The 2011 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 32nd edition of the competition, started on 3 April and finished after thirteen race weekends on 11 September 2011.
The defending champions were eight time winners Daniël Willemsen from the Netherlands and his passenger Gertie Eggink. In 2011, Willemsen raced with 43-year-old Sven Verbrugge as his passenger, after an injury to first-choice passenger Roman Vasyliaka. Willemsen and Verbrugge were a team for a fifth time in the history of the competition, with the combination winning the 2005 and 2006 titles together.Seitenwagen: Willemsen mit Verbrugge Speedweek, published: 24 March 2011, accessed: 3 April 2011 Willemsen temporarily switched to Ondrej Cermak as his passenger for the first of two German GP's because of an injury to Verbrugge. Willemsen and his passenger clinched the World Championship at the second-last race of the season, at Slagelse, Denmark, having a 53-point lead over Latvians Jānis and Lauris Daiders.Sven Verbrugge samen met Nederlander wereldkampioen zijspancrossen De Morgen, published: 4 September 2011, accessed: 6 September 2011Willemsen/Verbrugge wereldkampioen De Stentor, published: 4 September 2011, accessed: 6 September 2011 The Belgian-Latvian combination Joris Hendrickx-Kaspars Liepiņš, the 2009 World Champions and long the main rivals of Willemsen-Verbrugge during the 2011 season, suffered a season-ending injury at the qualifying of the German Grand Prix in July 2011, being able to compete in the race but requiring surgery afterwards.Seitenwagen-WM: Saisonende für Joris Hendrickx Speedweek, published: 29 July 2011, accessed: 8 August 2011
Parallel to the riders competition, a manufacturers championship was also held. Like in 2010, the competition was a close contest between 2010 champions WSP and eventual winners VMC.
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. 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.The World Championship - Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 27 July 2011
Overview The thirteen races of the season were held in eleven countries, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Poland, Ukraine, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Russia and Denmark. In comparison to the 2010 edition,FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2010 Calendar FIM website, accessed: 2 April 2011 the Grand Prix of Great Britain and Italy have been dropped off the calendar while the Swiss GP made a return.
Format
Every Grand Prix weekend is split into two races, both held on the same day. This means, the 2011 season with its thirteen Grand Prix has 26 races. Each race lasts for 30 minutes plus two laps. The two races on a weekend actually get combined to determine an overall winner. In case of a tie, the results of the second race as used to determined the winner. While this overall winners receives no extra WC points, they usually are awarded a special trophy. Race start times are set at 13:30 and 16:00.
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 season, 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.FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX FIM website, accessed: 27 July 2011
The FIM stipulates that all drivers must be of a minimum age of 18 while passengers have to be at least 16 years old to compete, but no older than 50. Riders older than 50 have to provide a certificate of medical fitness to be permitted to compete. The driver has the right to exchange his passenger under certain conditions.
Starting numbers for the season are awarded according to the previous seasons overall finishing position of the driver. Current or former World Champions have however the right to pick any number they wish, except the number one which is reserved for the current World Champion.
The competition is open for motor cycles with two-stroke engines from between 350 and 750cc and four-stroke engines of up to 1,000cc. Each team is permitted the use of two motorcycles with the possibility of changing machines between races.
The FIM does not permit radio communication between riders and their teams. Outside assistance during the race on the course is not permitted unless it is through race marshals in the interest of safety. Limited repairs in the designated repair zone during the race are permitted.
The first twenty teams of each race score competition points. The point system for the season was as follows: PlacePoints1 252 223 204 185 166 157 148 139 1210 11PlacePoints11 1012 913 814 715 616 517 418 319 220 1
Prize money In 2011, prize money was awarded to all rider scoring points, with €300 going to each race winner, €250 to the runners-up, gradually declining from there, with €50 going to all teams placed 12th to 20th. Additionally, every team qualified for the race plus the two reserve teams receive €500 in travel compensation.
