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

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

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

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

The calendar for the 2002 season:[1]

Date Place Race winners GP winner Source
1 April Netherlands Oldebroek Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Alfons Eggers Result
Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Alfons Eggers
12 May Bulgaria Sevlievo Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
19 May Czech Republic Jinín Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
1 June Estonia Jaanikese Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
9 June Latvia Cēsis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
23 June Netherlands Oss Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
14 July Germany Strassbessenbach Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
21 July France Lacapelle-Marival Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
France Benoit Beaumont / Henry van de Wiel
11 August Latvia Ķegums Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
18 August Estonia Saku Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
25 August Sweden Varberg Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Dagwin Sabbe Result
Netherlands Daniël Willemsen / Dagwin Sabbe
8 September Belgium Neeroeteren Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Netherlands Wilfred van Werven / Eli Piccart Result
Sweden Hendrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan
15 September Germany Rudersberg Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
22 September France Dardon Gueugnon Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis Result
Latvia Kristers Sergis / Artis Rasmanis
29 September Latvia Cēsis Netherlands 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

Riders

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

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

References
  1. FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2002 Calendar Archived 2013-01-23 at archive.today FIM website, accessed: 19 September 2012
  2. 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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