2012 Sidecarcross World Championship

2012 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix11
Duration1 April 2012–16 September 2012
Drivers
ChampionsNetherlands Daniël Willemsen
Netherlands Kenny van Gaalen
Sidecarcross des NationsNetherlands Netherlands
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The 2012 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 33rd edition of the competition, started on 1 April and finished after eleven race weekends on 16 September 2012.[1]

The defending champions were Daniël Willemsen from the Netherlands and his Belgian passenger Sven Verbrugge. Willemsen and Verbrugge were a team for a fifth time in the history of the competition, with the combination previously winning the 2005 and 2006 titles together.[2] However, the two were racing in separate teams in 2012, with Willemsen having used three different passengers during the season because of injury woes, while Sven Verbrugge joined fellow Belgian pilot Ben Adriaenssen.

Parallel to the riders competition, a manufacturers championship is also held.[3] The defending champions in the manufacturers competition were VMC but the 2012 edition was won by WSP, the manufacturers second title after 2010.

The final race of the 2012 season was held on 16 September at Rudersberg, Germany.[1] The competition was won by Daniël Willemsen, for the tenth time, and his passenger Lauris Daiders who took over competition leadership from Etienne Bax and Kaspars Stupelis after the Russian Grand Prix and sealed the championship in the final race by a margin of five points, the third-lowest in competition history. Daiders however was not the official world champion as he has taken part in less than the required 50 percent of the races and earned less than the required 50 percent of points on Willemsen's side, this honor going to Kenny van Gaalen instead.[4][5]

Sidecarcross passenger in action

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][4] 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.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference calendar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Seitenwagen: Willemsen mit Verbrugge (in German) Speedweek, published: 24 March 2011, accessed: 3 April 2011
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rules was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Standings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ WK-titel lonkt voor Daniel Willemsen (in Dutch) De Stentor, published: 5 August 2012, accessed: 15 August 2012
  6. ^ The World Championship – Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 27 July 2011