2009 Sidecarcross World Championship


The 2009 FIM Sidecarcross world championship, the 30th edition of the competition, started on 29 March and finished after thirteen race weekends on 13 September 2009.
After six championships in a row for Daniël Willemsen, the 2009 edition was won by Joris Hendrickx from Belgium. His passenger, Kaspars Liepiņš, is from Latvia.
Parallel to the riders competition, a manufacturers championship was also held and won by Vruwink MotorCycles - VMC.

Overview

The 2009 season was the 30th edition of the sidecarcross world championship. The defending champion was Daniël Willemsen from the Netherlands. He started the season with a new passenger, having parted with the Swiss Reto Grütter, whom he won the 2007 and 2008 title with. After 17 seasons in the sidecarcross world championship, former five-time world champion Kristers Sergis had announced his retirement from the competition, having finished his career with a second place in the 2008 edition. Another former world champion to retire from the competition was Marcel Willemsen, but he did still take part in one more Grand Prix during the season. With Kaspars Stupelis and Sven Verbrugge, two riders who had won world championships as passengers with Daniël Willemsen also took part in the competition, the later reunited with Willemsen in a team.
The thirteen races of the season were held in eleven countries, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Denmark, Poland and Germany. It was the first time since 2001, that the championship had returned to the traditional sidecarcross nation of Switzerland. Russia was on the calendar only for the second time, the previous race having been scheduled to be held in Moscow in 2004 but being cancelled because of heavy rain. Poland hosted a race for the first time. The competition however did not return to Great Britain who held its last event in 2001.

Format

Every Grand Prix weekend is split into two races, both held on the same day. Thus the 2011 season with its thirteen Grand Prix had 26 races. Each race lasts for 30 minutes plus two laps. The two races on a weekend get combined to determine an overall winner. In case of a tie, the results of the second race are used to determine the winner. While this overall winner receives no extra WC points, they usually are awarded a special trophy. Race start times are set at 13:30 and 16:00.
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 season, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. With 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.
The FIM stipulates that all drivers must be of a minimum age of 18 while passengers have to be at least 16 years old to compete, but no older than 50. Riders older than 50 have to provide a certificate of medical fitness to be permitted to compete. The driver has the right to exchange his passenger under certain conditions.
Starting numbers for the season are awarded according to the previous season's overall finishing position of the driver. Current or former World Champions have however the right to pick any number they wish, except the number one, which is reserved for the current World Champion.
The competition is open for motor cycles with two-stroke engines from between 350 and 750 cc and four-stroke engines of up to 1,000 cc. Each team is permitted the use of two motorcycles with the possibility of changing machines between races.
The FIM does not permit radio communication between riders and their teams. Outside assistance during the race on the course is not permitted unless it is through race marshals in the interest of safety. Limited repairs in the designated repair zone during the race are permitted.
The first twenty teams of each race score competition points. The point system for the 2009 season was as follows:

Prize money

Prize money and travel reimbursements in the sport are not large, sidecarcross still qualifying mostly as an amateur sport. In the 2009 season for example, every team received Euro 500 as a travel indemnity per race weekend qualified for. Additionally, prize money was paid, with the winner earning €300, the second placed team €250, the third placed team €200. With the prize money gradually dropping off from there, the teams placed twelfth to twentieth still received €50 each.

Calendar

The calendar for the 2009 season:
  • The Sidecarcross des Nations in Jauer on 27 September 2009 is a non-championship event but part of the calendar and is denoted by a light blue background in the table above.

