Published On: 3 augustus 2026
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DBelgian Marvin Vanluchene has taken a big step towards the 2026 Sidecar Motocross World Title in Lithuania. Together with his Dutch passenger Ben van den Bogaart, he won both GP heats and is now nearly three World Championship heats in points ahead, with only four heats left to run in 2026.

Vanluchene wins first heat after interruption

In the first heat, Vanluchene took the holeshot with Lielbardis close behind. Together, they pulled away from the chasing group consisting of Foden, Prümmer, and Leferink. The left sidecar of Foden/Weinmann and the right side of Prümmer/Schneider were locked in a fierce battle until Prümmer steered his sidecar hard into Foden in a left-hand turn. As a result, passenger Weinmann was knocked out of the sidecar and subsequently run over by the same Prümmer. He then narrowly managed to get to safety to avoid being hit by others.

At that moment, the red flag followed. Not for Weinmann, who was lucky to escape injury, but because medical assistance was needed following other crashes. Immediately at the back of the starting grid, there was a crash that left two teams grounded. When Wilkinson/Millard also went off hard after five minutes of racing, the red flag followed to provide ample space for medical assistance.

An hour later than planned, the restart was once again for Vanluchene, with Leferink and Veldman behind him. Lielbardis started at the front again but crashed in the first corner, in which Wijers and the Frenchman Raymond were also involved. Fortunately, these sidecars were able to continue.

Halfway through the race, Vanluchene, Leferink, and Veldman were still in the same order, all with more than seven seconds lead over their pursuer. Consequently, the top three remained unchanged at the finish.

The battle for fourth place was certainly on. Ultimately, this fight was won by the French Prunier brothers, who narrowly managed to hold off Foden at the finish. Prümmer finished in sixth place, and in the final lap, after a comeback, Lielbardis managed to snatch seventh place from Sanders/Vincent, who would finish eighth.

Double heat victory extends lead

In the second heat, Vanluchene once again took the holeshot ahead of Leferink and Veldman. Behind them, however, there was a massive crash involving, among others, the Prunier brothers and Foden/Weinmann. The latter required medical assistance and were unable to continue.

At the front, Vanluchene steadily extended his lead. Just behind him rode Leferink, who came under pressure from Veldman. With five minutes to go, Veldman moved up to second place when Leferink's engine briefly stalled. Leferink was thus relegated to third place.

Thus, the top three also crossed the finish line, and they finished on the final GP podium in that same order. In the closing stages, Sanders once again had Lielbardis on his heels for fourth place, but the Belgian held his ground. Sanders/Vincent thus secured a fine fourth place, with Lielbardis in fifth. Prümmer just managed to finish sixth, but had the charging Wijers/Van Hal on his heels, who finished seventh. The Prunier brothers were able to finish eighth after their start crash.

World title beckons for Vanluchene

Thanks to the double heat victory, the Belgian Vanluchene team is now the dominant leader with a 64-point lead and has one foot in the world title. The next GP is not scheduled until mid-September in Varsseveld, the Netherlands. That is the penultimate race of the Sidecar Motocross World Championship.

There is a good chance that Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart could become world champions there already. The French Prunier brothers need to make up at least 17 points on Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart in the deep sand of Varsseveld, otherwise the title race will be decided before the final GP in Rudersberg, a week later. We would say: all Belgians to Varsseveld to cheer Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart on to the title!

