Round 2 of the 2026 World Sidecarcross Championship took place at the Kramolin circuit in the Czech Republic over the weekend.
Saturday qualifying threw up some surprises, not least of all Julian Veldman’s performance on a 450cc Junior Class bike. This is also the first of three rounds with the new Junior format, where younger and less experienced teams get to participate on selected big weekends. The stage in Kramolin was set for yet another fascinating race-day, early in the season with everything to play for.
Race Report by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC – Feature Image courtesy of Josef Hejnal
Morning warm-up – It was no surprise to see the Prunier brother heading the tables on speed, but the top of the charts was filled with big names including a good performance by Hermans/Rietman to go third.
Marvin Vanluchene was second fastest with Prummer and Lielbardis rounding out the top five. Brett Wilkinson was a couple of seconds shy of where he needs to be, but we know he performs better in the actual races.
Race One – The opening quad race had the track nicely sorted, albeit with a touch too much water in certain bends. When the gate dropped all that was academic and it was game on.
Another fantastic start by the Prunier brothers saw them alongside and just ahead of Marvin Vanluchene into the left-hander with Tim Prummer in third. On the drop down, a small mistake allowed Vanluchene to take a lead he was never to lose. Behind them at the next right turn, the Leferink brothers rode into the deep berm and got stuck, resulting in a traffic jam further back. This let the front group gallop away, with Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann and Grondman/Vincent also hard in pursuit. This young Dutch pairing showed real speed and determination and are names for the future.
Wilkinson/Millard then gave chase after a slow start and bit by bit closed Foden down, eventually going ahead.
The Lielbardis boys and Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent were victims of the Leferink episode with Sanders retiring with a broken front brake. The Latvian twins got going, fighting back through the pack to a fine fifth place.
This after another epic ride by Hermans/Rietman took them from a poor start into fourth place, closing on Prummer/Schneider, only to expire on the final lap. Amazingly, the Mega had gobbled up all its fuel, so that was a lesson learned by the unfortunate Hermans. Heartbreak was evident from both team members as they lay stranded. They were eventually credited with thirteenth place, so it was not entirely a waste of time.
The front three finished as they started, with Prummer revealing he had lost fourth gear, needing an engine change before race two.
Vanluchene will be delighted he has now banished his mystery illness and is back to fully fit condition.
Result
Race Two – This one was bound to be good, with so many players making up for problems. None more so than Hermans/Rietman who showed the speed in race one, only to be deniedon the last lap.
The temperature was up, it was very warm and would be a tough race for everyone. The start was action packed as always, with Prunier making a dreadful start, hemmed in from the gate and circulating fourteenth first time around. Conversely, Prummer/Schneider got a flyer with Vanluchene/Van Den Bogaart in tow. The Leferinks were right up there too along Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann and Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard. There was no sign of Hermans, but he was running lower down. He rode a hard race to fight through to seventh, but nothing like as hard as the Prunier boys, who set about a comeback ride. This they did in style, making it up to third at the flag.
Out front, Prummer lost out to Vanluchene about eight minutes in and they pulled out a slight lead from the Leferinks, with Wilkinson/Millard holding a good consistent fourth place having fought past Foden.
Deep into the race, the Leferinks stopped with a mechanical fault and were declared retired.
The charge through the pack by the red plate holders was impressive as the got to within six seconds of Prummer.
Vanluchene and Van Den Bogaart are back, and back with a bang.
Round Three comes from Kleinhau in Germany next weekend.
Result
Overall Result GP
Standings
