World title Bax/Stupelis, GP victory Vanluchene/Van den Boogaart!
Vanluchene/Van den Boogaart took their fourth Grand Prix win of this season in Dardon-Gueugnon in France. The Belgian team won the second heat and collected just enough points to take the Grand Prix victory after a dramatic first heat. In the first heat, Vanluchene was first, got into trouble with a straggler, and therefore fell to sixth place at the finish. This was grist to the mill for team Bax because they not only easily took over the first place, but they were also able to secure the 2019 Sidecar Cross World Title after the first heat! That was a good thing because in the second heat team Bax in turn fell from first place due to mechanical problems.
Hermans/Musset managed to finish second on the day's podium by scoring a second and fourth place in the heats, but baking player Musset injured his ankle in the fierce battle. The young Englishman Jake Brown once again surprised friend and foe and took a fifth and second place in the heats and was able to take third place on the day's podium of the French Grand Prix.
Mainly due to injuries sustained during the season, only 28 teams showed up for the penultimate GP sidecar cross on the spectacular circuit in Dardon-Gueugnon. The poison cup is not yet empty for the international sidecar crossers because this Grand Prix was also marred by a number of serious crashes.
Heat 1
The Dutch Kops/De Laat were missing from the starting gate in the first heat because they were banned from starting after the team had entered the pits on the sighting lap. This is illegal and the FIM is then unrelenting.
The holeshot in the first heat was for Compalati/Chopin, who took second place from the Swiss Heinzer. However, the fun was short-lived for Heinzer because they crashed out of the race in the first round and would not start the second heat. In this way, team Bax came to two and they could start the hunt for the leading Italian sidecar. However, Compalati persisted and Bax, undoubtedly also with an upcoming World Cup title in mind, was unable to get his sidecar past the Italian. Behind this Vanluchene had climbed to third and rode quickly towards Bax and Compalati. Just when Bax made a small mistake going up a small climb, Vanluchene saw his opportunity to slip past Bax and not much later they were able to take over the leading position from Compalati/Chopin. Vanluchene seemed to be heading for the heat win, but the devil was once again in the tail and what happened next is almost characteristic of the course of this dramatic sidecar cross season.
In the final phase, straggler Peter got stuck in a track and Vanluchene, who was just behind, had no way to avoid the German. This allowed Bax, who had finally managed to outwit Compalati, to advance to first place. Hermans also caught Compelati in the final phase and passed the stranded Vanluchene. This also applied to Compalati who would finish third at the finish, Dierkcens in fourth and Jake Brown in fifth. Vanluchene would only finish sixth. It was precisely because of this dramatic turn that Bax/Stupelis not only unexpectedly took the heat win, but also just enough points to be crowned as the new 2019 Sidecar Cross World Champions after the first heat!
Veldman/Janssens would then find out, but there was a huge blow in the final phase where Stuart Brown, who was riding behind, could not move in any direction and fell on top of Veldman. The Czech Cerny gratefully took advantage of this and finished seventh. Stuart Brown came eighth, with the Northern Irishman Molds in ninth together with his Australian baking player Anthony. The new French champions Auvray/Lebreton then completed the top ten.
Santermans managed to finish eleventh and the unfortunate Veldman/Janssens came in battered in twelfth. The blow was so fierce that the shoulder of baking player Janssens was briefly dislocated and Veldman himself also had pain in his hands. The duo would therefore not start the second heat. This also applied to the British team of Wilkinson/Humphrey. During an overtaking attempt, they landed so wrongly on a jump that both rider and driver received a huge blow to the wrists. This was the day over for the Wilkinson team, which has already had to deal with so much misery this season.
Justin Keuben and his French substitute player Turbier took the necessary World Cup points with a fourteenth place and the Belgians Boussy/De Schacht also took a handful of points for the World Cup with a sixteenth place.
Heat 2
The new World Champions Bax/Stupelis wanted to show why they had become the new champions and were the first to leave after the start, with Jake Brown, Dierckens, Varik, Cerny and Vanluchene in their wake.
Bax/Stupelis soon built a gap to the pursuers and easily took first place. In the final phase Vanluchene, now in second place, came closer to the leaders. However, it would never come to a real duel. A few laps before the end, team Bax's rear wheel suddenly broke down and they ended up stranded at the end of the starting field. This time Vanluchene received the gift and they took the heat victory and unexpectedly the Grand Prix victory in France. Jake Brown persevered and achieved his best heat result ever with a second place, putting Brown/Millard third in the day's results. Varik/Daiders, who dropped out in the first heat, took third place. At four Hermans came in with a battered bakist. Musset had a lot of pain in his ankle after a heavy blow and there are fears of a fracture. Musset is having his ankle examined in hospital today.
At five we saw Dierckens enter with a substitute baker Haller. A nice result as they had to complete the race with a broken rear brake. Stuart Brown was the last to leave at the start, but managed to fight his way to sixth place. The Czech Cerny came in seventh, but he later received a penalty of five places due to too much noise. The surprisingly good Belgians Boussy/De Schacht suddenly ended up in an excellent seventh place. At eight it was Santermans, at nine Molds and the Italian Compalati, who had a mega crash in the second heat, still finished tenth. Justin Keuben took quite a few World Cup points with an eleventh place, which unfortunately did not apply to Kops/De Laat who dropped out early with mechanical problems.
For example, after the Grand Prix of France, the new 2019 World Sidecar Cross Champion has been announced and the new vice-World Champion, Vanluchene/Van den Boogaart, can no longer be traced by the competition.
Hermans/Musset are in third place with a nice lead of 37 points over number four Dierckens.
In theory, Dierckens can still overtake Hermans for the bronze FIM World Championship sidecarcross medal, which will definitely have an owner after the last Grand Prix sidecarcross of 2019. This will already be next weekend when people can leave for Rudersberg, Germany, for the final. of the World Cup Sidecar Cross!
Result GP heat 2
Standings for the 2019 World Championship Sidecar Cross with one GP to go.
Text: Emil Bilars
Photo: WSC/Stijn Vanoverbeke
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