Marvin Vanluchene and Ben van den Bogaart crowned in Varsseveld
By Team TMX on 14th Sep 26
The penultimate round of the 2026 World Sidecarcross Championship was held over this weekend in Holland but not at the venue originally listed on the calendar. Earlier in the year, the Heerde club had announced they would be unable to run the event, so an alternative organiser was sought. This turned out to be the Varsseveld club supported by Gert van Werven and the resources of the Van Werven family businesses.
Defending champion Koen Hermans announced he would not be riding as he was still suffering from a possible previous concussion. Also missing were the Latvian Lielbardis twins.
Mathematically, Marvin Vanluchene/Ben van den Bogaart could clinch the title over the weekend on a track that suited them far better than their nearest rivals - the French Prunier brothers who have always disliked deep sand tracks. Third-placed team Tim Prummer/Patrick Schneider were also suffering from injuries sustained in a practice session earlier in the week.
32 teams had entered, including nine from Great Britain, all of whom could come away with GP points, as nobody would be leaving on Saturday having not qualified.
In the first quali race on Saturday, Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart led from gate to flag with Tim and Sem Leferink second and Davy Sanders/Jens Vincent third. Anthony Milliar/Jon Hunt and Tony Grahame/Jak Watson made the cut whilst George Kinge/Thomas Mackay, Jake Brown/Christopher Booth and Luke Banks/Chris Pannell would have to fight it out in the last chance.
The second quali race was headed by Brett Wilkinson/Joe Millard but after a couple of corners Julien Veldman/Rodolphe Lebreton took over the lead which they held to the flag. Wilkinson/Millard held on to second place with Dan Foden/Noah Weinmann, back from injury in Lithuania, fourth, Mike Hodges/Ryan Henderson fifth and Jack Rogers/Ryan Beavis 12th. As expected, the Pruniers struggled and could only manage eighth place, which would put them on the back row on Sunday.
The organisers did an excellent job overnight regrading the track but Mother Nature decided to get involved and it rained for most of the morning, making the going “Brutal” as Joe Millard put it and it only got worse.
Before the sighting lap for the first moto, the Pruniers were in trouble with what appeared to be clutch problems. They got it fixed but lined up in last place. When the gate dropped, Wilkinson/Millard took the holeshot from Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart and Veldman/Lebreton.
As the riders entered the woods, Veldman/Lebreton led from Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart with Wilkinson/Millard now fourth. As the race went on and the sand became deeper and deeper, riders were getting stuck, and it became more difficult to find a line that would be clear. The Pruniers worked up to 19th place but then pulled out. This now meant Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart would be champions if they just stayed out of trouble in second place. They did this and took the title. Wilkinson/Millard were third, Foden/Weinmann 10th, Brown/Booth 12th, and Hodges/Henderson 17th.
In the second moto, Wilkinson/Millard once again took the holeshot but after a couple of turns Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart made his intentions clear and took the lead which he held to the flag. Veldman/Lebreton held on to second place from the Leferinks.
Wilkinson/Millard were comfortable in third until they came up against a blockage of stuck outfits which dropped them to ninth although they recovered from this to finish in sixth place. The Pruniers had a much better race, finishing in seventh place. Foden/Weinmann finished eighth, Brown/Booth 17th, Kinge/MacKay 19th and Grahame/Watson 20th.
Vanluchene/Van den Bogaart not only collected the world title but they also took the overall win from Veldman/Lebreton with Wilkinson/Millard third.
The final round will be next weekend at Rudersberg in Germany, where the Pruniers and Prummer/Schneider are only one point apart in their fight for second place.
