2002 Sidecarcross World Championship

2002 Sidecarcross World Championship
Season
Grands Prix	14
Start date	1 April 2002
End date	22 September 2002
Drivers
Champions	Kristers Serģis Artis Rasmanis
Sidecarcross des Nations	Netherlands
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
2001	2003

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]

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]

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	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

Riders

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

External links

• The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com
• The John Davey Grand Prix Pages – Results of all GP's up until 2005
• Official FIM website – Sidecar Motocross World Championship