Retirements At the end of the 2011 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being Russian Evgeny Scherbinin, runners-up in 2006 and active since 1999.Official World Championship classification 2000–present FIM website, accessed: 9 November 2014EVGUENY SHERBININ GP RECORD The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014
Calendar The calendar for the 2011 season:FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2011 Calendar FIM website, accessed: 5 August 2011 DatePlaceRace winnersGP winnerSource 3 April Oss Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx Result Janis Daiders / Lauris Daiders 17 April Castelnau Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 25 April Frauenfeld Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 8 May Chernivtsi Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 13 June Brou Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepiņš 26 June Gdańsk Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepins Result Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepins 3 July Genk Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 24 July S'bessenbach Daniël Willemsen / Ondrej Cermak Daniël Willemsen / Ondrej Cermak Result Daniël Willemsen / Ondrej Cermak 7 August Ķegums Ben Adriaenssen / Guennady Auvray Māris Rupeiks / Kaspars Stupelis Result Māris Rupeiks / Kaspars Stupelis 14 August Kiviõli Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal Result Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal 21 August Kamensk Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 4 September Slagelse Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart Result Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart 11 September Rudersberg Valentin Giraud / Nicolas Musset Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders Result Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart 25 September Jauer Belgium The Sidecarcross des Nations is a non-championship event but part of the calendar and is denoted by a light blue background in the table above. Flags for passengers not shown.
Classification
Riders The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2011 FIM website, accessed: 19 April 2011 PositionDriver / PassengerEquipmentBike NoPoints1 Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge 1 Zabel-WSP 1 4872 Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders Zabel-VMC 8 4783 Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx Zabel-VMC 3 4054 Māris Rupeiks / Kaspars Stupelis 2 Zabel-WSP 5 3495 Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart Zabel-VMC 4 3476 Ben Adriaenssen / Guennady Auvray KTM-VMC 6 3467 Ewgeny Scherbinin / Haralds Kurpnieks Zabel-WSP 20 3218 Marko Happich / Meinrad Schelbert Zabel-VMC 15 3179 Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepiņš KTM-VMC 2 31510 Daniel Millard / Joe Millard Husaberg-WHT 14 268 Equipment listed is motor and frame. 1 Used Ondřej Čermák as his passenger in the first German GP. 2 Used Elvijs Mucenieks as his passenger for the first two GP's of the season.
Manufacturers Parallel to the riders championship, a manufacturers competition was also held. In every race, only the best-placed rider of every make was awarded points in this competition.
The final standings in the manufacturers competition were: PositionManufacturerPoints1 VMC 5982 WSP 5633 MEFO 1844 AYR 44 5 KTM 9 6 Bastech KTM 6 7 BSU 2 8 Kawasaki 0 Husaberg 0
2011 season races
Oss – Netherlands The top ten of the first Grand Prix of the 2011 season, held on 3 April 2011, at Oss in the Netherlands:FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NETHERLANDS/PAYS-BAS FIM website, accessed: 5 April 2011 Top Ten Finishers Pos. Race 1 Race 2 # Team Make # Team Make 1 3 Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx Zabel-VMC 8 Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders Zabel-VMC 2 10 Jan Visscher / Jeroen Visscher Zabel-VMC 1 Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Zabel-WSP 3 4 Etienne Bax / Ben van den Bogaart Zabel-VMC 3 Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx Zabel-VMC 4 8 Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders Zabel-VMC 2 Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepins KTM-VMC 5 2 Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepins KTM-VMC 10 Jan Visscher / Jeroen Visscher Zabel-VMC 6 5 Māris Rupeiks / Elvijs Mucenieks Zabel-WSP 6 Ben Adriaenssen / Guennady Auvray KTM-VMC 7 14 Daniel Millard / Joe Millard Husaberg-WHT 17 Thijs Derks / Robbie Bax Husaberg-EML 8 20 Ewgeny Scherbinin / Haralds Kurpnieks Zabel-WSP 15 Marko Happich / Meinrad Schelbert Zabel-VMC 9 15 Marko Happich / Meinrad Schelbert Zabel-VMC 20 Ewgeny Scherbinin / Haralds Kurpnieks Zabel-WSP 10 24 Frank Mulders / Joey van de Venne MTR-VMC 14 Daniel Millard / Joe Millard Husaberg-WHT
Castelnau-de-Lévis – France The top ten of the first of two French Grand Prix in 2011, held on 17 April at Castelnau-de-Lévis:FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FRANCE FIM website, accessed: 19 April 2011