Published On: 8 maart 2026
Share this article:

KHermans and Dion Rietman won the first Dutch National Sidecar Masters Championship in Eersel with first and second place in the heats. Brothers Tim and Sem Leferink won the first heat, and in the second, they increased their lead from last to third, securing a spectacular second place overall. Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent finished seventh in the first heat but second in the final heat, securing third place on the podium. This was just ahead of Jens's younger brother, Ross Vincent, who, with driver Koen Grondman, was the surprise of the day, just two points shy of a podium finish.

In the first heat, Leferink immediately took the holeshot, with Hermans and Briton Wilkinson in tow. Unfortunately, Wilkinson/Millard's joy was short-lived. They crashed heavily early on, and initially indicated that medical assistance could wait until after the race. However, it turned out that assistance was needed, and the race director had no choice but to red flag because Wilkinson/Millard were at a point that was unsafe for medical assistance. By the time the red flag was displayed, sufficient time had elapsed according to the regulations, so the race was definitively stopped after a good fifteen minutes. Leferink had proudly maintained the lead and pulled a slight lead over Hermans, who, however, never pulled very far away. A battle for third place ensued throughout the heat, with a group of sidecars including Wijers, Prunier, Grondman, and Vd Lagemaat. Prümmer briefly held third place, and Sanders was also third, but a lot happened. Frenchman Prunier got stuck on a backmarker, and Sanders, among others, fell victim to this and dropped back. Ultimately, the surprise of the day was the strong Koen Grondman, who, with passenger Ross Vincent, took third place ahead of Prümmer/Vd Putten in fourth and Wijers/Hoffmann in fifth. The French Prunier brothers then finished sixth, with Sanders/Jens Vincent in seventh and Vd Lagemaat/Van Hal in eighth.

In the second act, the Prunier took the holeshot ahead of Hermans and Prümmer. The winner of the first heat, Leferink, stalled at the start, and the machine only came to life again after the entire field of sidecars had already completed 300 meters of racing. At the front, the tables were turned quickly, as Prümmer quickly took the lead, with Hermans following close behind. Hermans was never able to mount a full-on attack, and Prümmer seemed determined to win the heat, until passenger Loet van der Putten crashed out of the sidecar and dislocated his arm! Hermans then took the lead and won by a considerable margin over second-placed Sanders/Vincent. Sanders/Vincent were just barely able to save the skin of…Leferink at the finish! The Leferink brothers had mounted a phenomenal comeback, and like a hot knife through butter, they passed one sidecar after another in a truly spectacular display. Sanders/Vincent proved to be just a bridge too far, but Leferink did finish second on the day's podium, with Sanders/Vincent third. Wijers/Hoffmann finished fourth, and Grondman/Vincent fifth, narrowly missing out on the podium. Van de Lagemaat/Van Hal finished sixth, with the Prunier brothers seventh. The British team, Hodges/Henderson, rode a solid race in the deep sand of De Kempen, finishing eighth.

 

The next Dutch Sidecar Masters Championship will be held in Oss, Brabant, in 6 days!

Daily results Dutch National Sidecar Masters Championship Eersel