PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF 2011 AND THE BOTH RACES AT OSCHERSLEBEN
Summary
Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni won at first the shorter Sprint Race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Sunday 28th of August, 2011 at Oschersleben in Germany. The gap to the rivals Ben & Tom Birchall was 9,5 seconds at the end of the race. The Birchall brothers took the lead in the start, but were overtaken by Päivärinta & Hänni in the first lap. Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze progressed very well from back row of the grid into the third position up to the end of the race.
Päivärinta & Hänni did also win the long Gold Race in the afternoon of the same day with a gap of 9 seconds to the Birchall brothers second. Kurt Hock and Enrico Becker, who took the lead in the start to the first corner, crossed the finish line as third 12 seconds behind the Birchall brothers.
After the two races at Oschersleben had Päivärinta & Hänni collected 165 points in total and won the FIM Sidecar World Championship of the year 2011 with a sufficient margin to the rivals already before the last race in September at Le Mans. Currently after them are the Birchall brothers second with 126 points, Hock & Becker third with 104 points, and Reeves & Cluze fourth with 99 points.
Qualification practises
The fourth round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 was held in connection to the 2nd International Sidecar Festival at the 3667 m long Oschersleben circuit in the northern Germany. Seventeen sidecars and drivers from 10 countries did participate in the round. After the two qualification practises with wet conditions at the noon and dry conditions at the afternoon of Saturday 27th of August, did Päivärinta & Hänni take the pole position with a margin of two seconds to the Birchall brothers second best. Mike Roscher & Danny Kamerbeek took the third best starting position for the grid only 0,2 seconds behind the Birchalls in the qualifications.
All the rivals of Päivärinta & Hänni had problems in the dry and faster afternoon qualifications, e.g. Reeves & Cluze suffered from a broken engine, Hock's passenger Becker with his knee joint hurt, and the Birchalls with a fuel leakage.
In addition, Roscher & Kamerbeek were prevented to participate in the following races due to an arm injury of Kamerbeek in the warm-up on Sunday morning.
Sprint Race
The 10 laps long Sprint race started on Sunday before noon in dry conditions. The Birchall brothers did take the lead of the race into the the first curve, followed by Päivärinta & Hänni and Hock & Becker. Päivärinta & Hänni did overtake the Birchalls in the first lap and started to put an advancing gap to the Birchall brothers and finished the race as winners with a margin of 9,5 seconds to the Birchalls. On the lap seven, Hock & Becker encountered gear change problems, and and began to slow consequently and fell into the sixth position. Reeves & Cluze progressed very well from the back row of the grid, and passed then Scott Lawrie & James Neave and Ben Bygrave & Calum Lawson, and advanced into the third position up to the end of the race.
Thus Päivärinta & Hänni needed, with the collected 140 championship points compared to the 106 points of the Birchall brothers, to be at least third in the following Gold Race to secure the World Championship already this weekend at Oschersleben.
Gold Race
The 22 laps long Gold Race started four hours later on Sunday afternoon in sunny and dry conditions. Hock & Becker did take the lead of the race into the first curves followed by Päivärinta & Hänni, the Birchall brothers, Jakob Rutz & Ueli Waefler and Lawrie & Neave. Reeves & Cluze had also a good start and they were in the middle positions of the sidecar pairs in the end of the first lap.
Päivärinta & Hänni did overtake Hock & Becker after the first lap, and as the race progressed the Birchalls did overtake Hock & Becker. At the end, Päivärinta & Hänni won the Gold Race with a gap of 9 seconds to the Birchall brothers second. Hock & Becker crossed the finish line as third 12 seconds behind the Birchall brothers. Reeves & Cluze progressed again well into the fourth position up to the end of the race. In spite of some engine problems at the end of the long race did Lawrie & Neave pass the finish line as fifth 55 seconds after the winners.
The two victories of Päivärinta & Hänni meant that they had now collected 165 points in total in the championship and won the FIM Sidecar World Championship of the year 2011 with a sufficient margin of 39 points to the rivals Birchalls, already before the last race in September at Le Mans.
The world champions Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni were happy after the race and Pekka Päivärinta said also “The last race in the championship will be at Le Mans and we have an ambition to win that race, too !”
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after seven races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 165 points (World Champions 2011)
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 126 points
Hock & Becker, D 104 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 99 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 54 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 46 points
Streuer & Endeweld, NL 39 points
Roscher & Kammerbeek, D/NL 37 points
Lawrie & Neave, GBR 32 points
Moser & Walker, AUT/GBR 27 points
Treasure & Aalto, AUS/FIN 21 points
Knight & Knight, GBR 21 points.
Schlosser & Hofer, CH 16 points
Remse & Knapton, SLO/GBR 16 points
Kentrop & Daalhuizen, NL 14 points
Päivärinta & Hänni will also compete in the final race of the international IDM championship series at Hockenheim in Germany on September 17 - 18, 2011 before the last FIM Sidecar World Championship race at Le Mans (in connection to the World Endurance Championship event) on September 23- 24, 2011.
2011 Sachsenring FIM World Championship Series
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI SECOND AT SACHSENRING GP
Summary
The fifth race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship was held on Sunday 17th of July, 2011 at Sachsenring in Germany. Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni were second in the race 7,6 seconds behind Ben & Tom Birchall the first. Päivärinta & Hänni did get a poor start and remained then fifth and did just advance up in the second half of the race. Päivärinta & Hänni did at first overtake Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze and in the twenty first lap of twenty two Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker, but the winning Birchall brothers had then escaped too far away.
Qualification practices
The fifth race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 was held in connection to the MotoGP weekend at Sachsenring in the the eastern Germany. Twenty six sidecars and drivers from ten countries did participate. In the two qualification practices on Friday 15th, and Saturday 16th ,of July did Päivärinta & Hänni achieve the second starting position by a gap of about 0,1 seconds behind the Birchall brothers, who got the pole position at the grid. After them followed Hock & Becker and Reeves & Cluze, who achieved the third and fourth starting positions by a gap of about 0,2 seconds and 0,6 seconds behind Päivärinta & Hänni in the qualifications. Johan Reuterholt & Aki Aalto had a great qualifying and they got the fifth starting position in the grid.
Gold Race
The twenty two laps long race started in dry and warm conditions on Sunday afternoon. Reeves & Cluze got the best start. They were followed in the first corner by Hock & Becker, Robert Zimmerman & Mike Ziegler and the Birchall brothers. Päivärinta & Hänni had a bad start because of the poor function of their Yokohama tyres in the start and they were fifth in the first lap. The other leading pairs did use newer Avon tyres.
As the rush traffic in the front settled down did Päivärinta & Hänni begin to advance up. They did at first overtake Zimmerman & Mike Ziegler. Then they did overtake Reeves & Cluze after the middle of the race. As the driver and passenger, sidecar and tyres worked well, did Päivärinta & Hänni still manage to overtake Hock & Becker in the lap twenty one. But the Birchall brothers had then escaped too far away and won the long race with 7,6 seconds before Päivärinta & Hänni second. Hock & Becker crossed the line as third, Reeves & Cluze as fourth and Mike Roscher & Danny Kammerbeek as fifth.
FIM Sidecar World Championship Series
The second place of Päivärinta & Hänni at Sachsenring meant that they lead the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after the five races by a gap of twenty nine points to the Birchall brothers. Hock & Becker are the third in the total points eight points after the Birchall brothers, and eight points in front of Reeves & Cluze the fourth in total.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after five races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 115 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 86 points
Hock & Becker, D 78 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 70 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 38 points
Roscher & Kammerbeek, AUT/NL 37 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 29 points
Moser & Walker, AUT/GBR 27 points
Treasure & Aalto, AUS/FIN 21 points
Streuer & Endeveld, NL 21 points
Shlosser & Hofer, CH 16 points
Remse & Knapton, SLO/GBR 14 points
Knight & Knight, GBR 12 points
Zimmerman & Ziegel 9 points
Galerne & Philippe, FRA 9 points
James & Winn, GBR 9 points
The next FIM Sidecar World Championship race of 2011 will be held at Oschersleben in Germany on August 27.-28, 2011.
2011 Grobnik (Rijeka) Worldchampion ship
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON THE BOTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACES OF 2011 AT RIJEKA
Summary
Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni won the Sprint Race of the second round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Saturday 25th of June, 2011, near Rijeka in Croatia. Päivärinta & Hänni had an exciting duel with Ben & Tom Birchall until the middle of the race. But Päivärinta & Hänni were then able to keep the lead until the end and win the race 0,4 seconds before Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze second. The Birchall brothers reached the third podium place just 0,3 seconds behind Reeves & Cluze.
Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni did also win the long Gold Race on Sunday 26th of June with a gap of 0,9 seconds to the Birchall brothers. Päivärinta & Hänni and the Birchall brothers fighted hard for the win throughout the race up to and including the last curve, where Päivärinta & Hänni managed to pass the Birchall brothers from the inside and win the race. Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker crossed the finish line as third 22 seconds behind the Birchall brothers.
Qualification practises
The second round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 was held at the 4168 m long “Automotodrom Grobnik” circuit near Rijeka in Croatia. Only ten sidecars and drivers from 8 countries did participate in the round. After the two qualification practises of the sunny Saturday 25th of June, did the Birchall brothers achieve the pole position with a gap of about 0,4 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni, who got the second starting position at the grid. After them did Reeves & Cluze, Hock & Becker and the Australian-Finnish pair Adam Treasure & Aki Aalto and Gary & Daniel Knight get the following starting positions from the qualifications.
Sprint Race
The 10 laps long Sprint race started on Saturday afternoon in sunny and dry conditions. The Birchall brothers did take the lead of the race into the the first curve and were near followed by Päivärinta & Hänni and Reeves & Cluze. The top position was many times exchanged in a hard duel between the Birchalls and Päivärinta & Hänni throughout the whole race. Also Reeves & Cluze were at the end of the race involved in the fight for the two top positions. Päivärinta & Hänni won the race with a margin of 0.4 seconds to Reeves & Cluze, who managed to pass the Birchall brothers as side contacting them in the last lap. The Birchalls got thus the third podium place of the sprint race just only 0,3 seconds behind Reeves & Cluze. Hock & Becker drove lonely to the fourth position about half a minute behind the leaders. After them did Bennie Streuer & Kees Endeveld, Treasure & Aalto, Milan Spendal & Peter Hill and the Knights have a hard and near fight of the following positions ending with Streuer & Endeveld fifth, Treasure & Aalto sixth and Spendal & Hill seventh all within a margin of about one second.
After the sprint race did Pekka Päivärinta comment the Sunday's upcoming long race by saying: “The tryes and their durability will be decisive in the tomorrow long Gold race. The Grobnik track has been constructed during the Tito era and its surface has not been recently renewed, and that will eat up the tyres. After the Sprint race our rear tyre was quite finished, and we must also do something in the night to prevent the overheating of the engine”.
Gold Race
The 18 laps long Gold race started on Sunday noon at 1 p.m. in hot, sunny and dry conditions. Hock & Becker did take the lead of the race into the the first curve followed by the Birchall brothers, Päivärinta & Hänni and Reeves & Cluze near on their heels. During the first laps, did Hock & Becker pull a little away from the following pairs Päivärinta & Hänni, the Birchalls and Reeves & Cluze. The exciting battle of the win between Päivärinta & Hänni and the Birchall brothers continued then from the sixth lap by them exchanging the top position several times until the last corner to the left of the last lap, where Päivärinta & Hänni succeeded to overtake the Birchalls as touching their sidecar from the inside and win the Gold race. The Birchall brothers were second 0,9 seconds behind the winners, and Hock & Becker did take the third podium place about 23 seconds behind the leaders.
Reeves & Cluze fighted first hard fight with Hock & Becker, but then dropped down after the middle of the race with wearing tyres to the fourth position about 14 seconds behind their rivals Hock & Becker. Treasure & Aalto achieved the promising fifth position about one minute after the winners. The following sixth, seventh and eighth positions at the chequered flag were achieved by Spendal & Hill, Janez Remse & Paul Knapton and Jakob Rutz & Manuel Eckert, the two later pairs overlapped once during the eighteen laps long race. The Knights had achieved at the beginning part of the race a sixth position, but did regrettably again experience technical problems and had to break the race after ten laps.
Pekka Päivärinta was very content after the race as the new engine just assembled from parts at the Grobnik depot worked well and the tyre choice had proved to be appropriate.
The two victories of Päivärinta & Hänni at the Automotodrom Grobnik meant that they lead the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after the four races by a gap of thirty three points to Hock & Becker second. The Birchall brothers are third only one point behind Hock & Becker.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after four races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 95 points
Hock & Becker, D 62 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 61 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 57 points
Rutz & Waefler/Eckert, CH 31 points
Roscher & Kammerbeek, D/NL 26 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 23 points
Treasure & Aalto, AUS/FIN 21 points
Moser & Walker, AUT/GB 17 points
Schlosser & Hofer, CH 16 points
Streuer & Endeweld, NL 14 points
Remse & Knapton, SLO/GBR 14 points
Galerne & Schreiber, F 9 points
Barry & Winn, GBR 9 points
Knight & Knight, GBR 9 points.
Päivärinta & Hänni will also compete in the international IDM championship race at Salzburgring at Austria on July 2 - 3, 2011 before the next FIM Sidecar World Championship race at Sachsenring (in connection to the MotoGP event) on July 16 - 17, 2011.
2011 Schleiz FIM World Championship
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON AND SECOND IN THE TWO FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACES OF 2011 AT SCHLEIZ
Summary
The Birchall brothers Ben and Tom did win the Sprint Race of the first round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Saturday 14th of May, 2011 at Schleiz in Germany. The Birchalls got a bad start and remained the fourth in the start, but raised themselves within two laps to the second position to the tail of the leading Pekka Päivärinta & Adolf Hänni. After an exciting duel, the Birchalls did overtake Päivärinta & Hänni in the tenth lap and won the race after eleven laps with a margin of 0,5 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni second. Markus Schlosser & Thomas Hofer took the third position after overtaking Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker in the fifth lap.
On Sunday the 15th of May did Päivärinta & Hänni win the 22 laps long Gold Race with a gap of 7,6 seconds to Hock & Becker second. Mike Roscher & Chris de Haas finalized the reduced Gold Race as the third half a minute after the winners. Before the restart in the first part of the Gold race in the tenth lap, the leading Birchalls did collide heavily with a slowing sidecar being in the ninth lap. The next driving Päivärinta & Hänni and Hock & Becker succeeded to evade the place of the accident, but Schlosser & Hofer after them crashed out. The race was stopped and restarted one hour later.
Qualification practises
The first round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 was held at the Mecca of the sidecar racing, the 3805 m long “Schleizer Dreieck” track in Germany, in dry and sunny conditions. Eighteen sidecars and drivers & passengers from 10 countries did participate in the races watched by 12000 spectators.
After the two qualification practises on Friday 14th of May and Saturday 15th of May achieved the Birchall brothers the pole position with a gap of about 0,4 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni, who got the second starting position at the grid. After them did Hock & Becker, Schlosser & Hofer and Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze get the following positions in the qualifications.
Sprint Race
The Sprint Race of eleven laps took place on the Saturday afternoon at 14th of May, 2011. Schlosser & Hofer got a blitz start to the lead. Already after one lap did Päivärinta & Hänni take the lead and were followed near by Reeves & Cluze, Schlosser & Hofer, the Birchalls and Hock & Becker. The Birchalls advanced to the second position at the beginning of the second lap and after that attacked near Päivärinta & Hänni in their tail until the tenth lap. The lighter Birchalls did then overtake the heavier Päivärinta & Hänni in the straight and won the race after the eleven laps with a margin of 0,5 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni second. Ten seconds behind did Schlosser & Hofer take the third position after overtaking Hock & Becker in the fifth lap. After Hock & Becker fourth, did Reeves & Cluze struggle with engine problems to the fifth position at the chequered flag.
Gold Race
The long Gold Race of twenty-two laps took place on Sunday afternoon at the 15th of May, 2011.
Schlosser & Hofer took again a blitz start to the lead in the start. After one lap Schlosser & Hofer were followed by the Birchall brothers, Päivärinta & Hänni, Hock & Becker and Reeves & Cluze tight in the tails of each others. The Birchalls did overtake Schlosser & Hofer to take the lead, and Päivärinta & Hänni did overtake Hock & Becker to the third position in the fourth lap. Reeves & Cluze had engine problems and were caught by Roscher & de Haas and Barry James & Jamie Winn. Päivärinta & Hänni overtook Schlosser & Hofer in the lap six to the second position.
On the lap nine did Janez Remse and Paul Knapton turn their sidecar over. The leading Birchalls already in the tenth lap did then collide heavily with a slowing BEM racing sidecar in the ninth lap at the incident place. The next driving Päivärinta & Hänni and Hock & Becker succeeded to evade the place of the accident, but Schlosser & Hofer after them crashed out. The race was stopped by red flags.
The remaining Gold Race of thirteen laps was restarted one hour later with a reduced number of only nine sidecars in racing condition. At the first corner a contact was seen between two teams, which meant that James & Winn pulled in after the first lap. The remaining race was dominated by Päivärinta & Hänni and they won it with a gap of 7,6 seconds to Hock & Becker second. Roscher & de Haas finalized the combined Gold Race as the third half a minute after the winners, and Reeves & Cluze were the fourth.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2011 after two races:
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 45 points
Hock & Becker, D 33 points
Roscher & de Haas, D/NL 26 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 25 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 24 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 17 points
Moser & Walker, AUT/GBR 17 points
Schlosser & Hofer, CH 16 points
James & Winn, GBR 9 points
Gallerne & Schreiber, FRA 9 points
Lawrie & Neave, GBR 8 points
Remse & Knapton, SLO/GBR 5 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 4 points
Streuer & Endevald, NL 3 points
Knight & Knight, GBR 2 points
Bertrand & Seret, FRA 1 point.
The next world championship races of sidecars will be driven at the Automotodrom Grobnik near Rijeka, at Croatia, on 24th - 26th June, 2011. Päivärinta & Hänni will also compete before the next world championship race in the international IDM championship races at Nuerburgring on 21st - 22nd of May and at Sachsenring on 18th - 19th of June, 2011 in Germany.
Pekka Päivärinta & Adolf Hänni
Pekka Päivärinta & Adolf Hänni to fight for the Sidecar World Championship 2010
Driver Pekka Päivärinta, Finland:
World Championship series 2009: 2nd in overall standings and 2 race victories
World Championship series 2008: World Champion and 3 race victories
World Championship series 2007: 2nd in overall standings and 3 race victories
World Championship series 2006: 2nd in overall standings and 3 race victories
World Championship series 2005: 4th in overall standings and 3 race victories
Finnish Champion in Road Race Sidecars: 1994, 1998, 1999, 2003.
Passenger Adolf Hänni, Switzerland:
World Championship series 2009: 2nd in overall standings and 2 race victoriesWorld Championship series 2008: 5th overall with Markus Schlosser
World Championship series 2007: 3rd overall and one race victory with Schlosser
German Championship series 2007 and 2009: IDM Champion with Schlosser
World Championship series 2003: 3rd overall with Mike Roscher
World Cup series 1998 -2000: 2nd in overall standings with Klaus Klaffenböck
World Championship series 1994: 2nd in overall standings with Steve Webster.
The side-car is designed and built by LCR (Louis Christen Racing). The material of the monocoque chassis is aircraft aluminium glued and riveted. The fairings are from carbon-kevlar. The design reminds that of the F3 racing cars. The power of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle engine is about 210 hp. The maximal speed is over 300 km/h.
World Championship (WC) series, provisional calendar 2010
16.-18.4.2010 Le Mans, France (EWC)
08.-09.5.2010 Schleiz, Germany (Superside)
19.-20.6.2010 Rijeka, Croatia (Superside)
26.-27.6.2010 Carthagena, Spain (EWC)
17.-18.7.2010 Sachsenring, Germany (MotoGP)
14.-15.8.2010 Knockhill, United Kingdom
28.-29.8.2010 Slovakiaring, SlovakiaOrganizer: Superside GmbH, FIM Sidecar World Championship. www.superside.com
Between the WC race journeys, 1 – 3 international German or Finnish championship races may also be driven.
Visibility and co-operationship
The frequent overtakings, the fights between the many sidecar pairs at the racing track, and the acrobacy for steering and balancing the driving on the three wheels, make this sport to one of the visually most spectacular of motor sports. And there is no other motor sport class that relies so much on the 100 % co-operation between the driver and “co-driver”. About half a million spectators during each of the seasons 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 did attend the world championship rounds of the side-cars. In Finland the series had a TV visibility in 2006, 2007 and 2008 through ½ hour resumes shown from all races in the Sports channel. In 2009 somewhat shorter resumes and interviews in both the Finnish TV2 and the Sports Channel and ½ hour resumes in several international TV channels, e.g. in the FIM TV were shown. For the season 2010 a better TV visibility is planned through WC resumes or broadcasts. The team and its side-car were well visible in the World Championship races and the TV resumes because it did fight in the top of the races and started the races from the first row or pole position.
The team offers for their partners advertisement space in the large fairings of the chassis which are well visible for the spectators and on the TV resumes and broadcasts from the races. Advertisement space is also available in clothing, helmets, transport cars and service spaces in the race depot. Also an opportunity and tickets are offered for the partners to visit major motorcycle race events and the race depots featuring the Sidecar World Championship rounds at the major European raceways. A visibility in fair exhibitions or special events is also available. The team also serves its partners in racetrack days, where an opportunity to act as a passenger in the race sidecar is offered.
Take contact so we can present our project in the exciting, speedy and visible world of motor sports.
2010 Magny-Cours
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON THE SIDECAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND WERE FIFTH IN THE LAST RACE OF 2010 AT MAGNY-COURS
Summary
The last race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 series was held on Saturday 11th of September, at Magny-Cours, in France. Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni were after a sure and firm racing the fifth in the eventful race which was broken off two times. Thus Päivärinta & Hänni did win the Sidecar World Campionship of 2010 with a gap of six points to Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze second, and with 23 points to Ben & Tom Birchall third overall. This world championship was the second for Päivärinta who also won the world championship in 2008 together with Timo Karttiala as his passenger at that time.
The World Championship was the first for the 55 years old Adolf Hänni. Adolf Hänni has been the Vize-World Champion as a passenger to three different Sidecar World Champions Steve Webster, Klaus Klaffenböck and Paivärinta prior to winning the present world championship during his long, hard working and successful career which started at the world sidecars in 1983 at the Grand Prix of Spa Francorchamps.
Free and qualification practices
The seventh and last race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 series was held in connection to the FIM Endurance world championship Bol d'Or race weekend at Magny-Cours in the central France. Twenty six sidecars, drivers and passengers from ten countries did participate.
In the free practises on Thursday 9th of August, the air was sunny but the track still wet from the preceding rain. Päivärinta & Hänni were the fastest with a lap time two seconds faster than Reeves & Cluze second and Markus Schlosser & Thomas Hofer the third fastest.
The two qualification practices on Friday afternoon and evening of the 10th of September were driven in sunny and dry conditions. Päivärinta & Hänni achieved the fifth starting position in the second row. They used Yokohoma tyres and a well functioning Suzuki GSX-R 1000 engine largely maintained by Päivärinta on the prior day. Twenty one of the teams improved their lap times in the second qualification compared to the first. Reeves & Cluze achieved the pole position with a gap of 0,75 seconds to Schlosser & Hofer at the second starting place. The Birchall brothers were the third fastest and Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker the fourth fastest with a lap time 0,5 seconds better than Päivärinta & Hänni. Pekka Päivärinta mentioned after the qualifications that “ It is tomorrow necessary to prevent the possible involvement in race contacts due to fighting for top positions. It is sufficient to reach the chequered flag with a decent position to have the chance of winning the World Championship”.
Gold Race
The race started in dry and sunny conditions on Saturday noon of the 11th of September 2010.
About 50.000 interested and enthusiastic spectators crowded the stands. The Birchall brothers took the lead in the first curve followed by Reeves & Cluze, Schlosser & Hofer, Hock & Becker and Päivärinta & Hänni. In the schikane at the end of the first lap, the French pair Stephane Tenand & Pascal Theveneau crashed in an overtaking effort against the Slovenian-British pair Janez Remse & Paul Knapton and the race direction interrupted the race.
After the restart, in the fourth lap as Reeves & Cluze were leading, Schlosser & Hofer being second, the Birchall brothers third, Hock & Becker fourth, Päivärinta & Hänni fifth, and the British Gary & Daniel Knight being sixth, the race was again red flagged. The engine of the French pair Philippe Gallerne & Julien Chesneau broke and they lost oil into the track and the Swiss pair Olivier Purtschert & Prishka Purtschert drove to the slippery oil and crashed. In the third lap of the renewed start after the stop, did the Swiss pair Schlosser & Hofer manage to overtake Reeves & Cluze and the Swiss pair was the first at the chequered flag of the four laps driven. The Bircall brothers were the narrow third at the chequered flag. They were almost overtaken at the final schikane and straight by Päivärinta & Hänni attacking behind and alongside.
The best lap time in the whole race and the summed win of the three part races was achieved by Reeves & Cluze. Schlosser & Hofer were the second in the race in total, the Birchall brothers the third, Hock & Becker the fourth, Päivärinta & Hänni the fifth and the father and son Knight the sixth and the French pair Mickael Ducouret & Bastien Herman the seventh.
The fifth place of Päivärinta & Hänni at Magny-Cours Sachsenring meant that they won the FIM Sidecar World Championship of 2010 after the seven races by a gap of six points to Reeves & Cluze second. Ben & Tom Birchall were the third seventeen points behind Reeves & Cluze. Hock & Becker were the fourth in the total points twenty eight points after the the Birchall brothers. The Austrian pair Josef Moser & Manfred Wechselberger were the fifth twelve points behind Hock & Becker, and the Australian pair Adam Treasure & Darren Dewhurst sixth in total with 31 points behind Moser & Wechselberger.
The 39 years old and fresh double World Champion Pekka Päivärinta repeated after the race. “ It did not harm us at all that race was driven in three heats. We did enhance our position in every part race and as we were not obliged to win, we could compete the race surely and solidly behind the leading group”.
The World Championship was in turn the first for the 55 years old Adolf Hänni. His long and successful career, involving hard work and training, has started at the world sidecars already at the Grand Prix of Spa Francorchamps in 1983. Adolf Hänni has been a Vize-World Champion as the passenger to the three different Sidecar World Champions Steve Webster, Klaus Klaffenböck and Päivärinta prior to winning the 2010 World Championship.
The total points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 (seven races) :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH LCR/Suzuki 138 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA LCR/Honda 132 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR LCR/Yamaha 115 points
Hock & Becker, D LCR/Suzuki 87 points
Moser & Wechselberger, AUT LCR/Suzuki 75 points
Treasure & Dewhurst, AUS LCR/Suzuki 44 points
Remse & Biggs, SLO/GBR LCR/Yamaha 39 points
Lawrie & Neave, GBR LCR/Suzuki 39 points
Rutz & Wäfler/Aeberli, CH LCR/Yamaha 38 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR LCR/Suzuki 31 points
Knight & Knight, GBR LCR/Suzuki 29 points
Roscher & Wolfram/Huet, D LCR/BMW 26 points
Barbier & Debroise, FRA LCR/Suzuki 23 points
Streuer & Endeveld, NL LCR/Suzuki 22 points
Ducouret & Herman, F LCR/Suzuki 21 points
Schroeder & Burkard, CH LCR/Suzuki 19 points.
Steffes & Walker, D/USA LCR/Suzuki 18 points
Ozimo & Zanarini, I LCR/Suzuki 12 points
Chaplow & Evanson, GBR LCR/Suzuki 12 points
Le Bail & Chaigneau, F AutoMoto/Suzuki 9 points.
Sachsenring Race Report
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI THIRD AT SACHSENRING AND LEAD THE SIDECAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRIOR TO THE LAST RACE OF 2010
Summary
The sixth race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship was held on Sunday 18th of July, 2010 at Sachsenring in Germany. Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni were third in the race just 1,7 seconds behind Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze, who were second. Päivärinta & Hänni did advance up to the tails of Reeves & Cluze during the later part of the race. The German Kurt Hock and Michael Hildebrandt were the winners at home with a clear marginal of over four seconds to the second pair.
Päivärinta & Hänni lead the the FIM Sidecar World Championship of 2010 with a margin of 20 points to Reeves & Cluze, who are second in points before the last race at Magny Cours.
Qualification practices
The fifth race of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 was held in connection to the MotoGP weekend at Sachsenring in the the eastern Germany. Twenty sidecars and drivers from nine countries did participate. After the two qualification practices on Friday 16th, and Saturday 17th of July, did Päivärinta & Hänni achieve the fourth starting position with a gap of about 0,9 seconds behind Hock & Hildebrandt, who got the third starting position at the grid. Reeves & Cluze scored the best lap time on Saturday evening and achieved the pole position for the race. After them followed Ben & Tom Birchall with the second best time 0,2 seconds behind.
Päivärinta performed a large maintenance work of the engine just before the first qualification practice. The Fridays's qualification practise in the warm and dry conditions was, except the two last laps, used for breaking in the engine. In the second qualification did Päivärinta & Hänni in the dry and milder conditions suffer from serious tyre problems with the proven Yokohama tyres. Thus, Päivärinta & Hänni were obliged to change to, for them unproven and untested, Avon tyres for the race on Sunday. No warm-up time had been scheduled for the morning before the Sunday's race.
Gold Race
In the race starting in dry conditions on Sunday afternoon did Reeves & Cluze get from the pole position the best start. Päivärinta & Hänni started cautiously and were fourth in the first lap.
Hock & Hildebrandt did however overtake from the fifth position at the beginning gradually the Australian pair Adam Treasure & Darren Dewhurst, the Birchall brothers, Päivärinta & Hänni and Reeves & Cluze. After that did Hock & Hildebrandt rather fast come off the pack and drive safely to a German victory with a gap of 4,3 seconds to Reeves & Cluze second. After passing at first the positive surprisers Treasure & Dewhurst, did Päivärinta & Hänni still made advances to the Birchall brothers for a long time before passing them. At the later part of the race the lap times of Päivärinta & Hänni were among the best. and hey approached gradually near to the tails of their World championship rivals Reeves & Cluze and and ended the race in the third position.
The third place of Päivärinta & Hänni at Sachsenring meant that they lead the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after the six races by a gap of twenty points to Reeves & Cluze second. The Birchall brothers are the third eight points behind Reeves & Cluze. Hock & Becker/Hildebrandt are the fourth in the total points twenty five points after the reigning world champions the Birchall brothers.
As can be understood from the list of the standings and points below, both Päivärinta & Hänni and Reeves & Cluze have in the last race opportunities to win the world championship or be left second, and Reeves & Cluze and the Birchall brothers in turn to fight to be second or third in the FIM sidecar world championship of 2010.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after six races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 127 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 107 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 99 points
Hock & Becker/Hildebrandt, D 74 points
Moser & Wechselberger, AUT 68 points
Remse & Biggs, SLO/GBR 39 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 37 points
Treasure & Dewhurst, AUS 37 points
Lawrie & Neave, GBR 31 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 27 points
Streuer & Endeveld, NL 22 points
Barbier & Debroise, FRA 21 points
Roscher & Wolfram, D 20 points
Knight & Knight, GBR 19 points
Schroeder & Burkard, CH 18 points..
The last FIM Sidecar World Championship race of 2010 will be held at Magny Cours (in connection to the FIM Endurance World Championship event) at France on September 10.-11, 2010.
Rijeka Race Report
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON AND SECOND IN THE TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACES OF 2010 AT RIJEKA
Summary
Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni won the Sprint Race of the third round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Saturday 19th of June, 2010 near Rijeka in Croatia. Päivärinta & Hänni had an exciting duel with Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze until the middle of the race. But Päivärinta & Hänni were then able to break away and reach the goal about 4 seconds before Reeves & Cluze as second. The Austrian pair Josef Moser & Manfred Wechselberger reached the third podium place.
Reeves & Cluze did in turn win the long Gold Race on Sunday 20th of June with a gap of 3 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni. The Birchall brothers fighted with determination up to the third podium place despite their handicap of the sored back of Ben Birchall after they had flipped their sidecar onto the roof in the free practice.
Qualification practises
The third round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 was held at the 4168 long “Automotodrom Grobnik” circuit near Rijeka in Croatia. Fourteen sidecars and drivers from 10 countries did participate in the round. After the two qualification practises of Saturday 19th of May achieved Päivärinta & Hänni the pole position with a gap of about 0,7 seconds to Reeves & Cluze who got the second starting position at the grid. After them did Moser & Wechselberger and the Australian pair Adam Treasure & Darren Dewhurst get the following starting positions in the qualifications. The Birchall brothers Ben and Tom achieved the sixth position for the grid in the second qualification with their handicap of the sored back of the driver Ben after flipping their sidecar onto the roof in the free practice of Friday.
Sprint Race
The track of the 11 laps long sprint race was dry, but the soil around the track was still wet as the sprint race started on Saturday afternoon. After the start did Päivärinta & Hänni have an exciting duel with Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze until the fifth lap. But Päivärinta & Hänni were after that able to break away and reach the chequered flag about 4 seconds before Reeves & Cluze second. The Austrian pair Josef Moser & Manfred Wechselberger reached the third podium place about 30 seconds behind the winners.
The Birchall brothers, the current vice- leaders of the World Championship series, managed to struggle through the race and achieve the 11th position at the end of the race.
Pekka Päivärinta commented the sprint race by saying “ The victory was not easy. The Grobnik track is fast, demanding and exhausting. You must drive the whole time with the full speed, and it eats up the tyres which were completely utilized up to the end of the race. Tomorrow we can start the race calmly and save the tyres for the whole long Gold Race”.
Gold Race
The weather before the start of the long Gold Race of 20 laps on Sunday was rainy. The weather seemed to to dry up a little before the start but continued rainy during the race. Päivärinta & Hänni started the race with slicks, but Reeves & Cluze seemed to have an intermediate tyre at the front. Reeves & Cluze succeeded well in the start and turned as leaders to the first curve and led the first laps. Päivärinta & Hänni managed once to overtake Reeves & Cluze, but they overtook again Päivärinta & Hänni. At the last lap did Päivärinta & Hänni compete directly at the tail of the sidecar of Reeves & Cluze, but Päivärinta & Hänni did not try to overtake them as they wanted to avoid the risks of the overtaking events with the several backmarkers in front of them. Reeves and Cluze reached the chequered flag about 3 seconds before Päivärinta & Hänni, who were second. The Birchall brothers Ben and Tom fighted with determination up to the third podium place about 58 seconds behind the winners. The Brittish pair Scott Laurie & James Neave achieved the promising 4th postion one minute and eleven seconds after the winners.
Pekka Päivärinta said after the race “ Two races remain, one at Sachsering in Germany and the second at Knockhill in Scottland, in the FIM Sidecar World Championship. We can travel there in a trustful mood. Achievement of the the third place in the both races is sufficient for us to reach a possible World Championship”.
The victory and second of Päivärinta & Hänni at Automotodrom Grobnik meant that they lead the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after the five races by a gap of eleven points to Reeves & Cluze second. The Birchall brothers are third only one point behind Reeves & Cluze.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after five races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 111 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 87 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 86 points
Moser & Wechselberger, AUT 58 points
Hock & Becker, D 49 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 31 points
Remse & Biggs, SLO/GBR 30 points
Treasure & Dewhurst, AUS 26 points
Lawrie & Neave, GBR 24 points
Streuer & Endeveld, NL 22 points.
Päivärinta & Hänni will also compete in the international IDM championship race at Salzburgring at Austria on July 3 - 4, 2010 before the next FIM Sidecar World Championship race at Sachsenring (in connection to the MotoGP event) on July, 17 -18, 2010.
2010: SCHLEIZ
PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI WON AND THIRD IN THE TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACES OF 2010 AT SCHLEIZ
Summary
The Birchall brothers Ben and Tom did win the Sprint Race of the second round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Saturday 8th of May, 2010 at Schleiz in Germany. The German pair Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker were second about 4 seconds behind. Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni had an exciting duel with Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze until the middle of the race and were able to pass them then and reached clearly the third podium place.
Päivärinta & Hänni did in turn win the long Gold Race on Sunday 9th of May with a gap of 6 seconds to the Birchall brothers. The Birchalls tried to overtake Päivärinta & Hänni a couple of times until the middle of the race, but Päivärinta & Hänni pulled after that away to a clear victory. Reeves & Cluze remained third about 24,4 seconds behind the winning pair.
Qualification practises
The second round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 was held at the Mecca of the sidecar racing, the 3805 m long “Schleizer Dreieck” track in Germany. Nineteen sidecars and drivers from 11 countries did participate in the races watched by over 15000 spectators.
After the two qualification practises of Friday 7th of May and Saturday 8th of May achieved the Birchall brothers the pole position with a gap of about 0,6 seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni who got the second starting position at the grid. After them did Reeves & Cluze and Hock & Becker get the following positions in the qualifications.
Sprint Race
Päivärinta & Hänni did not succeed so well in the the start of the Sprint Race of 11 laps. They fell to the third position after the Birchall brothers and Hock & Becker, tightly followed by Reeves & Cluze. In the second lap did Reeves & Cluze succeed to find a hole and overtake Päivärinta & Hänni and then cover up the overtaking efforts by Päivärinta & Hänni during four laps. After an exciting duel did Päivärinta succeed to overtake Reeves & Cluze and return to the third position. The Birchalls had during the time built an extensive lead and also Hock & Becker achieved a gap of more than two seconds to Päivärinta & Hänni. In the remaining five laps could Päivärinta & Hänni build up their lead to Reeves & Cluze into the clear 9 seconds, but Hock & Becker were too far away without any chances to be catched up. After eleven laps in the goal did the winners Birchall brothers have a comfortable lead of four seconds to the German pair Hock & Becker second at the chequered flag.
Gold Race
In the start of the long Gold Race on Sunday succeeded Päivärinta & Hänni well in the start and
turned as leaders to the first curve. But at this timme did the Birchalls not succeed in the start from the pole position and fell at the beginning of the race to a fourth position. The Birchalls managed however to catch up Päivärinta & Hänni during four laps and in the following laps they tried to overtake Päivärinta & Hänni by attacking alongside some times but did not succeed to pass. From the middle of the long race of 22 laps did Päivärinta & Hänni widen the gap to the Birchalls to six seconds at the chequered flag. Reeves & Cluze succeeded at this time to win over Hock & Becker and achieve the third place on the podium.
The happy Pekka Päivärinta said after the race “ This race proved that a good start and the aggressive first laps are very valuable as competing with the equal standard engines”.
The victory of Päivärinta & Hänni meant that they lead the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after three races by a gap of one point to the Birchall brothers.
Päivärinta & Hänni will also compete before the next world championship race at Rijeka, Croatia, in the international IDM championship race at Oschersleben in Germany on May 15 -16, 2010.
The points in the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 after three races :
Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH 66 points
Birchall & Birchall, GBR 65 points
Hock & Becker, D 49 points
Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA 42 points
Moser & Wechselberger, AUT 31 points
Roscher & Wolfram, D 21 points
Spendal & Hill, SLO/GBR 20 points
Rutz & Waefler, CH 15 points
Schroeder & Burkard, CH 14 points
Remse & Biggs, SLO/GBR 12 points
Ducouret & Herman, FRA 12 points
Barbier & Debroise, FRA 11 points.
The next world championship races of sidecars will be driven at the Automotodrom Grobnik near Rijeka, at Croatia, on June 19-20, 2010.
2010: LE Mans
A SWEET WIN FOR PÄIVÄRINTA & HÄNNI IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SIDECAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 AT LE MANS
Summary
Pekka Päivärinta and Adolf Hänni did win the first round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship race held on Saturday 17th of April, 2010 at Le Mans in France. The 2010 world champions Birchall brothers attacked behind Päivärinta & Hänni and were second only 3,3 seconds behind. The German pair Hock & Becker were third with a gap of about 17 seconds to the winners. Reeves & Cluze remained fourth about 31 seconds behind the winning pair.
Qualification practises
The first round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship 2010 was held at the Bugatti circuit of Le Mans in connection to the FIM Endurance World Championship. The two qualification practises of the seventeen sidecars were held on Friday 16th of April,.2010. Pekka Päivärinta & Adolf Hänni were the fastest after the both two qualifications with a lap time of 1 minute and 43,643 seconds and achieved the pole position ahead of Gary & Dan Knight having a lap time of 1 minute and 43,820 seconds. Ben and Tom Birchall were not better than third with a lap time of 1 minute and 43,944 seconds partially due to problems with the steering system.
Gold Race
The race was driven in two parts. After two laps did the engine of Gary and Dan Knight break and dropped oil to the track. The race was broken by a red flag as Päivärinta & Hänni were leading.
The oil of the track was cleaned up and Päivärinta & Hänni took the renewed start of the 15 laps, too. As the worst case during the race did the Birchalls reach the leading pair Päivärinta & Hänni up to a gap of about one second. Adolf Hänni managed to watch the racing of the pairs behind and observed that the Birchalls always catched up the leading pair as driving out from the curves.
Päivärinta & Hänni did win the race with the Birchall brothers the second only 3,3 seconds behind. Kurt Hock & Enrico Becker were the third with a gap of about 17 seconds to the winners and Tim Reeves & Gregory Cluze were the fourth about 31 seconds behind the winning pair.
“The medicine to increase the power will be searched for during the next weekend IDM race at Lausitzring in Germany. It is good to continue from the present situation” told the happy Pekka Päivärinta after the race.
Le Mans Sidecar race results:
1. Päivärinta & Hänni, FIN/CH
2. Birchall & Birchall, GBR
3. Hock & Becker, D
4. Reeves & Cluze, GBR/FRA
5. Ducouret & Herman, FRA
6. Moser & Wechselberger, AUT
7. Le Bail & Chaigneau, FRA
8. Remse & Biggs, SLO/GBR
9. Streuer & Endeweld, NED
10. Steffes & Walker, GER/USA
The next World Championship race of the FIM Sidecars 2010 will be on the 8th - 9th of May at Schleiz in Germany.
PLEASE CHOOSE THE RACE REPORT ON THE LEFT SIDE !