    Classification

Riders

The final standings of the 2009 season:
PositionDriver / PassengerEquipmentBike NoPoints
1 Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars LiepinsKTM-VMC4483
2 Jan Hendrickx / Tim SmeuninxKTM-VMC3465
3 Jānis Daiders / Lauris DaidersKTM-VMC8418
4 Marko Happich / Martin BetschartZabel-MEFO5377
5 Daniël Willemsen / Sven VerbruggeZabel-VMC1366
6 Václav Rozehnal / Marek RozehnalZabel-VMC7365
7 Māris Rupeiks / Haralds KurpnieksKTM-WSP6341
8 Etienne Bax / Marc van DeutekomZabel-VMC10300
9 Stuart Brown / Luke PetersHusaberg-VMC17266
10 Tomáš Čermák / Ondřej ČermákJAWA-MEFO37261
11 Peter Steegmans / Christian VerhagenZabel-VMC16245
12 Nicky Pulinx / Kaspars StupelisZabel-VMC9229
13 Kristof Santermans / Ben van den BogaartZabel-WSP19182
14 Thomas Morch / Robbie BaxZabel-WSP18142
15 Jan Visscher / Jeroen VisscherZabel-VMC30122
16 Gerrit van Werven / Gertie EgginkKTM-VMC96113
17 Daniel Millard / Joe MillardHusaberg-WSP35109
18 Ben Adriaenssen / Kenny van GaalenKTM-VMC90108
19 Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias SylwanHusaberg-MEFO20101
20 Martin Walter / Andre SaamZabel-WSP15100
21 Robert Gustavsson / Henrik ApelgrenKTM-MEFO74752
22 Joshua Luscher / Markus GloorHusaberg-VMC3151
23 Margo Sonn / Elvijs MucenieksKTM-AYR2348
24 Marcel Willemsen / Bruno KaelinZabel-WSP1141
25 Kevin Bitsche / Johannes VonbunZabel-WSP6741
26 Benjamin Daniel / Guennady AuvrayHusaberg-WSP4139
27 Thijs Derks / Roy DerksHusaberg-EML1326
28 Gert Gordejev / Keit KivasteKTM-AYR3424
29 Lukáš Černý / Edouard ChereauJAWA-MEFO2122
30 Evgeny Scherbinin / Sergey SosnovskikhKTM-AYR7919
31 Miroslav Knotig / Robbie BaxMEFO9819
32 Roman Koch / Aleksey BessarabovZabel35119
33 Baptiste Bigand / Julien BigandZabel-VMC2518
34 Arnolds Sīlis / Gints SīlisMTH-VMC17118
35 John Lyne / Steve KirwinKTM-VMC2417
36 Mark Kinge / Kev FoyleHusaberg-WSP7117
37 Eric Schrijver / Patrick van de NieuwenhuizenMTR-VMC1416
38 Carlo van Duijnhoven / Tom van DuijnhovenZabel-VMC1214
39 Joonas Saloniemi / Juho SaloniemiKTM-AYR5314
40 Michail Kursov / Pavel AnikinZabel31112
41 Igor Rodionov / Dmitri RodionovKTM-AYR19912
42 Andreas Rutter / Steffen NickeZabel10211
43 Boudewijn Gommeren / Jean Pierre LoosKTM-Bastech13011
44 Argo Poldsaar / Indrek AljesKTM-AYR4411
45 Sergei Ivanov / Atho JalasKTM-AYR18810
46 Liutauras Variakojis / Arvydas DavidonisKTM-AYR499
47 Andreas Clohse / Birgen BeernaertZabel-VMC278
48 Marcel Grondman / Rick SellisZabel-VMC557
49 Frank Mulders / Roy DerksMTR-WSP1117
50 Jean Marie Ains / Matthieu CailleauJAWA-MEFO657
51 Valeriy Starchenko / Evhen PotaninZabel-VMC9015
52 Richard Jenkins / Daniel ChamberlainZabel-VMC875
53 Dmytro Hrechanuk / Oleksandr LitovchenkoMTH-BSU924
54 Dorian Boileau / Paul FressardHusaberg-VMC774
55 John Nielsen / Dennis HansenJAWA-VMC1913
56 Nick Jarvis / Josh ChamberlainKTM-VMC1442
57 Tommy Sorensen / Andreas LindenHusaberg-AYR922
58 Willi Liebl / Vladislav GaborHusaberg-MEFO662
59 Zigmas Žiukas / Jonas DavidonisKTM-AYR522
60 Guillaume Martin / Edouard ChererauZabel-VMC1101
61 Wim Janssen / Bart NottenZabel-VMC361
62 Werner Wittmann / Premysl NovotnyKTM-NMP1161
63 Kert Varik / Veikko ParkseppKTM-AYR451

  • Equipment listed is motor and frame.

    Manufacturers

Parallel to the riders championship, a manufacturers competition is also held. In every race, only the best-placed rider of every make is awarded points in this competition.
The final standings in the manufacturers competition were:
PositionManufacturerPoints
1VMC642
2MEFO434
3WSP411
4AYR65
5KTM30
6Husaberg4
6BSU4

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