Markus Schlosser: From retirement to World Cup / Sidecar World Cup leader

Except for missing out on the win in the first race by just a few seconds, the first weekend of the Sidecar World Championship went exactly as Markus Schlosser and co-driver Luca Schmidt liked it. The German only entered the Swiss world champion’s boat in the first qualifying session because his regular teammate Marcel Fries had to give up and his co-driver Patrick Werkstetter was unable to travel due to illness.

The start of the second race at the 4.185 km Circuit Bugatti started on Saturday morning as race 1. Schlosser led the field into the chicane, but had to give way to Team Steinhausen’s Harry Payne/Kevin Rousseau after the Dunlop lap. “It was a pure trick to win, Harry took more risks than me with a full tank,” said the Swiss, referring to the situation.

And Payne/Rousseau, the previous day’s winners took command, but were closely followed by Schlosser/Schmidt and Todd Ellis/Emmanuelle Clément. This order remained unchanged for a long time, but in the twelfth lap Schlosser/Schmidt came through as leaders at the start and finish. Payne/Rousseau was back in third place. The British-French couple struggled with technical problems which later even led to their retirement.

Although defending champions Ellis/Clément increased the pressure on the front men for a while, Schlosser/Schmidt, who had set a new lap record on the tarmac in the fifth lap with 1:43.448 minutes, did not allow themselves to be bothered. By the finish line, they were able to increase their lead to 1.293 seconds. For Schlosser it is already the 13th victory in the World Championship race, for Schmidt it is already the second.

“It’s crazy, I didn’t expect such a result,” Schlosser admitted in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “And now I’m heading home with a second place, a win, an improved lap record, a good position and the lead in the world championship. In fact, I wasn’t even fully prepared, neither in terms of technology nor financing. I just wanted to know how Hoosier tires perform work well.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Luca. I did some free training sessions with Marcel. After not feeling well, I asked Luca if he could consider taking the car with me as he didn’t have a driver. We didn’t have much time to get used to each other and although it was his first time at Le Mans, he did a wonderful job. This weekend the wild old man was out with the young man.”

British brothers Sam and Tom Christie (Team Hannafin) landed a safe third, leaving the Dutch and Germans Bennie Streuer/Kevin Kölsch behind them. Fifth place was taken by Finn Pekka Päivärinta (Hänni Racing), who not only had to deal with the change from the LCR to the ARS chassis this weekend, but also had a new co-driver on board with Brit Adam Christie.

Like the previous day, there was a duel for French supremacy for 6th place. Contrary to race 1, this time Paul Leglise/Marjorie Cescutti (Team Racing 521) finished better by eight hundredths of a second ahead of Ted Peugeot/Vincent Peugeot (Seventy-fourth Team Tournament). Germans Lennard Göttlich/Lucas Krieg (Bonovo action Junior) took 8th place ahead of Sam and Jack Laidlow and Lukas Wyssen/Ema Salmon (Gustoil Sidecar Racing).

Results, Le Mans, Race 2
1. Schlosser/Schmidt (CH/D), LCR Yamaha, jumps 18 in 31:17.400 minutes 2. Ellis/Clément (GB/F), LCR Yamaha, 1.293 seconds to. 3. Christie/Christie (GB), LCR Yamaha, +8.924 sec 4. Streuer/Kölsch (NL/D), ARS Yamaha. 5. Päivärinta/Christie (FIN/GB), ARS Yamaha. 6. Leglise/Cescutti (F), LCR Yamaha. 7. Peugeot/Peugeot (F), LCR Yamaha. 8. Divine/War (D), ARS Yamaha. 9. Laidlow/Laidlow (GB), LCR Yamaha. 10. Wyssen/Salmon (CH/F). 11. Biggs/Segers (GB/NL), LCR Yamaha. 12. Cable/Richardson (GB), LCR Yamaha. 13. Archer/Janssens (GB/B), ARS Yamaha. 14. Kirby/Kirby (GB), ARS Yamaha. 15. C. Vinet/Marsal (F), LCR Yamaha. 16. C. Vinet/G. Vinet (F), LCR Yamaha. 17. Fretay/Fenoy (F/P), LCR Yamaha. 18. Leguen/Darras (F), LCR Yamaha. 19. Gallerne/Colombin (F), RCN Kawasaki. 20. Gadet/Chaigneau (F), LCR Kawasaki. Fastest lap: Schlosser/Schmidt in 1:43.448 minutes.

World Championship standings after 2 of 12 races
1. Locksmith, 45 points. 2. Ellis, 36. 3. Christie, 29. 4. Payne/Rousseau (F), 25. 5. Päivärinta, 22. 6. Streuer, 21. 7. Peugeot and Leglise, each 19. 9. Divine, 15. 10. Biggs, 11. 11. Archer, 8. 12. Laidlow and Cable, 7 each 14. Wyssen and Kirby, 6 each 16. Vinet, 3. 17. Le Bail / Leveau (F), 1.