Text: Emil Bilars – Photo: fimsidecarcross.com

Final results World Sidecar Motocross Grand Prix in Lithuania

  1. Marvin VANLUCHENE / Ben VAN DEN BOGAART – 50 points (W1: 25 #1, W2: 25 #1)
  2. Julian VELDMAN / Rodolphe LEBRETON – 42 points (W1: 20 #3, W2: 22 #2)
  3. Tim LEFERINK / Sem LEFERINK – 42 points (W1: 22 #2, W2: 20 #3)
  4. Davy SANDERS / Jens VINCENT – 31 points (W1: 13 #8, W2: 18 #4)
  5. Killian PRUNIER / Evan PRUNIER – 31 points (W1: 18 #4, W2: 13 #8)
  6. Daniels LIELBARDIS / Bruno LIELBARDIS – 30 points (W1: 14 #7, W2: 16 #5)
  7. Tim PRÜMMER / Patrick SCHNEIDER – 30 points (W1: 15 #6, W2: 15 #6)
  8. Stephan WIJERS / Han VAN HAL – 25 points (W1: 11 #10, W2: 14 #7)
  9. Koen GRONDMAN / Ross VINCENT – 24 points (W1: 12 #9, W2: 12 #9)
  10. Kim DE COCK / Aivar VAN DE WIEL – 21 points (W1: 10 #11, W2: 11 #10)
  11. Dan FODEN / Noah WEINMANN – 17 points (W1: 16 #5, W2: 1 #20)
  12. Gregory RAYMOND / Viktorija VAREIKAITE – 16 points (W1: 6 #15, W2: 10 #11)
  13. Rihards RUPEIKS / Kenny VACHTER – 16 points (W1: 7 #14, W2: 9 #12)
  14. Jonas PIRTINAS / Lotars ALEKSEJEVS – 16 points (W1: 8 #13, W2: 8 #13)
  15. Niklas HOTZE / Sander ROOSILEHT – 16 points (W1: 9 #12, W2: 7 #14)
  16. Kaspars LUBGANS / Martins ANTONS – 10 points (W1: 4 #17, W2: 6 #15)
  17. Žygimantas PIRTINAS / Martynas ŽALIAUSKAS – 8 points (W1: 3 #18, W2: 5 #16)
  18. Tanel REESNA / Valtteri MÄKI – 7 punts (W1: 5 #16, W2: 2 #19)
  19. Argo POLDSAAR / Erki RÜÜTLI – 6 punts (W1: 2 #19, W2: 4 #17)
  20. Renatas JANKAUSKAS / Arvydas DAVIDONIS – 3 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 3 #18)
  21. Jacob JENSEN / Jan PETERSEN – 1 punt (W1: 1 #20, W2: 0 DNS)
  22. Irmantas ŠEPUTIS / Remigijus NAMIKIS – 0 points (W1: 0 #21, W2: 0 DNS)
  23. Koen HERMANS / Dion RIETMAN – 0 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  24. Ülar KARING / Sten NIITSOO – 0 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  25. Daniel WILLEMSEN / Joel HOFFMANN – 0 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  26. Nick UHLIG / Philipp OETTEL – 0 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  27. Brett WILKINSON / Joe MILLARD – 0 punten (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  28. Robert LIHTSA / Oliver Sebastian LAMP – 0 points (W1: 0 DNS, W2: 0 DNS)
  29. Markus NORMAK / Tomas Daniel DUKULIS – 0 points (W1: 0 DNA, W2: 0 DNA)

World Championship Standings (Top 10)

  1. Marvin VANLUCHENE – Ben VAN DEN BOGAART: 482 Points
  2. Killian PRUNIER – Evan PRUNIER: 418 points (−64)
  3. Tim PRÜMMER – Patrick SCHNEIDER: 401 ptn (−81)
  4. Brett WILKINSON – Joe MILLARD: 320 ptn (−162)
  5. Tim LEFERINK – Sem LEFERINK: 313 points (−169)
  6. Daniels LIELBARDIS – Bruno LIELBARDIS: 239 ptn (−243)
  7. Koen GRONDMAN – Ross VINCENT: 225 points (−257)
  8. Davy SANDERS – Jens VINCENT: 225 ptn (−257)
  9. Dan FODEN – Noah WEINMANN: 223 ptn (−259)
  10. Koen HERMANS – Dion RIETMAN: 203 points (−279)