2001 Sidecarcross World Championship

The 2001 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 22nd edition of the competition, started on 1 April and finished after fourteen Grand Prix on 30 September 2001.[1]

2001 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix 14
Start date 1 April 2001
End date 30 September 2001
Drivers
Champions Kristers Serģis
Artis Rasmanis
Sidecarcross des Nations
Chronology
Previous season Next season
2000 2002

The defending champions were Kristers Serģis and his passenger Artis Rasmanis from Latvia who also took out the 2001 championship, thereby winning their fourth World Championship together, becoming the third team in the history of the sport to do so.[2] For one race of the season, the first of the two German Grand Prix, Serģis rode with Dutch passenger Christian Verhagen by his side, in all other events he participated with Rasmanis.[3] The pair won the competition with a margin of 123 points, with Dutch rider Daniël Willemsen and his Belgian passenger Sven Verbrugge coming second, as they had done the year before. Willemsen, like Serģis, used a different passenger for one event, Czech rider Premsyl Novotny in the first of the two German Grand Prix. Third place went to the Swedish combination of Henrik Söderqvist and Tobias Sylwan, who had previously achieved the same result in 1999.[2] All up, 51 teams were classified in the overall standings with last place going to the Estonian team of Tommas and Tinnu Soir.[4]

The Sidecarcross World Championship, first held in 1980 and organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, is an annual competition. All races, manufacturers and the vast majority of riders in the competition being in and from Europe.[1][4] Sidecarcross is similar to motocross except that the teams consist of two riders, a driver and a passenger. Races are held on the same tracks as solo motocross but the handling of the machines differs as sidecars don't lean. The majority of physical work in the sport is carried out by the passenger, who speeds up the sidecarcross in corners by leaning out. The coordination between the driver and the passenger are therefore of highest importance.[5]

Overview

The fourteen races of the season were held in eleven countries, Germany (2x), France, Latvia (2x), Estonia (2x), Ukraine, Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In comparison to the 2000 edition which had thirteen Grand Prix,[6] the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic and Ukraine had been added to the calendar while the GP of Belarus had been dropped.[1]

Events typically consist of a qualifying competition, held in multiple stages on Saturdays of a race weekend while the two race events are typically held on Sundays. One exception to this rule is Easter weekends, when the races are held on Easter Monday. Race weekends can consist of additional motocross or quart support races as well, but the FIM stipulates that the World Championship races have priority. Riders have to be provided with at least one 30 minute free practice session, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. Up to 32 entries, it will be held in one group split into two sessions of 30 minutes each. Above 32 entries, the starter field will be sub-divided into two groups through ballot and the current standings. Each qualifying group can consist of up to 30 racers. Should there be more than 60 entries, a pre-qualifying has to be held. Of the riders in the two groups, the top-twelve directly qualify for the races. The remaining teams then go to a second-chance qualifying, in which the best six advance. The riders placed seventh and eighth remain in reserve should one of the qualified teams not be able to participate.[7]

The points system used in 2001 was uniquely different from the seasons before or after. In comparison to the system used until 2000, sixteen instead of fifteen teams were awarded points per race while the points for the race winner were increased from 20 to 25:[8]

Place Points
1 25
2 20
3 16
4 13
5 11
6 10
7 9
8 8
Place Points
9 7
10 6
11 5
12 4
13 3
14 2
15 1
16 -

Retirements

At the end of the 2001 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being British rider Chris Etheridge, active since 1986 and with a seventh place in 1993 as his best result, and Dutch Jacky Janssen, active since 1991 and with four fourth places from 1994 to 1996 and, again, in 2001 as his best results.[9][10][11]

Calendar

The calendar for the 2001 season:[1]

Date Place Race winners GP winner Source
1 April Castelnau-de-Lévis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
6 May Pflückuff Daniël Willemsen / Premsyl Novotny Daniël Willemsen / Premsyl Novotny Result
Daniël Willemsen / Premsyl Novotny
3 June Bielstein Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
10 June Cēsis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Result
Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan
9 June Saku Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
1 July Chernivtsi Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
15 July Neeroeteren Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann Result
Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann
22 July Loket Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
5 August Jaanikese Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
12 August Ķegums Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
26 August Saxtorp Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
2 September Canada Heights Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
9 September Tägerig Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
30 September Oss Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
  • Flags for passengers not shown.

Classification

Riders

The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:[4]

Position Driver / Passenger Equipment Bike
No		 Points
1 Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis MTH-BSU 550
2 Daniel Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Zabel-BSU 427
3 Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan MTH-EML 351
4 Jacky Janssen / Wiljam Janssen MTH-BSU 304
5 Are Kaurit / Arvo Laksberg MTH-AYR 265
6 Alvar Korjus / Jurgen Jakk MTH-AYR 262
7 Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann MTH-EML 205
8 Peter Steegmans / Dagwin Sabbe MTH-EML 170
9 Marko Happich / Sebastian Boehme Zabel-VMC 170
10 Benoit Beaumont / Henry van de Wiel MTH-BSU 164
  • Equipment listed is motor and frame.

References
  1. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2001 Calendar Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 31 October 2013
  2. History - World Champions sidecarcross.com, accessed: 31 October 2013
  3. Kristers Serģis race results The John Davey pages, accessed: 31 October 2013
  4. FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2001 Archived 2013-10-31 at Archive.today FIM website, accessed: 31 October 2013
  5. The World Championship - Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 31 October 2013
  6. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2000 Calendar Archived 2013-10-31 at Archive.today FIM website, accessed: 31 October 2013
  7. FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 27 July 2011
  8. S/C GP DESTINATIONS The John Davey pages, accessed: 31 October 2013
  9. Official World Championship classification 2000–present Archived 2013-10-16 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 9 November 2014
  10. CHRIS ETHERIDGE GP RECORD The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014
  11. JACKY JANSSEN GP RECORD The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014
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