three teams were all on the same piece of track at the flag. Also prominent was the performance of team France with Auvray/Lebreton, heading compatriots Hamard/Hupon to sixth and seventh after a brilliant display of team solidarity.
Meanwhile, early fast starters Gert Gordejev/Niki Debruyne kept it alive and brought it home in eighth place. Stuart Brown for team GB finished ninth to back up his earlier tenth.
Race Three (A+C) – This was another barnstorming race filled with star talent. New champion Vanluchene made no mistake from the gate but had two team GB outfits for company on the opening lap along with a very fast Koen Hermans. At this point of the competition, it was all very tight, with Gert van Werven having dropped out with engine troubles from the previous race.
He had made a rapid engine change and that proved crucial.
The Prunier brothers were right up in the chase and looking strong, when a mistake by Killian took him off the bike and into the ropes. They recovered to seventh behind their teammates Auvray/Lebreton.
Team Lielbardis, from being right at the front, also hit trouble when they had a problem with some deep stuff and dropped several places. It was hard to know where the next drama was coming from.
Dan Foden/Josh Chamberlain, along with Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard were terrific throughout, keeping British hopes alive to the flag.
Words by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC