British Sidecarcross GP thrills Foxhill fans
By Anthony Sutton on 27th May 25
While FIM Sidecarcross World Championship leaders Koen Hermans/ Ben van den Bogaart dominated the British Grand Prix at Foxhill to extend their lead in the two-round-old series, rousing performances from the British crews – lead by Brett Wilkinson/ Joe Millard who placed second overall – kept the enormous and highly enthusiastic crowd entertained.
The revamped facility was in fine fettle for two days of Sidecarcross GP action punctuated by supporting EMX Quad and South East Evo classes. But while the four and two-wheelers put on one hell of a show, it was the three-wheelers that the majority of the fans had come to see and they didn’t go home disappointed. From the opening Free Practice session on Saturday through to Sunday’s final moto, the action came thick and fast with the home boys constantly in the mix.
With only 31 crews in attendance and Belgian passenger Jarno Steegmans injured in his qualifying heat, all of the British teams were guaranteed a start in Sunday’s races. Wilkinson/ Millard were the top UK qualifiers in fourth after finishing a strong second place in their heat while Neil Campbell/ Paul Horton and Stuart Brown/ Scott Grahame would join them on the front row going to the line 13th and 14th respectively.
A crash in their qualifier after tangling with the trackside netting meant Mike Hodges/ Ryan Henderson had 17th pick of the gate which meant they were on the second row but to the inside behind the fastest crews – a much better position than being stuck on the far outside of row one. Jake Brown/ Lars de Laat would go to the line 19th ahead of George/ Jim Kinge with Liam Mudie/ Jake Grahame, Jack Rogers/ Ryan Beavis, Sam Osbaldiston/ Thomas Mackay, Jonathan Wilson/ Andrew Rowan and Ashlie Williams/ Jak Watson all in the lower half of the second-row qualifiers.
As the gate dropped for race one, Hermans/ Van den Bogaart took the early lead ahead of Davy Sanders/ Jens Vincent, Killian and Evan Prunier and Wilkinson/ Millard who had world champion Marvin Vanluchene and French passenger Nicolas Musset in their wheel tracks. Hodges/ Henderson were next best of the Brits who were in various states of trouble. Mudie/ Grahame had clutch master cylinder issues ahead of the start and were out on their spare bike, Campbell/ Horton had stalled on the line and couldn’t get going while Osbaldiston/ Mackay were in a similar boat after getting slammed so hard in turn one everything just turned off.
At the front of the pack, Hermans/ Van den Bogaart had pulled out an advantage as Wilkinson/ Millard slotted into second with some aggressive passes. Hodges/ Henderson had also made some moves on lap one and were a strong seventh with Brown/ Grahame similarly on the charge through the roost, rocks and swirling dust clouds. Stuart’s son Jake, meanwhile, was an early retiree as passenger De Laat, who was riding injured, just couldn’t continue.
The Prunier brothers got back in front of Wilkinson/ Millard but couldn’t eat into Hermans/ Van den Bogaart’s lead despite their best efforts. The Brit pairing looked comfortable in third with Vanluchene/ Musset following in fourth with Benny Weiss/ Patrick Schneider not too far behind.
Hodges/ Henderson were fending off an all-out attack from the Lielbardis twins – Daniels and Bruno – with Tim and Sem Leferink also joining the battle. The Latvians made a blockpass on the Brits in a 180-right-hander, but Hodges/ Henderson cut back and snatched the position back, Henderson bravely leaning out for the next left-hander with Lielbardis’ front knobblies inches from buzzing his back.
Brown/ Grahame were making some progress through the field and could almost see the Hodges/ Lielbardis/ Leferink battle ahead of him. Fellow Brits George and Jim Kinge were also in a point-scoring position and getting some great support from the very vocal crowd.
As the front six teams all found a little breathing space, the Lielbardis twins were still all over Hodges/ Henderson until the Latvians finally crashed leaving the Leferink brothers clear to attack the #13 crew. The Dutch pair immediately put the Brits under pressure, occasionally getting alongside, but they couldn’t make a pass stick and the race finally concluded with a win for Hermans/ Van den Bogaart. Behind them were the Prunier pair in second, Wilkinson/ Millard third, Vanluchene/ Musset fourth, Sanders/ Vincent fifth, Weiss/ Schneider sixth and Hodges/ Henderson seventh ahead of the very frustrated Leferink brothers. Brown/ Graham were ninth at the flag with the Kinges 17th.
With the sun baking the Foxhill circuit and the EMX Quad races polishing the surface, plenty of water was put down ahead of the second sidecar race with the aid of Foxhill’s nifty sprinkler system.
Hermans/ Van den Bogaart leapt into an early lead but Wilkinson/ Millard were right behind them as the 30-strong field flew into the valley. Dutch pair Justin Keuben/ Dion Rietman made a much better start to race two and were running third ahead of the Leferinks, Vanluchene/ Musset, the Pruniers, Joshua and Noah Weinmann, Hodges/ Henderson, Brown/ Grahame and Campbell/ Horton who had got away inside the top 10.
All eyes were on Wilkinson/ Millard as they had the audacity to attack the red plate holders, getting close several times before finally blocking Hermans/ Van Bogaart with a lunge into the valley floor that put them into the lead. The crowd went wild as the British pair led their home GP!
It was a short-lived thing however as no sooner had they raced past the VIP area, the killswitch lanyard worked its way out leaving Wilkinson/ Millard without power. Hermans/ Van den Bogaart said thank you very much and disappeared into the distance to win race two – and the GP overall with ease! Wilkinson/ Millard finally got going again, just behind Brown/ Grahame who had Hodges/ Henderson in their sights.
Keuben/ Rietman were a solid second as the Leferinks came under fire from Vanluchene/ Musset. The Prunier challenge didn’t last too long in race two as a huge hole took out their rear shock elevating everyone behind them up one position – could Wilkinson/ Millard still salvage a podium?
Within laps, they were the leading Brits again as they worked their way past Brown/ Grahame and Henderson/ Hodges without too much resistance. Campbell/ Horton were still running strong with Kinge/ Kinge, Osbaldiston/ MacKay and Williams/ Watson also up in the points.
At the midway point, Wilkinson/ Millard were sixth with the Weinmann brothers just ahead. However, the Germans soon yielded to the charging Brits who immediately set their sights on Vanluchene/ Musset. Lap-by-lap they nibbled away at the advantage the #1 team held and then with time almost up, they made an aggressive pass stick to move into fourth place – the switch in points moving them from third to second overall!
Hermans/ Van den Bogaart crossed the line ahead of Keuben/ Rietman and Tim and Sem Leferink – absolute dominance from the Dutch riders who grew up racing circuits the exact opposite of this! Wilkinson/ Millard placed fourth, but the overall picture was more important.
Hodges/ Henderson hung on for their second seventh of the day – and sixth overall – with Brown/ Grahame eighth, Campbell/ Horton 16th, George and Jim Kinge 18th and Williams/ Watson hanging on for 20th despite their front fender being slightly askew.
Overall, Hermans/ Van den Bogaart topped the podium with a maximum haul of 50 points with Wilkinson/ Millard second on 38 – four more than third-placed pair Vanluchene/ Musset. Hodges/ Henderson bagged sixth overall with Brown/ Grahame 10th, Kinge/ Kinge 17th, Campbell/ Horton 19th and Williams/ Watson 23rd.
After two rounds in the world championship, with 107 points banked, Hermans/ Van den Bogaart have stretched out an incredible 26-point advantage over Vanluchene/ Musset with Wilkinson/ Millard now third on 74 – three ahead of the Prunier brothers.
The French GP at Brou in France is next on the WSC calendar running on June 7/8. For the Brits there’s some domestic championship action to take care of first as Canada Heights hosts the third round of the ACU series on June 1.
