2008 Sidecarcross World Championship
# 2008 Sidecarcross World Championship

The 2008 FIM Sidecarcross world championship, the 29th edition of the competition, started on 20 April and finished after twelve race weekends on 14 September 2008. Daniël Willemsen and Reto Grütter were the defending champions, having won the title in 2007, and repeated this achievement in 2008.

## Overview

The 2008 season was the 29th edition of the sidecarcross world championship.

The twelve races of the season were held in ten countries, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, France (2x), Germany (2x), Croatia, Belgium, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine and Denmark.

After 17 seasons in the Sidecarcross World Championship, five-time World Champion Kristers Sergis announced his retirement from the competition, finishing his career with a second place in the 2008 edition.

## Format

Every Grand Prix weekend is split into two races, both held on the same day. This means, the 2008 season with its twelve Grand Prix has 24 races. Each race lasts for 30 minutes plus two rounds. The two races on a weekend actually get combined to determine an overall winner. While this overall winners receives no extra WC points, they usually are awarded a special trophy.

The first twenty teams of each race score competition points. The point system for the 2008 season is as follows:

| Place | Points |
| - | - |
| 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 22 |
| 3 | 20 |
| 4 | 18 |
| 5 | 16 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 14 |
| 8 | 13 |
| 9 | 12 |
| 10 | 11 |
| Place | Points |
| 11 | 10 |
| 12 | 9 |
| 13 | 8 |
| 14 | 7 |
| 15 | 6 |
| 16 | 5 |
| 17 | 4 |
| 18 | 3 |
| 19 | 2 |
| 20 | 1 |

## Calendar

The calendar for the 2008 season:

| Date | Place | Race winners | GP winner |
| - | - | - | - |
| 20 April | Oss | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis | Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx |
| 20 April | Oss | Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx | Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx |
| 11 May | Jinín | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 11 May | Jinín | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 18 May | Chernivtsi | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis |
| 18 May | Chernivtsi | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis |
| 1 June | Cingoli | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 1 June | Cingoli | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 8 June | Bourg-Bruche | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 8 June | Bourg-Bruche | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 13 July | Genk | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 13 July | Genk | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 20 July | Strassbessenbach | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis |
| 20 July | Strassbessenbach | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis |
| 3 August | Slagelse | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 3 August | Slagelse | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 10 August | Kegums | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Maris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks |
| 10 August | Kegums | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis | Maris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks |
| 17 August | Kiviõli | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 17 August | Kiviõli | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 7 September | Dardon Guegnon | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 7 September | Dardon Guegnon | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 14 September | Rudersberg | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 14 September | Rudersberg | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter |
| 28 September | Genk | Netherlands | Netherlands |

* The Sidecarcross des Nations in Genk on 28 September 2008 is a non-championship event but part of the calendar and is denoted by a light blue background in the table above.
* Only Kegums and Rudersberg have been part of the 2007 race season, all other ten courses are new compare to last season.

## Classification

### Riders

The top ten of the 2008 season were:

| Position | Driver / Passenger | Equipment | Bike No | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter | Zabel-VMC | 1 | 531 |
| 2 | Kristers Sergis / Kaspars Stupelis | KTM-AYR | 3 | 434 |
| 3 | Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx | Zabel-VMC | 2 | 421 |
| 4 | Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepins | KTM-AYR | 8 | 394 |
| 5 | Marko Happich / Meinrad Schelbert | Zabel-MEFO | 7 | 317 |
| 6 | Maris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks | KTM-AYR | 6 | 297 |
| 7 | Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal | Zabel-VMC | 5 | 273 |
| 8 | Janis Daiders / Lauris Daiders | KTM-AYR | 10 | 269 |
| 9 | Nicky Pulinx / Ondrej Cermak | Zabel-VMC | 14 | 244 |
| 10 | Etienne Bax / Marc van Deutekom | Zabel-VMC | 21 | 240 |

* Equipment listed is motor and frame.

### Manufacturers

Parallel to the riders championship, a manufacturers competition is also held. The final standings in the manufacturers competition were:

| Position | Manufacturer | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | VMC | 584 |
| 2 | AYR | 504 |
| 3 | KTM | 394 |
| 4 | Husaberg | 0 |
| 4 | BSU | 0 |

## Race by race statistics

The numbers for every team are allocated according to their 2007 season finish, meaning the world champion received number one and so on. The numbers for drivers not participating this season were not re-allocated. New entries received a random number above the number 48 which is the last place achieved by a driver in the points in 2007. This system makes it possible to see a driver's improvement or decline from last year by comparing number with position.

