Payne and Rousseau, the 2024 FIM sidecar World champions: The sun was shining for the last race of the 2024 FIM Sidecar World Championship.
Only 2 points separated the two top teams of Marcus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt, and Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau. Third place had been secured by Sam and Tom Christie.
As the lights went out for the last time in 2024 it was Payne and Rousseau who got a great start from Schlosser and Schmidt.
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes had a good start and slotted into third, the Christie Brothers were fourth, Lukas Wyssen and Ema Salmon slotted into fifth with Bennie Streuer and Ferry Segers sixth, Paul Leglise and Marjorie Cescutti seventh but Rupert Archer and Thomas Hofer were alongside on the inside going for the sixth too, Pekka Paivarinta and Adam Christie had a bad start they were in eighth, Pierre Leguen and Leopold Rouby ninth, Raymond and Calvin Leijdekkers tenth, Rogier Weekers and Oceane Bataille brought up the rear of the field.
The top three teams stayed where they were as the race continued in the early stages, but there was a right ding dong battle going on behind, Paivarinta and Christie had worked hard and made it up to seventh place but this was right up with three teams in front, the Christie Brothers, Wyssen and Salmon, and Streuer and Segers. Leglise and Cescutti had fallen back and were under pressure from Archer and Hofer.
The three teams of Leguen/Rouby, the Leijdekkers and Weekers/Bataille were on their own.
The battle at the front was heating up for the lead as the race continued, Schlosser and Schmidt were making the passes but could not make them stick, Payne and Rousseau were working hard to stay in front, but were holding Schlosser/Schmidt at bay.
Reeves and Wilkes had fallen back but were in a safe third.
Again, Paivarinta and Christie worked hard and had got themselves up into sixth behind Wyssen/Salmon, and the Christie Brothers.
Still at the front the battle raged, but Schlosser/Schmidt just could not make the pass, Payne and Rousseau had everything covered, it all came down to the last lap and the long drag to the line, side by side Payne/Rousseau on the inside, Schlosser/Schmidt on the outside, the chequred flag at the ready, by 0.053, Payne and Rousseau took the win from Schlosser and Schmidt, and with this win the championship too, only three points separated the two teams.
Reeves and Wilkes took a good third. There was a sting in the tail for the four teams battling behind, the Christie Brothers had fallen back to sixth, Wyssen and Salmon had a spin losing them places, Paivarinta and Christie took a great fourth after their disastrous start, Streuer and Segers took fifth.
With Wyssen/Salmon spinning, this let Leglise and Cescutti who by now had broken free from Archer and Hoffer take seventh.
Wyssen and Salmon regrouped and took eighth with Archer and Hofer ninth. Leguen/Rouby, the Leijdekkers and Weekers/Bataille took tenth, eleventh and twelfth respectfully.
Another very close fought season comes to an end. We will see what 2025 brings us.
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