The 2001 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 22nd edition of the competition, started on 1 April and finished after fourteen Grand Prix on 30 September 2001. The defending champions were

Kristers Serģis Kristers Serģis (born January 14, 1974) is a retired Latvian sidecarcross rider and five times World Champion. Kristers Serģis came to the sidecarcross sport through his father, himself a rider in the days of the Soviet Union. He made it possibl ...

and his passenger

Artis Rasmanis Artis Rasmanis (born 1971) is a retired Latvian sidecarcross passenger and five times World Champion. Rasmanis was part of the most successful partnership in sidecarcross world championship history, winning five titles with his driver Kristers ...

from Latvia who also took out the 2001 championship, thereby winning their fourth World Championship together, becoming the third team in the history of the sport to do so.History - World Champions
sidecarcross.com, accessed: 31 October 2013 For one race of the season, the first of the two German Grand Prix, Serģis rode with Dutch passenger Christian Verhagen by his side, in all other events he participated with Rasmanis. The pair won the competition with a margin of 123 points, with Dutch rider

Daniël Willemsen Daniël Johan Nico Willemsen (born 7 May 1975 in Lochem, Gelderland) is a Dutch sidecarcross rider and ten times Sidecarcross World Championship, World Champion. Willemsen is the most successful rider in sidecarcross history, winning the title te ...

and his Belgian passenger Sven Verbrugge coming second, as they had done the year before. Willemsen, like Serģis, used a different passenger for one event, Czech rider Premsyl Novotny in the first of the two German Grand Prix. Third place went to the Swedish combination of Henrik Söderqvist and Tobias Sylwan, who had previously achieved the same result in 1999. All up, 51 teams were classified in the overall standings with last place going to the Estonian team of Tommas and Tinnu Soir. The Sidecarcross World Championship, first held in 1980 and organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, is an annual competition. All races, manufacturers and the vast majority of riders in the competition being in and from Europe. Sidecarcross is similar to

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

except that the teams consist of two riders, a driver and a passenger. Races are held on the same tracks as solo motocross but the handling of the machines differs as sidecars don't lean. The majority of physical work in the sport is carried out by the passenger, who speeds up the sidecarcross in corners by leaning out. The coordination between the driver and the passenger are therefore of highest importance.

Overview

The fourteen races of the season were held in eleven countries,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(2x),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

(2x),

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

(2x),

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In comparison to the 2000 edition which had thirteen Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of the

and

had been added to the calendar while the GP of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

had been dropped. Events typically consist of a qualifying competition, held in multiple stages on Saturdays of a race weekend while the two race events are typically held on Sundays. One exception to this rule is Easter weekends, when the races are held on Easter Monday. Race weekends can consist of additional motocross or quart support races as well, but the FIM stipulates that the World Championship races have priority. Riders have to be provided with at least one 30 minute free practice session, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. Up to 32 entries, it will be held in one group split into two sessions of 30 minutes each. Above 32 entries, the starter field will be sub-divided into two groups through ballot and the current standings. Each qualifying group can consist of up to 30 racers. Should there be more than 60 entries, a pre-qualifying has to be held. Of the riders in the two groups, the top-twelve directly qualify for the races. The remaining teams then go to a second-chance qualifying, in which the best six advance. The riders placed seventh and eighth remain in reserve should one of the qualified teams not be able to participate.FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX
FIM website, accessed: 27 July 2011 The points system used in 2001 was uniquely different from the seasons before or after. In comparison to the system used until 2000, sixteen instead of fifteen teams were awarded points per race while the points for the race winner were increased from 20 to 25:

Retirements

At the end of the 2001 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being British rider Chris Etheridge, active since 1986 and with a seventh place in 1993 as his best result, and Dutch Jacky Janssen, active since 1991 and with four fourth places from 1994 to 1996 and, again, in 2001 as his best results.JACKY JANSSEN GP RECORD
The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014

Calendar

The calendar for the 2001 season:FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2001 Calendar
FIM website, accessed: 31 October 2013 * Flags for passengers not shown.

Classification

Riders

The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2001
FIM website, accessed: 31 October 2013 * Equipment listed is motor and frame.

References

External links

The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110812011944/http://www.fim-live.com/en/sport/sidecarcross/events/ Official FIM website – Sidecar Motocross World Championship {{Sidecarcross world championship Sidecarcross world championship, 2001 Sidecarcross World Championship seasons