2002 Sidecarcross World Championship

The 2002 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 23rd edition of the competition, started on 1 April and finished after fourteen race weekends on 22 September 2002.[1]

2002 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix14
Duration1 April 2002–22 September 2002
Drivers
ChampionsLatvia Kristers Serģis
Latvia Artis Rasmanis
Sidecarcross des NationsNetherlands Netherlands
← 2001
2003 →

The defending champions were Kristers Serģis and his passenger Artis Rasmanis from Latvia who also took out the 2002 championship. The team set a record for number of points scored, 662, and for world championships won, becoming the first-ever team to win five sidecarcross world championships. While Rasmanis permanently retired from the sport after the 2002 season Kristers Serģis continued his career in the sport until 2008, however without being able to win another world title.

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][2] 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.[3]

Overview

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The fourteen races of the season were held in nine countries: Netherlands (2x), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia (2x), Latvia (2x), Germany (2x), France (2x), Sweden and Belgium. In comparison to the 2001 edition,[4] the Grand Prix of Switzerland, Ukraine and Great Britain have been dropped off the calendar while the Bulgarian GP made a return.[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 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.[5]

The first twenty teams of each race score competition points. It was the first season this points system was used. In the 2001 season, only the sixteen best teams were awarded points. The point system for the season was as follows:[6]

Place Points
1 25
2 22
3 20
4 18
5 16
6 15
7 14
8 13
9 12
10 11
Place Points
11 10
12 9
13 8
14 7
15 6
16 5
17 4
18 3
19 2
20 1

Retirements

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At the end of the 2002 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being German Klaus Weinmann, runners-up 1995 and active since 1984.[7][8]

Calendar

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The calendar for the 2002 season:[1]

Date Place Race winners GP winner Source
1 April   Oldebroek   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Daniël Willemsen / Alfons Eggers Result
  Daniël Willemsen / Alfons Eggers
12 May   Sevlievo   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
19 May   Jinín   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
1 June   Jaanikese   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
9 June   Cēsis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
23 June   Oss   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
14 July   Strassbessenbach   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
21 July   Lacapelle-Marival   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Benoit Beaumont / Henry van de Wiel
11 August   Ķegums   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
18 August   Saku   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
25 August   Varberg   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Daniël Willemsen / Dagwin Sabbe Result
  Daniël Willemsen / Dagwin Sabbe
8 September   Neeroeteren   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Wilfred van Werven / Eli Piccart Result
  Hendrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan
15 September   Rudersberg   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
22 September   Dardon Gueugnon   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis   Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
  Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
29 September   Cēsis   Netherlands
  • The Sidecarcross des Nations is a non-championship event but part of the calendar and is denoted by a light blue background in the table above.
  • Flags for passengers not shown.

Classification

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Riders

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The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:[2]

Position Driver / Passenger Equipment Bike
No
Points
1   Kristers Serģis / Artis Rasmanis MTH-BSU 1 662
2   Daniel Willemsen /   Dagwin Sabbe Zabel-VMC 2 494
3   Wilfred van Werven /   Eli Piccart Zabel-BSU 11 434
4   Are Kaurit / Sven Verbrugge MTH-AYR 5 417
5   Marko Happich /   Gerwin Wijs Zabel-VMC 9 343
6   Stuart Brown / Luke Peters Zabel-VMC 20 332
7   Hendrik Soederquist / Tobias Sylwan MTH-EML 3 283
8   Alvar Korjus / Jurgen Jakk MTH-AYR 6 279
9   Evgeni Scherbinin / Sergei Sosnovskikh MTH-APZ 13 256
10   Benoit Beaumont /   Henry van de Wiel MTH-BSU 10 244
  • Equipment listed is motor and frame.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2002 Calendar Archived 2013-01-23 at archive.today FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  2. ^ a b FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2002 Archived 2013-01-23 at archive.today FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  3. ^ The World Championship - Other: What is Sidecarcross.com, accessed: 27 July 2011
  4. ^ FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2001 Calendar Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  5. ^ FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 27 July 2011
  6. ^ S/C GP DESTINATIONS The John Davey pages, accessed: 31 October 2013
  7. ^ Official World Championship classification 2000–present Archived 2013-10-16 at the Wayback Machine FIM website, accessed: 9 November 2014
  8. ^ KLAUS WEINMANN GP RECORD The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014
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