The following teams have taken part in races this season:

| | Driver / Passenger | Equipment | No. | Points | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Daniël Willemsen / Reto Grütter * | Zabel-VMC | 1 | 531 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | x | 1 | 1 | 1 | $D^1$ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kristers Serģis / Kaspars Stupelis | KTM-AYR | 3 | 434 | 1 | x | 2 | x | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | x | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | $D^2$ | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Jan Hendrickx / Tim Smeuninx | Zabel-VMC | 2 | 421 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Joris Hendrickx / Kaspars Liepiņš | KTM-AYR | 8 | 394 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Marko Happich / Meinrad Schelbert | Zabel-MEFO | 7 | 317 | x | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | x | 11 | 6 | 11 | 18 | x | 8 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| 6 | Māris Rupeiks / Haralds Kurpnieks | KTM-AYR | 6 | 297 | 12 | x | 4 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 7 | x | 12 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | x | 7 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3 | x | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | Vaclav Rozehnal / Marek Rozehnal | Zabel-VMC | 5 | 273 | 14 | 8 | x | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 2 | x | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 10 | x | x |
| 8 | Jānis Daiders / Lauris Daiders | KTM-AYR | 10 | 269 | 19 | 12 | 11 | x | 6 | 11 | 6 | x | x | 9 | 6 | x | 4 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Nicky Pulinx / Ondrej Cermak * | Zabel-VMC | 14 | 244 | 16 | x | 9 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 14 | x | 6 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 12 | x |
| 10 | Etienne Bax / Marc van Deutekom | Zabel-VMC | 21 | 240 | 4 | x | 8 | 10 | x | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 7 | x | 14 | 13 | 13 | 16 |
| 11 | Marcel Willemsen / Marco Godau | Zabel-VSP | 17 | 208 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 12 | x | x | 18 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 10 | x | 14 | 13 | x | 15 | 13 |
| 12 | Carlo van Duijnhoven / Christian Verhagen | Zabel-VMC | 12 | 172 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | x | x | 18 | x | 15 | x | 10 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 7 | x | 11 | 16 | 12 |
| 13 | Thijs Derks / Gertie Eggink * | Husaberg-VMC | 27 | 158 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 18 | x | 15 | 17 | x | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | x | 18 | 10 | 20 | 17 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 18 | x |
| 14 | Eric Schrijver / Henry van de Wiel | MTH-VMC | 101 | 139 | 6 | 5 | 19 | x | 14 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 14 | | | 13 | 19 | 18 | x | 11 | x | 14 | x |
| 15 | Martin Walter / Andre Saam * | Zabel-WSP | 15 | 127 | x | 20 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 5 | x | x | 11 | x | 14 | 14 | x | 16 | 18 | x | x | 11 | | | x | 13 |
| 16 | Peter Steegmans / Dagwin Sabbe | Zabel-WSP | 40 | 115 | 20 | 17 | | | | | x | 9 | | | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | x | x | 12 | x | 9 | 8 | | | | |
| 17 | Stuart Brown / Luke Peters * | Zabel-VMC | 24 | 108 | 18 | 9 | | | | | 11 | x | 3 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 20 | x | | | | | | | x | 8 | 6 | 7 |
| 18 | Thomas Morch / Marius Strauss | Zabel-WSP | 23 | 102 | | | 12 | 13 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 19 | x | 15 | x | 14 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | x | 10 | 19 |
| 19 | Kristof Santermans / Ben van den Bogaart | Zabel-WSP | 33 | 93 | x | 16 | x | x | | | 15 | 19 | x | 17 | 15 | 12 | 17 | x | x | 11 | 16 | 11 | x | 12 | 10 | 9 | x | x |
| 20 | Henrik Söderqvist / Tobias Sylwan | Husaberg-AYR | 11 | 89 | | | x | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 3 | | | | | 15 | | 9 | 10 |
| 21 | Lukas Cerny / Tomas Huml | JAWA-VMC | 31 | 74 | | | 13 | 12 | 16 | 17 | | | 18 | x | x | 13 | x | 20 | 11 | 17 | | | 14 | x | 19 | 14 | 19 | 17 |
| 22 | Jarno van den Boomen / Bjorn Roes * | Zabel-VMC | 16 | 68 | 11 | x | 17 | 15 | 13 | x | | | | | x | 14 | | | 7 | 9 | 14 | x | x | x | | | | |
| 23 | Margo Sonn / Maarek Mill | KTM-AYR | 103 | 65 | | | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 14 | x | x | x | 16 | 18 | x | 18 | 13 | 15 | | | x | |
| 24 | John Lyne / Pete Girling | Zabel-VMC | 26 | 55 | 17 | 15 | | | | | x | 13 | 16 | x | x | 20 | | | 12 | x | x | x | x | x | x | 19 | 11 | 11 |
| 25 | Baptiste Bigand / Julien Bigand | Zabel-VMC | 35 | 45 | x | x | | | | | 16 | 15 | 13 | x | x | x | x | 19 | x | x | x | | 12 | x | 12 | 15 | x | x |
| 26 | Andy Bürgler / Daniel Fagerberg | KTM-VMC | 4 | 31 | 9 | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | x | | | | | | | | | | |
| 27 | Andreas Clohse / Robbie Bax | JAWA-VMC | 28 | 27 | | | | | | | x | 16 | 14 | x | | | x | x | | | 20 | 14 | x | x | 18 | 17 | x | x |
| 28 | Josef Brustmann / Stefan Urich | KTM-NPM | 29 | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 | 7 | | | | | | | | | x | 15 |
| 29 | Patrick Fagerberg / Daniel Fagerberg | KTM-AYR | 122 | 24 | | | 18 | 17 | | | | | | | x | x | | | 20 | 15 | x | 15 | x | 17 | | | | |
