Three British teams made it into the top ten at the opening round of the 2026 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship at Castelnau de Levis in France, with Brett Wilkinson and Joe Millard backing up their fantastic 2025 with second in Round 1.
Words by Barry Nutley – Images courtesy of WSC
Qualifying was dramatic, and set the scene for two good races, but poor Robbe de Veene was battered and bruised after his big crash on a downhill section left him with a very painful right leg. He was declared fit to race but would certainly be handicapped. Marvin Vanluchene would need to ride for points. A field of twenty-five teams on this technical track would be good entertainment and close racing.
Morning warm-up
The track had been watered before the quad session, so a lot of the sticky clay had been pushed away before the sidecars took to the track. Times were not reflective of anything like race times, but nonetheless, the Prunier brothers once again sat top, with Tim Prummer, Lielbardis and Hermans all around the same lap time. It was cold and cloudy for the morning session, much more comfortable for everyone, although the sun was due to appear later in the morning. Marvin Vanluchene circulated slowly at first, then as he picked up the pace, Robbe de Veene seemed to be coping well. Then it was time for the team presentation to the spectators, all part of the build-up to the main programme.
Race One
A fantastic start took the Prunier brothers into the lead, but almost into a close encounter with the Wilkinson/Millard outfit at the first turn. Both got through safely, and the race was on. Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson and Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann followed through, so we had three left-handed outfits behind the leaders. The Lielbardis twins had a good start and ran hard behind the front outfits along with Auvray/Steegmans and Hermans/Rietman. Tim and Sem Leferink were ninth on lap one with work to do. They kept the pressure on, passing outfits each lap until they were among the top five. Hermans had the speed, and began to move through, until he mysteriously stopped, losing a few places. Marvin Vanluchene was down around eighth or ninth place early on, with Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider getting a dreadful start to find themselves way down the field. Then began a super fight-back from the German/Austrian pairing, which would eventually see them claim a highly creditable fourth place. Meanwhile, at the front, Prunier was extending his lead by four seconds each lap, as Wilkinson consolidated second place. Auvray was very consistent but could not withstand the pressure from Leferink and Prummer. Hermans again stopped, losing yet more places. He was to finish just outside the top ten. Prunier’s lead at the flag was about one minute.
Result
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Race Two
The clouds had gone, and the track was once again bathed in sunlight as the teams lined for the second race. Given the speed of the Prunier brothers, it was hard to see anyone beating them. As the gate dropped, the charge up the straight was on. There is always a lot at stake, and this start was no exception. Once again, Prunier hit the front, followed by Wilkinson, Hodges, Foden, Lielbardis and Vanluchene. There was no sign of Hermans at this point, and he never made his presence felt all race. Tim Prummer made a better start, giving himself a real chance of a top slot.
We did not see the Leferinks in the top five early on, but it was not long before they and Prummer fought their way past Hodges in pursuit of Dan Foden and Noah Weinmann. Vanluchene ran fourth for several laps and stayed with them. He was to finish fifth once he had been passed by Prummer and Leferink. We then had a real freight train, all fighting for second place. Wilkinson opened a small gap over Foden, who then gave a good account of himself in riding shotgun for Wilkinson. The pace was around two minutes and ten seconds per lap except for Prunier, who was clearly faster.
This settled down to a battle between Prummer and Leferink, with a pass and re-pass giving Prummer the advantage. He set after Wilkinson but ran out of steam eventually. The top three in this race became the top three in the Grand Prix overall.
Result
2b3e2079-5a00-4e81-9e6a-3c2ba02bf551_SCC_Race2Overall GP Result
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Round Two comes from Kramolin in the Czech Republic, two weeks from now.
