Race day dawned under stunningly blue skies in Gdansk, Poland, for Round Four of the 2025 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, and there was a positive mood in the paddock. Sadly, for the sole Danish entrant, Jacob Jensen, his weekend had come to a premature end with a leg injury sustained in free practice.
Race Report by Barry Nutley – Images by WSC
That explains his absence on the line for his qualifying race. Other bits of information gleaned on a tour of the paddock included Justin Keuben nursing his engine home in Quali “B” due to a noisy crankshaft bearing on the opening lap, and Brett Wilkinson suffering another rear shock issue. The increasingly fast pace of the sport, combined with the ever-bigger jumps, could well be a factor in the number of recent shock absorber failures. That apart, everyone was looking forward to what easily could be a pivotal weekend.

Warm Up – Once again, the organisers had prepared a magnificent track for the Grand Prix races. Marvin Vanluchene and Nicolas Musset again set the standard for speed, heading the timesheet in the session. Speed is not Marvin’s problem, it is the endurance and staying power at speed over long races that will test him, purely because of the lingering, energy-sapping effects of a recent bout of Covid. Justin Keuben proved his gremlins were banished, running second fastest ahead of Brett Wilkinson. Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent, the Prunier brothers, and the Lielbardis twins were the next three teams.
The rider’s presentation was the next thing on the agenda, with everything building towards the first Grand Prix race scheduled at 1pm.

Race One – This would be a dramatic rush to turn one and the actual start fulfilled expectations. The right-hand side was the place to be, and it worked.
Marvin Vanluchene almost made it but was pipped to the post by the Lielbardis twins. The young Latvians galloped away in the lead chased by the defending champion. Tim Prummer/Justin Blume were in the mix, but not as far up the sharp end as they would have liked. They got stuck in, gave it their best shot and were eventually to bring it home in eighth place.
The Prunier boys were down in fifth around the first turn with Hermans/van den Bogaart even further back. These two crews then had a race-long fight to the front. Justin Keuben/Dion Rietman were in a strong fourth position behind Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent, both teams having gated well. Keuben/Rietman held their consistency throughout, whilst Sanders was gradually worn down by the oncoming freight-train.
At the front, the Lielbardis twins were looking good, but the Prunier Zabel was bellowing along, making up time with every lap. Hermans was going with them, whilst behind, Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard were fighting up from a bad start in around tenth place. They did battle with Tim and Sem Leferink, another crew making up for a bad start. Sanders, having been passed by the front runners, retired with a mechanical fault, promoting everyone behind him.
Prunier, once Lielbardis was in his sights, needed no greater incentive. He passed the Latvians on the penultimate lap. Hermans closed them down as well, but they held on for second place.
Race 1 Result



Race Two – Such was Marvin Vanluchene’s condition, he and Nicolas Musset sat this one out. The champion will hope to find a cure before Lommel in two weeks. Given the hot weather, with temperatures in the hight twenties, he might not be the only one succumbing. Those were my thoughts as race two came to the line.

Away they went again with the Prunier brothers grabbing Marvin’s vacant spot hard on the right. It was a shrewd move as they took the hole shot from the Lielbardis twins and Brett Wilkinson. The British crew were sensational in pursuit, never letting the Latvians out of their sight. Davy Sanders and Justin Keuben were right there in fourth and fifth, with the Leferinks fighting through. Koen Hermans was not in the leading bunch and then appeared on the timing Screen down in twentieth place. Then began an almighty fight-back from he and Ben van den Bogaart. Later in the race, the same happened to Brett Wilkinson, and he too dropped five places, eventually recovering to finish fifth behind Davy Sanders and Justin Keuben.
Hermans recovery was astonishing, and he made it right through to sixth place passing the Leferinks on the final lap. This was a hard race, and some names we might have expected to shine, were slightly less bright that normal.
However, there was no mistaking the start to finish victory by the Prunier brothers, making it their second GP victory in a row.

Race 2 Result



Overall Result



Standings