| 30 | Jan Visscher / Jeroen Visscher | Zabel-VMC | 38 | 21 | 7 | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20 | 16 | | 20 |
| 31 | Josua Luscher / Markus Gloor | Husaberg-VMC | 87 | 21 | | | | | | | x | 17 | 20 | 11 | | | 19 | 17 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 32 | Bertram Martin / Bruno Kaelin | Zabel-VMC | 68 | 21 | | | | | | | x | x | x | 16 | | | x | 12 | | | | | | | | | x | 14 |
| 33 | Scott Wilkinson / Gary Burt | Zabel-VMC | 19 | 18 | x | 14 | | | | | | | x | x | 17 | x | x | x | | | | | | | | | 17 | 18 |
| 34 | Gert Godejev / Keit Kivaste | KTM-AYR | 151 | 16 | | | 20 | 19 | 18 | x | | | | | | | | | | | x | 17 | 20 | 16 | | | | |
| 35 | Daniel Millard / Joe Millard | Husaberg-WSP | 99 | 13 | | | | | | | x | 18 | x | x | 18 | x | | | 15 | x | | | | | x | 20 | | |
| 36 | Wim Janssen / Bart Notten | Zabel-VMC | 55 | 9 | 15 | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 37 | Tomas Cermak / Ondrej Cermak | JAWA-MEFO | 9 | 8 | x | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 38 | Jens Bochmann / Sandro Michelotto | KTM-VMC | 69 | 5 | | | x | x | 19 | x | | | | | | | 18 | x | | | | | | | | | | |
| 39 | Urmas Sugasep / Veiko Parksepp | KTM-AYR | 911 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 20 | x | | | 19 | x | | | 19 | x | | | | |
| 40 | Patrick Greup / Roy Derks * | MTH-VMC | 111 | 4 | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | x | | | | | | | | |
| 41 | Benjamin Daniel / Guennady Auveray | Husaberg-VMC | 116 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | 18 | 20 | x |
| 42 | Dmitry Anochin / Maxim Scherbak | Zabel-MEFO | 142 | 3 | | | | | 20 | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 43 | Oskars Liepiņš / Ilvars Ameļkins | KTM-AYR | 45 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | x | 19 | | | | |
| 44 | Sonny Van Niewenhuse / Birger Beernaert | Husaberg-VMC | 132 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | x | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 45 | Kert Varik / Erkki Koiv | KTM-AYR | 39 | 2 | x | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | x | | | | | | | |
| 46 | Sverre Lamp / Alar Lamp | KTM-AYR | 50 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | x | 20 | | | | |
| 47 | Argo Poldsaar / Indrek Aljes | KTM-AYR | 48 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | 20 | | | | | | |
| 48 | Gert van Werven / Rick Sellis | KTM-VMC | 89 | 1 | | | | | | | | | x | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x |
| 49 | Liutauras Variakois / Artūrs Linters | KTM-AYR | 57 | 1 | | | | | x | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | |
| 50 | Anton Wanger / Michael Gabor | MTH-MEFO | 52 | 1 | | | x | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Geert Devoldere / Edouard Chereau | Husaberg-MEFO | 25 | 0 | x | x | | | x | x | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Johan Smit / Peter Holleman | Zabel-BSU | 115 | 0 | x | x | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Romas Kišūnas / Mantas Kišūnas | Zabel-BSU | 60 | 0 | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Willi Lieble / Vaclav Hotovy | MEFO | 65 | 0 | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sonnie Folkesson / Mattias Andersson | MTH-MEFO | 172 | 0 | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jaroslav Kriz / Milan Gazik | MTH-EML | 112 | 0 | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Andre Michel Bernard / Jacques Pillier | VMC | 82 | 0 | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | x | x | | x | | | x | x | | |
| | Vadim Briuhov / Vitaly Babic | Zabel | 84 | 0 | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vasyl Kolisnichenko / Dmitro Sorokin | BSU | 83 | 0 | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sergei Ivanov / Atho Jalas | AYR | 53 | 0 | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Oleh Kuklin / Vasyl Nesterenko | MEFO | 85 | 0 | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dmytro Grychanuk / Oleksandr Litovchenko | BSU | 86 | 0 | | | | | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Valeriy Starchenko / Evhen Potanin | VMC | 81 | 0 | | | | | | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Kinge / Gary Kinge | KTM-VMC | 71 | 0 | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | x | x | | |
| | Marko Schulz / Mario Meusburger | Zabel-VMC | 72 | 0 | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Kevin Bitsche / Johannes Vonbun | Zabel-WSP | 67 | 0 | | | | | | | x | x | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jean-Marie Ains / Bernard Jayet | MEFO | 37 | 0 | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | |
| | Andy Eastman / Steve Krwin | KTM-VMC | 36 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robin Karlsson / Richard Karlsson | AYR | 118 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | | | | | | |
| | Madis Olt / Tõnu Valdma | AYR | 70 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | | | | | |
| | Marko Dammert / Mika Hietala | AYR | 96 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | | | |
| | Florian Blanco / Vincent Blanco | Husaberg | 117 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x | | |
| | Herve Boursaud / Emeric Poirier | VMC | 78 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | | |
| | Patrik Gorardin / Dominique Desplaces | VMC | 113 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | | |
| | Jürgen Blank / Rainer Semet | VMC | 80 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | x | x |

* Where there is only one flag shown, it indicates driver and passenger are from the same country.
* Placings below the first twenty not shown.
* Teams who took part in the qualifying but failed to qualify for a race are not shown.
* x denotes qualified for race but finished outside of points.
* Passengers in italics.
* Equipment is engine and frame.
* Daniël Willemsen used Bruno Kaelin as his passenger in the first two races.
* Jarno van den Boomen used Guennady Auvrey as his passenger in race one and two, Premysl Novotny in race three and four and Sven Verbrugge in race five and six.
* Thijs Derks used Tom van Duijnhoven as his passenger in race one and two.
* Nicky Pulinx used Sven Verbrugge as his passenger in race one to four.
* Stuart Brown used Wilfreid Keuben as his passenger in race one and two and Colin Dunkley in race seven to ten.
* Patrick Greup used Jimmy van Gennip as his passenger in race one and two.
* Martin Walter used Thomas Weinmann as his passenger in race 23 and 24.
* Only 30 teams registered in time for the Jinin race, therefore every team qualified for the race.
* $^1$ In race fourteen of the season, the team Willemsen/Grütter was disqualified due to Grütter losing a glove, after a protest by Kristers Sergis. The lost glove disabled the emergency-stop system of the bike, which is a break of FIM rules.
* $^2$ In race twenty of the season, the team Sergis/Stupelis was disqualified after winning the race due to the team mechanic refusing an inspection of the bike. The bike supposedly did not comply with noise level regulations.
