The 2025 FIM World Sidecarcross Championship has seen drama from the off, but the grand finale in Germany this weekend promises to exceed anything we have seen so far.
In Vesoul at the penultimate round, we saw the red plate move from Koen Hermans Mega WSP to the Prunier brothers’ Zabel powered outfit. The Frenchmen were nothing short of sensational in France, winning their qualifier, and taking both GP race victories.
To add to this remarkable feat was another spirited performance by Britons Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard, finishing in third place on the Vesoul podium and moving to within a career best margin of six points from the championship leaders. Sandwiched in the middle of these two teams is the Hermans/van den Bogaart outfit, who had held the red plate all season. They are now two slender points behind Prunier.
With fifty-five points up for grabs, including qualifying, there can be no room for error either on the track, or in the workshop. These are three teams all seeking their first driver’s title, with Ben van den Bogaart in line for a fifth.
The stakes could not be higher, and with those six points separating the three, there will be some sleepless nights in the days leading up to the event.
Last year, Wilkinson/Millard took overall victory in Rudersberg with second place in race one, and race two victory. The Prunier brothers took third and second, claiming third overall. Hermans had bad luck finishing out of the points in the opener but rallying to take a strong finish in race two.
Rudersberg tends to be friendly to the left-handed sidecars, but this is such an important weekend, all previous biases and assumptions are out of the window.
With the Lielbardis brother and Justin Keuben/Dion Rietman crashing in Vesoul the pressure from the chasing pack is now off, but there is much still to play for below those two teams.
Does history repeat itself, can any previous form be considered? I honestly think all bets are off and this will be a fantastically exciting event not to be missed.
There are other proven teams also very keen to grab some of the action, such as Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann and Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson, to name just two. Whilst not in title contention, both could easily take points from those who are. That is the fascination of this amazing sport. We are truly on the cusp of something special. Remember, if you can’t be there in person, make sure you catch the live action as it happens on the live stream from FIM-MOTO.TV.
With the Lielbardis brother and Justin Keuben/Dion Rietman crashing in Vesoul the pressure from the chasing pack is now off, but there is much still to play for below those two teams.
Does history repeat itself, can any previous form be considered? I honestly think all bets are off and this will be a fantastically exciting event not to be missed.
There are other proven teams also very keen to grab some of the action, such as Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann and Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson, to name just two. Whilst not in title contention, both could easily take points from those who are. That is the fascination of this amazing sport. We are truly on the cusp of something special. Remember, if you can’t be there in person, make sure you catch the live action as it happens on the live stream from FIM-MOTO.TV.
Words by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC