2000 Sidecarcross World Championship

The 2000 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 21st edition of the competition, started on 19 March and finished after thirteen Grand Prix on 24 September 2000.[1]

2000 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix 13
Start date 19 March 2000
End date 24 September 2000
Drivers
Champions Kristers Serģis
Artis Rasmanis
Sidecarcross des Nations
Chronology
Previous season Next season
1999 2001

The championship was won by Kristers Serģis and his passenger Artis Rasmanis from Latvia, thereby winning their third World Championship together.[2] The pair won the competition with a margin of 32 points, with Dutch rider Daniël Willemsen and his Belgian passenger Sven Verbrugge coming second. Willemsen was the defending champion, having won the 1999 World Championship with his brother Marcel as passenger.[2] Marcel Willemsen was unable to compete in the 2000 edition because of injury. Third place went to the German combination Klaus and Thomas Weinmann. All up, 50 teams were classified in the overall standings with last place going to the Russian team of Anatoli Daineh and Aleksey Bessarabov.[3]

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][3] 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.[4]

Overview

The thirteen races of the season were held in ten countries, Germany (2x), France (2x), Latvia (2x), Estonia, Belarus, Belgium, Sweden, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In comparison to the 1999 edition which had twelve Grand Prix,[5] the Grand Prix of the Greece, Czech Republic and Ukraine had been dropped from the calendar while the GP's of Belarus and Sweden had been added and both France and Germany receiving a second Grand Prix.[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 session, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. 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.[6]

The points system used in 2000 was the same as had been in use since 1984 with the best fifteen teams receiving points in every race and the race winner receiving 20 points. It was the last time this system was used, with changes being made to it in 2002 and, again, in 2003:[7]

Place Points
1 20
2 17
3 15
4 13
5 11
Place Points
6 10
7 9
8 8
9 7
10 6
Place Points
11 5
12 4
13 3
14 2
15 1

Retirements

At the end of the 2000 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being German Alois Wenninger, runners-up in 1997 and active since 1992.[8][9]

Calendar

The calendar for the 2001 season:[1]

Date Place Race winners GP winner Source
19 March Toulon-sur-Arroux David Barat / Sebastien Bellaud David Barat / Sebastien Bellaud Result
Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann
24 April Frauenfeld Chris Etheridge / John Chambers Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
6 June Château-du-Loir Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Alois Wenninger / Henry van de Wiel
25 June Volkovysk Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis
2 July Pflückuff Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Alois Wenninger / Henry van de Wiel
16 July Neeroeteren Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis
30 July Ķegums Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Result
Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan
8 August Jaanikese Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann Result
Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis
27 August Varberg Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Result
Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan
3 September Canada Heights Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
10 September Lierop Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan Jacky Janssen / Wiljam Janssen Result
Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann
17 September Rudersberg Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis Result
canceled because of track conditions
24 September Cēsis Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Result
Daniël Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge
  • Flags for passengers not shown.

Classification

Riders

The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:[3]

Position Driver / Passenger Equipment Bike
No		 Points
1 Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis MTH-BSU 352
2 Daniel Willemsen / Sven Verbrugge Zabel-BSU 320
3 Klaus Weinmann / Thomas Weinmann MTH-EML 306
4 Alois Wenninger / Henry van de Wiel MTH-AYR 287
5 Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan MTH-EML 231
6 Jacky Janssen / Wiljam Janssen Zabel-EML 222
7 Are Kaurit / Arvo Laksberg MTH-AYR 196
8 David Barat / Sebastien Bellaud MTH-EML 136
9 Alvar Korjus / Jurgen Jakk MTH-AYR 134
10 Marko Happich / Sebastian Boehme MTH-EML 107
  • Equipment listed is motor and frame.

References
  1. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2000 Calendar Archived 2013-10-31 at Archive.today FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013
  2. History - World Champions sidecarcross.com, accessed: 31 October 2013
  3. FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2000 Archived 2013-11-02 at Archive.today FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013
  4. The World Championship - Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 2 November 2013
  5. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 1999 Calendar Archived 2013-11-02 at Archive.today FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013
  6. FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013
  7. S/C GP DESTINATIONS The John Davey pages, accessed: 2 November 2013
  8. Official World Championship classification 2000–present Archived 2013-10-16 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 9 November 2014
  9. ALOIS WENNINGER GP RECORD The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014
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