Published On: 5 maart 2026
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The ONK Sidecar Masters competition starts on Sunday, March 8th in Eersel, Brabant.
With a very strong field of participants, including almost all the world's top drivers, the ONK Sidecar Masters promises to be a major championship.
The rotation of sidecar passengers across the various teams appears to be greater than ever, meaning many sidecar duos will be appearing together at the start of a race next Sunday for the first time.
The big question: which duo will dance the most beautifully across the heavy sand at the opener next Sunday?

Reigning Dutch and World Champion Koen Hermans has found his new partner in Dion Rietman. Both know the ropes like no other and started training on the sidecar last week. Whether the two can dance together in complete sync to the top remains to be seen in Eersel. They'll have to stay ahead of the ever-spectacular Leferink brothers. Where Leferink is, the floor is often ripped to shreds! Unfortunately, bad luck sometimes plays along, but last Sunday in Eersel, the brothers showed they have everything it takes to achieve pure gold.
Stephan Wijers has found his new partner in German Joël Hoffmann. The Dutch-German duo showed during a training session in Spain last winter that they're definitely up to speed. We'll see in Eersel whether they can keep up the pace for half an hour in a sand race. Han van Hal will be racing this year in the sidecar alongside Thom van de Lagemaat. Van de Lagemaat/Van Hal have a wealth of experience and are therefore always ready to take top spots at the finish.

Koen Hermans, here in 2025 with Ben van den Bogaart, now defends his title with Dion Rietman

These Dutch teams will certainly face formidable opposition from several top foreign teams. The French Prunier brothers, runners-up at the last World Championship, have already completed a short training camp in the Netherlands, where they showed in Budel that they can certainly keep up with the Dutch top teams in the deep sand.
The question is whether, with their new P-power 4-stroke engine in Eersel and the following week in Oss, they will actually be able to finish ahead of the Dutch sand masters.
The British Wilkinson/Millard team certainly has what it takes! Wilkinson enjoys racing in the Netherlands and could well be the surprise of the Dutch Sidecar Masters Championship in 2026, having already achieved several impressive podium finishes in the Dutch Championship in previous years. Wilkinson/Millard are building on everything they've built up in 2025 and will certainly not be performing a quiet national dance at the Dutch Championship! Moreover, the British third-place finisher in the World Championship will be leading a British Armada that will be making a name for itself in Oss and Eersel, including the English Brown/Booth and fast-starting Hodges/Henderson.
Germany's Prümmer will also be competing with a new passenger this season. Dutchman Loet van der Putten is ready after a 2025 season that was all about recovering from a nasty crash in Kramolin. The signs for Prümmer/Van der Putten look good, and the duo will be aiming for nothing less than a podium finish.

 

From Belgium, we see Davy Sanders "ready to dance" in Eersel. He will once again be assisted by Dutchman Jens Vincent in the box. Sanders/Vincent have solid speed but also suffered from bad luck at crucial moments last season. However, if things go their way, this seasoned team certainly has the potential to take home one of the trophies.
Multiple World Champion Marvin Vanluchene will also be competing in the Dutch National Sidecar Masters Championships, along with his new sidecar passenger Robbe De Veene. However, Eersel is a bit too soon for them. A little less than a week later in Oss and on May 16th in Oldebroek, we'll see the 2024 World Champion on the starting grid more eager than ever. The fast Flemish Kelly Debruyne will return to the international stage in 2026 and will be competing in Eersel with Aivar van der Wiel. This enthusiastic duo has sidecarcross in their blood, and if everything falls into place, fireworks are sure to come from that side!

Prümmer and Wijers had a great battle for the ONK podium in 2025 until the finish!

However, there are many more contenders for the top ten spots on the coast, relying on the same enthusiasm as the old familiar, or perhaps with renewed vigor behind the starting gate. Ijen Kops has returned home and will therefore be competing with a left-hand sidecar. Along with his new passenger Robin Könst, who is rapidly developing into a top left-hand passenger, Kops could well spring some surprises this season. Especially if, towards the end of the race, the ruts for a left-hand sidecar are slightly shallower than the right-hand ruts, Kops/Könst will be quick off the mark. Double IMBA champion Frank Mulders is back in the race, along with Marc van Deutekom. This duo always rides like a scythe, and if they also manage to get away from the front at the start, the competition, even the absolute top, will have a tough job with Mulders/Van Deutekom. Sam Veldman and Kaj van den Berg won the 2025 Dutch National Championships with a landslide victory and have already completed a thorough winter preparation on their new SMT/AMS sidecar. They could very well be the surprise of 2026 amidst all the international action. Brothers Tim and Gijs Barink, due to bad luck, just missed out on a top-five finish at the Dutch National Sidecar Masters Championship last season. However, they're still on the up, and the #666 is determined to rip through the Dutch sand and finally break into the top five of the Dutch National Championships. Koen Grondman is also back in action after a lingering injury and will be at the starting line with the talented Ross Vincent, who will be making the jump to the international sidecarcross scene in 2026.
With the addition of two Van Werven combinations, the Susebeek brothers, team Verhees, the Van den Heuij brothers and so many other motivated teams, it is almost impossible to say how many points each duo will dance together.

Which sidecar duo will dance to gold in 2026?

One thing is certain: the ONK Sidecar Masters remains a championship with an often erratic race course and drama right up to the final checkered flag.
In addition to the ONK Quad Masters, the Cup sidecars and the NK Quads, there is plenty of spectacle to be seen during the ONK Sidecar Masters competitions in Eersel (8 March), Oss (14 March), Oldebroek (16 May) and Lierop (6 September).
Whatever the truth, this coming Sunday in Eersel, under a radiant spring sun, we'll truly see how everything will dance in 2026!