FIM Sidecar World Championship

✌️ Team Christie Racing on top as FIM Sidecar World Championship returns to Italy

The battle for the 2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship took another twist this weekend (7-9 August) when the series moved into the second half of the season at Cremona in northern Italy where leaders Harrison Payne (ARS Yamaha) and Kevin Rousseau suffered a race-two DNF that handed overall victory to defending champions Sam and Thomas Christie (LCR Yamaha) and dramatically shook up the title race.

A ruptured fuel pipe saw the 2024 champions retire while leading during the closing stages of Sunday’s Main race. After victory in the previous day’s Sprint race had allowed the British/French pairing to stretch their lead to twenty-and-a-half points, their DNF then slashed this advantage to just four-and-a-half ahead of Finnish rider Pekka Päivärinta (ARS Yamaha) and his British passenger Adam Christie with the Christie brothers a further eleven points off the pace in third.

After topping Qualification by almost a second as the championship made a successful return to Italy following a twenty-three-year absence, Payne/Rousseau started the twelve-lap Sprint race from the front of the grid and they led into the opening turn chased by the Christie brothers, the French son and father team of Ted and Vincent Peugeot (LCR Yamaha) and Päivärinta/Christie.

Swiss rider Markus Schlosser (LCR Yamaha) and his German passenger Lucas Krieg were also in contention along with the French team of Paul Leglise (LCR Yamaha) and Marjorie Cescutti, but with an empty track ahead Payne/Rousseau started to edge clear.

A gap also began to develop between Christie/Christie and Peugeot/Peugeot who found themselves under pressure from Päivärinta/Christie until the veteran Finn made a decisive move for third as Schlosser/Krieg circulated in a lonely fifth.

At the flag it was Payne/Rousseau with a comfortable lead of almost ten-and-a-half seconds over the Christie brothers with Päivärinta/Christie another one-and-a-half seconds adrift in third before a gap to Peugeot/Peugeot and Schlosser/Krieg with the German/French team of Patrick Werkstetter (ARS Yamaha) and Pirat Valentin completing the top six.

With Sunday’s Main race duration cut from twenty to eighteen laps because of the intense heat, Payne/Rousseau repeated their lightning start of the previous day to lead the field away from the start ahead of the Christie brothers, Peugeot/Peugeot, Päivärinta/Christie and Schlosser/Krieg.

Once again the 2024 champions began to put clear air between themselves and the chasing pack, but the Christie brothers were fighting a furious rearguard action against a determined Peugeot/Peugeot who in turn were pulling away from Päivärinta/Christie and Schlosser/Krieg.

With battles throughout the field, including an intense three-way confrontation between Leglise/Cescutti, the Netherlands’ Bennie Streuer (ARS Yamaha) and Manon Vissenberg and Australian siblings Corey and Danyon Turner (ARS Yamaha), the tension was rapidly rising.

Then on lap fifteen, flames could be seen coming from Payne/Rousseau’s outfit and they were forced to pull over to extinguish the fire. With the safety car coming out to lead the field home, no further overtaking was allowed and victory in the race and for the weekend went to the clearly delighted Christie brothers.

Peugeot/Peugeot were also delighted to claim second – just over half-a-second in arrears – for second overall and their first podium finish together with Päivärinta/Christie third for third overall. Schlosser and Krieg ended the race in fourth ahead of Streuer/Vissenberg and the Turner brothers.

The championship now takes a six-week break before the fifth and penultimate round is staged at the legendary Assen circuit in the Netherlands on 18-20 September.

All the action from Assen and the deciding round at Oschersleben in Germany on 2-4 October will be streamed LIVE on FIM-MOTO.TV along with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and expert analysis.

“Christie Brothers Take Gold”

With the immense heat covering the most of central Europe, it was no different here at the “Circuit Cremona” in Italy. It was decided after the morning warm up that the main “Gold race” would be reduced from twenty laps to eighteen.

With the temperature rising to the mid to high thirties the sidecar teams sat on the grid waiting for the lights to go out, it was going to be a hard race for all.

Pierre Leguen and Leopold Rouby would not start the race, they had technical issues.

