Home win for the French at the Sidecarcross of Nations
By Words: Chris Helm Photos: Bert van der Sluis on 28th Sep 26
The final FIM Sidecarcross event of 2026 took place at the spectacular La Radegonde circuit near Dardon-Gueugnon in France. It was the SQXoN – Sidecarcross & Quadcross of Nations – and this year marked the first time the event had come under FIM jurisdiction after being transferred from FIM Europe last winter.
With the event now under the FIM and promoted by Martin Bena’s APO Multicam organisation, there were hopes it might attract more nations but, sadly, that wasn’t the case with just nine countries lining up.
That meant a change to the format, with one qualifying race instead of three on Saturday and two races on Sunday rather than the usual three. With only 27 outfits entered, everyone could contest the one qualifying race, with the finishing points determining how the crews would line up for Sunday’s races.
Rather than the traditional one outfit on the front row and one on the back, some nations would have two on the front row and one on the back, while the higher-scoring nations would have one on the front and two behind.
When the gate dropped just before 2pm, Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann shot into the lead ahead of Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard, with Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent third and Julian Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton fourth.
It was an excellent start for Team GB – but it lasted barely five minutes before the race was red-flagged following an injury to an Estonian passenger.
The restart saw Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart take the holeshot from French favourites Killian and Evan Prunier, with Foden/Weinmann third and Veldman/Lebreton fourth.
Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart never looked back, keeping the French brothers at bay throughout. Foden/Weinmann soon came under pressure from Veldman/Lebreton, who moved into third around halfway, leaving the Brits to fend off Wilkinson/Millard.
They eventually lost that battle, finishing fifth.
Once the numbers had been crunched, France, the Netherlands and Team GB were tied on nine points, with Belgium on 11, Germany 22, Switzerland 23, Denmark 31, Italy 39 and Estonia 40. Those totals would determine the starting positions for Sunday’s races.
Sunday dawned sunny again, with temperatures climbing into the high twenties. Considering the area had seen barely any rain for weeks, the track was in surprisingly good shape.
Foden/Weinmann led away in the opening race from Guennady Auvray/Jarno Steegmans, with Wilkinson/Millard third.
On lap two, a small mistake from Wilkinson/Millard allowed Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart through, and later that same lap the Belgian pairing also moved past Auvray/Steegmans.
Foden/Weinmann were riding an excellent defensive race at the front but Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart gradually reeled them in. Lap after lap they searched for a way past on a circuit where overtaking was far from easy, eventually making the move on lap six.
With 10 minutes remaining, Foden/Weinmann stalled their motor at the top of one of the track’s steep drop-offs and tumbled down to sixth.
Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart were now away at the front, leaving Veldman/Lebreton, the Pruniers, Auvray/Steegmans and Wilkinson/Millard to fight over the remaining podium places.
For lap after lap they ran nose-to-tail until, with two laps remaining, disaster struck Veldman/Lebreton when they collided with a stationary Estonian outfit.
The Pruniers then hit the pile-up while Auvray/Steegmans and Wilkinson/Millard managed to squeeze through either side and inherit second and third.
Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart took the win from Auvray/Steegmans, with Wilkinson/Millard third. The result left France leading the team classification, with Team GB second, the Netherlands third and Belgium fourth.
The second moto once again saw Foden/Weinmann lead Auvray/Steegmans and Wilkinson/Millard away. Halfway around the opening lap, Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart moved past Wilkinson/Millard and set about chasing the leaders.
Foden/Weinmann looked comfortable at the front initially, but Auvray/Steegmans began to close in and after 10 minutes the French pairing made the pass. Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart followed shortly afterwards.
At half-distance, Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson were forced out, meaning their result would automatically become Team GB’s dropped score in the final reckoning.
Up front, the leading five of Auvray/Steegmans, Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart, Wilkinson/Millard, the Pruniers and Foden/Weinmann ran nose-to-tail for lap after lap, with Wilkinson/Millard applying particularly heavy pressure to Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart.
Then, with four minutes remaining, Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart made their move for the lead, diving inside Auvray/Steegmans through a tight left-hander – only to hit a sizeable hole and come to an abrupt halt.
Auvray/Steegmans inherited the lead but Wilkinson/Millard weren’t finished. With three laps remaining, Brett and Joe made their move and took control of the race.
They held on to take the win from Auvray/Steegmans, with the Pruniers third and Foden/Weinmann fourth.
When the final numbers were added up, Team France took the overall victory with Team GB second and the Netherlands third.
The individual honours went to Wilkinson/Millard, meaning Joe Millard could walk away from the sport having signed off with an overall SQXoN victory.
France’s win also ended a remarkable run of 16 consecutive Sidecarcross Nations victories for the Benelux countries.
And while the French finally broke that sequence, Team GB continued another one – finishing runner-up for the fifth consecutive year.
Five straight silver medals. Not quite the colour they wanted, but one hell of a run.
