2003 Sidecarcross World Championship

2003 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix 13
Start date 6 April 2003
End date 7 September 2003
Drivers
Champions Netherlands Daniël Willemsen
Latvia Kaspars Stupelis
Sidecarcross des Nations Netherlands Netherlands
Chronology
Previous season Next season
2002 2004

The 2003 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 24th edition of the competition, started on 6 April and finished after thirteen race weekends on 7 September 2003.[1]

The defending champions were the Latvian's Kristers Sergis and Artis Rasmanis who had won their fifth title in 2002. The 2003 championship was won by Dutch rider Daniël Willemsen and his Latvian passenger Kaspars Stupelis who finished 60 points ahead of the defending champion Sergis and his new passenger Sven Verbrugge in second place. It was the second title for Willemsen, having previously been crowned World Champions in 1999 and the first for Stupelis.

The Sidecarcross World Championship, first held in 1980 and organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, is an annual competition. All races, manufacturers and the vast majority of riders in the competition being in and from Europe.[1][2] Sidecarcross is similar to motocross except that the teams consist of two riders, a driver and a passenger. Races are held on the same tracks as solo motocross but the handling of the machines differs as sidecars don't lean. The majority of physical work in the sport is carried out by the passenger, who speeds up the sidecarcross in corners by leaning out. The coordination between the driver and the passenger are therefore of highest importance.[3]

Overview

The thirteen races of the season were held in nine countries, Spain, France (twice), Netherlands (2x), Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia (2x), Estonia, Germany (2x) and Belgium. In comparison to the 2002 edition,[4] the Grand Prix of Sweden and Czech Republic had been dropped off the calendar while the Spanish and Romanian GP were added.[1]

Events typically consist of a qualifying competition, held in multiple stages on Saturdays of a race weekend while the two race events are typically held on Sundays. One exception to this rule is Easter weekends, when the races are held on Easter Monday. Race weekends can consist of additional motocross or quart support races as well, but the FIM stipulates that the World Championship races have priority. Riders have to be provided with at least one 30 minute free practice season, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. With up to 32 entries, it will be held in one group split into two sessions of 30 minutes each. Above 32 entries, the starter field will be sub-divided into two groups through ballot and the current standings. Each qualifying group can consist of up to 30 racers. Should there be more than 60 entries, a pre-qualifying has to be held. Of the riders in the two groups, the top twelve directly qualify for the races. The remaining teams then go to a second-chance qualifying, in which the best six advance. The riders placed seventh and eighth remain in reserve should one of the qualified teams not be able to participate.[5]

The first twenty teams of each race score competition points. The point system for the season was as follows:

Place Points
1 25
2 22
3 20
4 18
5 16
6 15
7 14
8 13
9 12
10 11
Place Points
11 10
12 9
13 8
14 7
15 6
16 5
17 4
18 3
19 2
20 1

Calendar

The calendar for the 2003 season:[1]

Date Place Race winners GP winner Source
6 April Spain Talavera de la Reina Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge
27 April France Pernes-les-Fontaines Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
4 May France Plomion Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
18 May Netherlands Markelo Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge
25 May Romania Bucharest Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
1 June Bulgaria Sevlievo Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge
15 June Latvia Cēsis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Netherlands Wilfred van Werven / Eli Piccart Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
22 June Estonia Jaanikese Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
13 July Germany Pflückuff Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge
3 August Belgium Neeroeteren Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge France Benoit Beaumont / Henry van de Wiel Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
10 August Latvia Ķegums Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Netherlands Wilfred van Werven / Eli Piccart Result
Netherlands Wilfred van Werven / Eli Piccart
24 August Netherlands Lichtenvoorde Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Result
Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis
7 September Germany Beuern Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Kaspars Stupelis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Sven Verbrugge
28 September Netherlands Oss Netherlands Netherlands

Classification

Riders

The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:[2]

Position Driver / Passenger Equipment Bike
No
Points
1 Netherlands Daniel Willemsen / Latvia Kaspars Stupelis Zabel-VMC 2 561
2 Latvia Kristers Serģis / Belgium Sven Verbrugge MTH-BSU 1 501
3 Netherlands Wilfred van Werven / Belgium Eli Piccart Zabel-BSU 3 382
4 Estonia Are Kaurit / Jurgen Jakk KTM-AYR 4 381
5 United Kingdom Stuart Brown / Luke Peters Zabel-VMC 6 342
6 Belgium Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx MTH-BSU 32 308
7 Germany Marko Happich / Netherlands Gerwin Wijs Zabel-VMC 5 301
8 France Benoit Beaumont / Netherlands Henry van de Wiel MTH-BSU 10 292
9 Latvia Māris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks Zabel-BSU 14 266
10 Netherlands Eric Schrijver / Christian Verhagen MTH-EML 12 237

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2003 Calendar FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  2. 1 2 FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2003 FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  3. The World Championship - Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 27 July 2011
  4. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2002 Calendar FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  5. FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX FIM website, accessed: 27 July 2011

External links

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