The fourth round of the 2014 World Sidecarcross Championships was held at the circuit des Tonnes just outside Brou in France. The event attracted 39 sidecar teams for the world championship races plus numerous supporting solo riders which caused the racing to go on until nearly 8 pm on Sunday - perhaps a bit excessive!
In the A group quali race the only British interest was Stewart France who was passengering the Dutch rider Mike Keuben. The race was led from gate to flag by Giraud / Musset with Bax / Stupelis taking second and defending world champions, Adriaenssen / v.den Bogaart third. Keuben / France did not make the cut.
The B group quali race had five Brits in it. Jenkins / Chamberlain took the holeshot but were quickly overhauled by Willemsen / Bax. Jenkins held on to Willemsen with Brown / Chamberlain in fifth, Wilkinson / Kirwin sixth and Millard / Millard eighth. Jarvis / Humphrey crashed out on the first lap.
Willemsen's lead lasted less than five laps when his rear tyre came off the rim gifting the lead to Hendrickx / Mucenieks who had just passed Jenkins. With two laps to go Brown took second place from Jenkins.
Hendrickx took the win from Brown with Jenkins third, Wilkinson fifth and Millard sixth. Willemsen was credited with twelfth place despite only completing four laps. In the last chance Keuben / France and Jarvis / Humphrey both made the cut.
Thunder and lightning livened things up after racing had finished on Sunday and certainly helped in controlling the dust for Mondays racing.
Monday morning was overcast and it wasn't long before we were treated to a hail storm. When the riders came to the line for the first race it was fine but it looked as if rain wasn't far away.
Incredibly 10 years after he did it here last Stuart Brown got the holeshot and led the field down the slope to turn two. Unfortunately just behind Brown / Chamberlain into turn one were Jenkins / Chamberlain who were hit from behind which turned their machine on its side. Jenkins was taken to the Red Cross centre and later to the hospital in Chartres with a suspected broken wrist. Chamberlain was not seriously hurt.
Immediately behind Brown was Hendrickx / Mucenieks with local favourites Giraud / Musset third. Millard was in fifth, Wilkinson tenth, Keuben thirteenth and Jarvis twenty first. Halfway round the first lap Hendrickx passed Brown to take the lead but at the end of the start straight on lap two Brown took it back. On the next lap Giraud took second place and urged on by the 6000 plus crowd he set off after Brown. Very soon after it all went very quiet when Giraud pulled out with machine problems gifting second place back to Hendrickx. Having started in eighth place Bax / Stupelis were now up to third place and on lap five they passed Hendrickx. Millard had dropped one place to Adriaenssen whilst Wilkinson was still in tenth, Keuben was twelfth and Jarvis was now up to eighteenth.
As the race progressed the rain started to fall which seemed to make no difference to Brown's progress but it had a noticeable effect on Bax who began to drop back. With about ten minutes to go Adriaenssen was up to fourth with Willemsen / Bax close behind.
Brown went on to take the win from Bax with Hendrickx third. Millard came home in sixth place, Wilkinson ninth, Keuben eleventh and Jarvis thirteenth. This was Brown's second ever race win and Chamberlain's first.
When the riders came to the line the skies had cleared and the track had dried out considerably. Into turn one Brown and Bax were virtually side by side but Bax just managed to take the lead in the straight down to turn two. In third place was Hendrickx with Giraud fourth. Millard was in sixth, Wilkinson fourteenth, Jarvis sixteenth and Keuben twenty third. On lap two Giraud was past Brown and one lap later much to the delight of the crowd he took the lead. After another mediocre start Adriaenssen was now up to fifth and closing in on Hendrickx. Millard was now being caught by Willemsen whilst Wilkinson was up to twelfth.
At half distance Giraud was well clear but Bax was now coming under pressure from Brown. At about the same time Willemsen drove into Joe Millard dumping him on the floor and by so doing took seventh place. At the twenty minute mark Brown passed Bax who was obviously in trouble and it wasn't long before Adriaenssen was past and with two laps to go Hendrickx was also past.
Willemsen held Millard off for three laps but on lap ten he appeared to let the Millards back in front.
Giraud went on to take the win from Brown and Adriaenssen with Millard finishing seventh, Wilkinson eleventh, and Jarvis eighteenth.
Brown / Chamberlain took the overall win, their first ever, from Adriaenssen with Hendrickx third. Brown is now in third place in the world table just one point behind Hendrickx but twenty five points behind series leader Adriaenssen.
The next round is at Genk in Belgium on 13th July