Once again it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who led the field. Sam and Tom Christie followed them in second spot with Ted and Vincent Peugeot third, Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie slotted into fourth,Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg were fifth, Paul Leglise and Marjory Cescutti were fending off Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg, Cyril and Gerald Vinet were next up with the Turner brothers Corey and Danyon on the outside of Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat. Markus Venus and Thomas Hofer were just in front of EderThomas and Kevin Kolsch. Kevin Cable and Yann Druel were just behind with Claude Vinet and Leane Marsal next up. Michael Brillault and Fabrice Deturche were just in front of Wggert Kranenburg and Loris Charteau, with Ulric Brillault and Cora Marsal at the back. Kranenberg and Charteau were not long in making up places though.

Payne and Rousseau were starting to make a good gap on the rest of the field and looking comfortable out in the lead. Not could be said for the Christie brothers Sam and Tom, they were under pressure from the Peugeot’s who were fighting hard, not letting the Christie’s get away. Paivarinta and Christie were falling back a little from the two in front, but they were in a safe fourth with Schlosser and Krieg a little way back.

There was a good battle emerging between Leglise and Cescutti, Streuer and Vissenberg and the Turner brothers. Another good battle was between Eder and Kolsch, Venus and Hofer; they were left to battle it out as the Vinet’s had managed to make a gap on the two behind, and once again Cable and Druel were locked in battle with Vinet and Marsal but coming to join them was Kranenburg and Charteau.

Out at the front, Payne /Rousseau were out on their own, but the Peugeot’s were not letting up putting pressure on the Christie’s, but now Paivarinta and Christie were gaining on the two in front.

Schlosser and Krieg were on their own, just like in yesterday’s race.

Werkstetter and Pirat were in a good sixth place but unfortunately for them they were to pull off track on lap thirteen with electrical problems.

Streuer and Vissenberg had fought hard with Leglise and Cescutti and the Turner brothers and they manage to break away from the battle and give chase to Schlosser/Krieg, they would have a big gap to make up if they were to catch.

The battle between Venus/Hofer and Eder/Kolsch went the distance.

Kranenburg and Charteau were right in the mix with Cable/Druel and Vinet/Marsal.

Drama on lap fourteen, the leaders Payne and Rousseau pulled off track with fire coming from their machine, this resulted in the safety car being deployed. Payne and Rousseau tackled the fire and managed to extinguish it. A fuel pipe had broken in the air box causing fuel to run out forwards onto the under tray, lucky for them though the fire was on the outside of the bike. Still bad luck though.

Although the track warning led lights were indicating that the safety car was deployed it was still in pit lane waiting. But with no overtaking this allowed the whole field bunched up. With one lap to go the safety car took to the track, with all the sidecar teams following and no overtaking, the chequred flag was at the ready, the last lap was behind the safety car.

The Christie brothers took the win and are really happy with this result. The Peugeot’s took a well-deserved second, this would be there first World Championship podium, and the team are over the moon with the result. Paivarinta and Christie took another third place, another good result for them.

Schlosser and Kreig took fourth with Streuer and Vissenberg fifth, they are really happy with this.

The Turner brothers managed to get the better of Leglise and Cesscuti and took sixth place. The Vinet brothers took a good eighth, with Eder and Kolsch getting the better of Venus and Hofer for ninth and tenth respectfully.

The battle between Cable/Druel, Kranenburg/ Charteau, and Vinet/Marsal went the way of Kranenburg.Charteau taking eleventh over Cable and Druel. They were one lap down on the rest of the field. Vinet and Marsal were to pull into pit lane on lap fifteen for a DNF.

Brillault and Deturch took thirteenth with Brillault and Marsal taking fourteenth, both teams were one lap down like the two in front.

The next round will be in Assen, Netherlands, this will take place in September.

“Cremona” Italy.

Sprint race.

“Payne and Rousseau take Sprint race win”

The temperatures were rising as the sidecar teams took to the track for the 12 lap sprint race.

There was drama for Kevin Cable and Yann Druel, they were to enter pit lane at the end of the warm up lap, they had a broken stop lanyard, passenger Druel ran back to their pit as they entered the pit lane, picked up another lanyard, and ran back just as the lights were to go out for the start of the race, they got going but started the race from pit lane.

From word go it was Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau who got the perfect start from Sam and Tom Christie. There was a great start for Ted and Vincent Peugeot too, they held off Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie into the long first left hand corner. Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg were right on the tail of Paivarinta and Christie. Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti slotted in behind with Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg right with Leglise and Cescutti. Cyril and Gerald Vinet were triying a move on Leglise and Cesscuti but that was not happening, and they had to watch as Corey and Danyon Turner were up alongside on the outside. Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat were on the same line as the Turner Brothers, but they had to watch as Markus Venus and Thomas Hofer were running up the inside of them. Eder Thomas and Kevin Kolsch were with Venus and Hofer into the first corner, right on their tail was Pierre Leguen and Leopold Rouby, Wiggert Kranenburg and Loris Charteau were next up, Michael Brillault and Fabrice Deturche were next up fending off Claude Vinet and Leane Marsal, bringing up the rear was Ulric Brillault and Cora Marsal.

Lap two saw Cable and Druel make up places and started to chase down Vinet and Marsal.

The top two teams were starting to get a fair gap between them and also a gap was growing between them and a now great battle between the Peugeot’s and Paivarinta and Christie. Schlosser and Krieg were starting to fall back a little from the two in front too.

There was a great battle between Leglise/Cescutti, Streuer/Vissenberg, Vinet/Vinet, Werkstetter and Pirat and they were dragging in The Turner brothers too, unfortunately for the Turner brothers Corey and Danyon, they were to pull in half distance with their machine losing power, thoughts are it could be a fuel pump problem.

Another battle was between Vinet/,Marsal and after their pit lane start Cable and Druel had caught and were in a ding d**g battle with the two teams swapping places multiple times.
As the race was coming to an end Payne and Rousseau were out on their own with the Christie brothers the same in second.

The battle between the Peugeots and Paivarinta and Christie had swung the way for Paivarinta/Christie. Schlosser and Krieg were on their own in fifth spot. The battle between Leglise/Cescutti, Streuer/Vissenberg, Vinet/Vinet, was down to Leglise/Cescutti fending off Streuer/Vissenberg. Werksetter and Pirat had managed to pass these two teams and were out on their own now.

Thomas and Kolsch had fought their way up the field and were fending off Venus and Hofer, these two teams had overtaken The Vinet’s after they had a spin but managed to recover from that.

The chequred flag came out and it was Payne and Rousseau who took the win from the Christie brothers in second, Payne and Rousseau had the fastest lap of the race, a 1:37.193.

Eventually Paivarinta and Christie pulled a gap for third place from the fourth place team of Ted and Vincent Peugeot. Schlosser and Krieg took a lonely fifth place. Werkstetter and Pirat on their own too crossing the line in sixth place.

Leglise and Cescutti managed to hold off Streuer and Vissenberg for seventh and eighth respectfully.

Thomas and Kolsch took a good ninth place and rounding off the top ten was Venus and Hofer.

The Vinet brothers took eleventh with Kranenburg and Charteau twelth.
Cable and Druel held off Vinet and Marsal for thirteenth, they had a great battle.

Brillault and Deturche took fifteenth, 1 lap down and Brillault and Marsal sixteenth, two laps down.

Cremona sprint race podium.

“Cremona” Italy.

Qualifying.

It was an early start for the sidecar teams, the sun was out but it was cooler than it has been and a nice breeze too.

Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau straight out of the blocks set a sizzling time of 1:36.974. The team only did four laps in qualifying. They were happy with how their machine was so they only checked their opposition’s time throughout the qualifying session, ready to go again if they had too.

Sam and Tom Christie were very happy with their mornings work they worked away getting a clear track and they set the second fastest time of 1:37.840. The changes they have made to their machine has helped them throughout the weekend.

A very happy “Team 74” this morning. Ted and Vincent Peugeot have had a fair bit of bad luck the last while, but they showed that they can run with the top teams this morning, they set the third fastest time in qualifying, that was a 1:38.113.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie set the fourth fastest time of 1:38.162. They are happy with this; again, the small changes they have made to their machine have helped, the team are ready for the sprint race.

Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg set the fifth fastest time of 1:38.709. The team are reasonably happy with this time, their machine feels all good, the race will be different they are sure.

The next three teams are in the 1:40,s so a good battle could be seen there, with another three in the 1:41,s. The 12 lap sprint race will start at 11.55 local time.

“Cremona” Italy.

Free practice two.

It was hot out there on track, temperatures in the high thirties. When the sidecar teams are out on track things are ok, it is when they come to pit lane to make adjustments, that is when the heat hits the drivers and passengers, all the heat from the machine has nowhere to go, and with the driver inside the fairing of the bike the heat is unbelievable. Both driver and passenger take on vast quantities of fluids.

Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau, fastest in free practice one only did a couple of laps checking that the adjustments they made were all okay. They will be going all out tomorrow in qualifying trying for another pole position.

Sam and Tom Christie took to the track in practice two looking for improvements, after practice one they made some adjustments to their machine, they were happy with the way their machine went, they were to set the fastest time in free practice two, this was a 1:39.119. They hope tomorrows qualifying will be good for them too.

Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg were a bit slower in practice two than practice one, but they were happy with their time which kept them second spot, they set a time of 1:39.464. They are checking over their machine and will still make small adjustments for better tomorrow.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie made quite a lot of changes between free practice one and practice two to their machine; they were happy with the changes but with old tyres fitted they were not able to push to the full limit, their time was 1:39.662.

A great recovery for Ted and Vincent Peugeot, they had to change an engine and missed out on practice one but their mood changed in free practice two they set the fourth fastest time, they were really pleased with this and hope it continues in qualifying and the races, their time was 1:39.779.

Rounding off the top five was Corey and Danyon Turner, their time was 1:41.787. They were really happy with this, and were making adjustments with their machine throughout the practice sessions. They hope to improve on this and are looking forward to tomorrows qualifying and race.

It is an early start for the teams tomorrow with the 30 minuet qualifying session starting at 8am local time with the 12 lap sprint race starting at 11.55 local time.

🥇 Payne and Rousseau aim to strike gold for a second time

The 2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship moves into the second half of the season this coming weekend (7-9 August) and leading the field into round four at Cremona in the Lombardy region of Italy are 2024 champions Harrison Payne (ARS Yamaha) and Kevin Rousseau.

With this weekend’s event in Italy followed by the concluding two rounds in Assen in the Netherlands and Oschersleben in Germany, the British/French pairing hold a narrow eleven-and-a-half-point lead at the top of the standings and are aiming to extend this advantage in Cremona with the ultimate goal of regaining the coveted title.

That 2024 crown came in the most dramatic of circumstances. Trailing Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt heading into the final round at Estoril in Portugal, a double victory gave them the title by just three points.

It was crazy,” said thirty-four-year-old Payne. “It was almost like we’d accepted second place. We were going to one of the tracks with the longest straights, our title rival had more speed than us and we were behind on points. We did everything we could before that weekend to the bike just to improve the top speed, regardless of handling.

“As it was, we were able to fight with them. We didn’t quite have the same speed, but we were definitely able to reduce the deficit and we managed to win the first race so we knew if we won the second we would be world champions and we did it by fifty-three-thousandths-of-a-second. It was one of the closest finishes ever. It was really special.”

Both Payne and Rousseau were destined to become racers with the thirty-three-year-old Frenchman – who hails from Le Mans, one of the world’s most legendary motorsport destinations – getting his start in sidecar racing first.

“I started racing in 2013 on a solo machine,” explained Rousseau, “and came into sidecar racing in 2014 because one time I needed a part for the bike at a race and couldn’t find it in the solo paddock. So I took my bike to the sidecar paddock and the first guy helped me and, just as a joke, he said maybe when I had time I could do some laps to see if I liked it.”

That was the catalyst that triggered Rousseau’s interest, although he initially combined solo and sidecar racing. For Payne, a love of sidecars was more deep-seated.

“I feel like I’ve always been involved with sidecars,” said Payne. “I used to go as a child to watch racing with my dad and I was only interested in the sidecars. It kind of became an obsession. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd and when I saw the sidecars I just wanted to do it.”

Having spent much of his youth riding Trial and BMX, Payne was no stranger to holding onto a pair of handlebars and after starting racing sidecars as a passenger in 2015, in 2020 he moved across to take command of the motorcycle before making his FIM World Championship debut in 2021.

By this point Rousseau was already an established star with an FIM bronze medal – achieved in 2016 alongside his compatriot Sébastien Delannoy – and on the back of Payne’s career-best finish of fifth in 2022, the pair teamed up at the start of 2023.
“It’s funny how we came together,” said Payne. “In 2022 we were racing each other and we weren’t exactly the best of friends, but we became closer because we were both together with two sisters. At the end of the season I no longer had a passenger and Kevin and his driver were stopping so it made perfect sense that we should team up.”

A fighting fifth in their first season together, the following year brought the world title and after narrowly losing it last season their 2026 mission is a simple one.

“It would be super-special to get the title back and have the same feeling we had in 2024,” added Payne. “It’s a real privilege to see your name next to some of the past winners and I want that feeling back.”

The action from Cremona gets under way with the twelve-lap Sprint race on Saturday (8 August) scheduled for 11:55 (local time) before the twenty-lap Main race is staged the following day at 11:45 (local time).

FIM Sidecar World Championship.

Cremona Italy.

Free practice one.

Sidecar are go in “Circuit Cremona” in Italy, like “Pau” in France the heat is great, a lot of teams arrived in Italy a couple of days ago where the whole of central Europe is in another heatwave, temperatures reaching the high 30’s to the low 40’s. The circuit is technical and anticlockwise, it will be hard on man and machine, not forgetting the ladies too.

Free practice one went well for all teams, except for the French son and father team of Ted and Vincent Peugeot, they hit mechanical problems in a private practice session and were unable to take part in the first free practice. They will hope that all is sorted and get out in the second session.

It is great to see Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat back on track, Werkstetter injured himself and had to take a few months away from the sport. The team have certainly done well so far this weekend they set the fifth fastest time in free practice one, a 1:39.937.

Fastest from word go is Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau, fresh from another winning weekend in the French championship they are setting the pace with a time of 1:38.459, and no problems with their machine.

The second fastest free practice time went to Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg; they did some adjustments to their machine after private practice and set a time of 1:39.183.

Sam and Tom Christie after making adjustment with their machine too set the third fastest time of 1:39.447. They will work on this and they hope for better later today.

Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie also made adjustments with their machine, mostly cooling adjustments but some gear changing also. They set the fourth fastest time of 1:39.609

As the day goes on the temperature rises, it will be interesting to see if any team improves their lap times in free practice two later today. It will start at 15:45 local time.

😍 Team #45 - Steinhausen Racing and Rousseau lead FIM Sidecar World Championship charge into Cremona!

The 2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship moves into the second half of the season this coming weekend (7-9 August) and makes its first visit to Italy in twenty-three years when round four is staged at Cremona in the north of the country.

Following the previous round at the Pau-Arnos Circuit in France in June that was shortened by a heatwave sweeping the area, former champions Harrison Payne (ARS Yamaha) and Kevin Rousseau have extended their advantage at the top of the table to eleven-and-a-half points after racing to a pair of victories in an abbreviated programme.

Champions in 2024 and bronze medallists last year, the British/French pairing were top in qualifying before leading both races from start to finish and they will be aiming to carry this momentum into round four when a similar result at such a crucial point in the season could prove to be pivotal.

However, their rivals are lining up to wrestle the lead away from them, led by Finnish rider Pekka Päivärinta (ARS Yamaha) who along with his British passenger Adam Christie swept to a double win at round two in Croatia. The five-time FIM World Champion and official FIM Legend – who took his first title in 2008 – is in fine form and will start in Italy as a genuine title contender, but while the fifty-five-year-old has the series lead in his sights, he must also stay ahead of the third-placed crew.

Champions for the first time last season, siblings Sam and Thomas Christie (LCR Yamaha) – whose brother is Päivärinta’s passenger – are twenty-four points adrift of second and will be very well aware that while this gap is not currently unsurmountable, they need to start reducing it in Italy if they are to head into the deciding two rounds in the Netherlands and Germany in contention.

This year’s field features no shortage of in-depth talent and Swiss rider Markus Schlosser (LCR Yamaha) and his new passenger Lucas Krieg from Germany currently sit fourth, although at sixty-five points behind the series lead any realistic hopes the 2021 champion may entertain of regaining the title this season must be rapidly fading.

Other crews to watch out for in Cremona include Germany’s Markus Venus (LCR Yamaha) and his Swiss passenger Thomas Hofer, the Netherlands’ Bennie Streuer (ARS Yamaha) and Manon Vissenberg, Australian brothers Corey and Danyon Turner (ARS Yamaha) and the French son and father team of Ted and Vincent Peugeot (LCR Yamaha).

Although currently lying just outside the top ten, the French team of Paul Leglise (LCR Yamaha) and Marjorie Cescutti – who scored a debut podium together last season – were fifth in both races in France and must not be discounted in Italy.

The action from Cremona gets under way with the twelve-lap Sprint race on Saturday (8 August) scheduled for 11:55 (local time) before the twenty-lap Main race is staged the following day at 11:45 (local time).