LRT Sidecar Racing

Really happy with our 12 place in the FIM Sidecar World Championship sprint race today. Unfortunately we had to make protest regarding the provisional results. There was a very special situation who nobody had real fault for during the (official) last lap of the race. We had to really slow down because unfortunate enough the marshals thought the race was over which wasn’t. And were walking towards the track to celebrate with all of us! As confronted first with these odd happenings we had to slow down a lot more than the outfits behind us. Eventually this made us loose a place in the results because one of the others overtook us during this strange lap. But we are very happy the clerk of the course and the jury did a thorough evaluation of the situation that occurred and changed the outcome. Obviously a protest is not something we want to do because another team will always have a disadvantage if a protest is acknowledged and be very disappointed. But we feel if we didn’t appeal the provisional results, we really be on the downside of this situation, just to be safe for the people around the track that make our sport happen. Without them no racing. We will make this decision every time, even if it would have cost us valuable points. Enough about this, we are having a wonderful weekend at a beautiful circuit, greatly organized, we learn a lot and we’re having a great time on and off the sidecar!

We’re almost on our way to the famous Nürburgring! Look at the line-up. It’s simply amazing. 🇩🇪🏁🔥🥳 Northern Sidecar Cup | Rayfilm | Arai Helmet Europe | Sidecarshop

🔥🏁 THE NORTHERN SIDECAR CUP IS HEADING TO THE NÜRBURGRING! 🏁🔥

Counting down to Round 3 of the 2026 Northern Sidecar Cup, ready to burst into action at the legendary Nürburgring in Germany! 🇩🇪🔥

A spectacular field of 27 sidecar teams will battle it out on one of Europe’s most iconic circuits during a full weekend packed with speed, adrenaline and unforgettable racing action!

📅 PROGRAMME
🔹 Friday May 22 – Free Practice
🔹 Saturday May 23 – Qualification 1 & Qualification 2
🔹 Sunday May 24 – Race 1 & Race 2

After two incredible opening rounds, the championship fight is already heating up! 💥

Round 1 at Croix-en-Ternois delivered close battles from start to finish, daring overtakes, and thrilling podium fights that immediately showed how competitive this season will be.

Round 2 in Hengelo raised the intensity even higher with a packed grid, dramatic race moments and several teams proving they are serious title contenders for 2026. Fans witnessed spectacular wheel-to-wheel action and fearless racing that kept everyone on the edge of their seats! ⚡🔥

Now all eyes turn to the Nürburgring… a track where bravery, precision and teamwork between driver and passenger make the difference between victory and defeat.
With the championship standings tighter than ever after two rounds, every point will count this weekend! 🏆

Expect:
✅ Full grid
✅ Pure sidecar racing
✅ Elbow-to-elbow, wheel-to-wheel
✅ Teams from all over Europe
✅ Good atmosphere on and off track

This is sidecar racing at its absolute best — loud, fast, aggressive and spectacular! 💪🔥

📍 Nürburgring, Germany
🎟 Don’t miss the action trackside or follow the Northern Sidecar Cup online for updates, photos, videos and results all weekend long!

🏁 What a Week! Two Countries, Two Championships, and Total Adrenaline 🏁

We’ve wrapped up an incredible (and exhausting!) racing marathon. From the road courses of the Netherlands to the technical turns of Croatia, it’s been a wild ride. Here’s the breakdown:
🇳🇱 Stop 1: Northern SideCar Cup - Hengelo

We kicked things off at the second round of the Northern SideCar Cup to defend our championship lead.

The Challenge: Getting back into the "road course" mindset during two very short practice sessions.

Race 1: We had a fantastic battle! We crossed the line as the 3rd F600 team, finishing right behind two World Champions. This result significantly strengthened our lead in the standings! 🏆

Race 2: Declared a wet race. With a massive trip to Croatia ahead, we chose to play it safe. The race was eventually red-flagged with no points awarded.

Shoutout: Huge thanks to Mark de Vink and the organization Hamove Hengelose auto en motorvereniging for a top-tier event!

🇭🇷 Stop 2: FIM World Championship - Grobnik, Croatia

Straight from the podium to the highway! Things got tense when our truck broke down, delaying us by a day, but we made it just in time for the private sessions.

Track Life: Grobnik is fast and technical. Those private sessions were vital for learning the lines.

The Rubber: A massive thank you to Hoosier and Albert for letting us test a new rear tire. The feedback was so good we've decided to use this tire for the races too!

The Sprint: A solid start led to some intense battles. We finished in 18th place—just outside the points, but we were right in the mix and the sidecar felt great. A little shifter problem but we hoped to fix this before the next day

The Main Race (Sunday): This was a tough one! Unfortunately, our shifter problem wasn't completely resolved, which made the race feel very long and required some seriously hard work behind the handlebars. However, we refused to give up, managed to hang in there, and finished in the points! 🏁🔥

It’s been a week of learning, grit, and great teamwork. Thank you to everyone who offered advice and support along the way. We’re exhausted, but proud of what we achieved! 🤘
Thanks to Hendrik Jan Lotterman en Sofrik Studio for the beautiful photography.

Rayfilm | Arai Helmet Europe | Sidecarshop | Northern Sidecar Cup | FIM Sidecar World Championship | Hamove Hengelose auto en motorvereniging | Automotodrom Grobnik

🏁 FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRIT TO A DOUBLE VICTORY! 🏆

What a bizarre, intense, and absolutely fantastic racing weekend! We went from the massive grandstands at Le Mans to the top step of the podium in Croix-en-Ternois.

🇫🇷 FIM Sidecar World Championship - Le Mans

Together with Océane in the chair, we lined up for the World Championship during the legendary 24 Heures du Mans. With the largest starting grid in three decades, the competition was fierce, but we improved in every single session:

Qualification: Pushed the new Hoosiers to a 1:54.294 (22nd place).

Race 1: A thrilling sprint! After a chaotic start in the Dunlop chicane, we fought our way to 16th place. Just outside the points, but exactly where we want to be at this stage of the season!

Race 2: In front of packed grandstands, we had a flyer of a start! Even with a red flag and a stressful restart—where we had to make an emergency stop to avoid a stalled sidecar and rejoin in dead last—we fought back to P17.

PB Alert: Most importantly, we found our flow! In Race 2, we clocked a 1:52.7, smashing our personal lap record on this circuit! ⏱️🔥

Chapeau to Océane! After a year of rehabilitation, she proved she is "out of this world." What a performance! 💪 And thanks to Félix Moussault and everbody who helped us out again!

🇫🇷 Northern Sidecar Cup - Croix-en-Ternois

No time to celebrate: pack up and go! While Océane took her well-deserved rest, Ray and Calvin were back at it on Sunday. Thanks to Mark de Vink and the patience of the other teams, we made it just in time.

Qualification: Our very first POLE POSITION on a drying track! Happy sunday morning!

Race 1: After a cautious start (and a little "fender-kiss" with Hilbert and Felix 😉), we overtook the 1000cc machine in front of us and cruised to victory!

Race 2: We learned our lesson—the door stayed shut in Turn 1! We set a consistent pace and could leave the rest of the field behind.

Result: The DOUBLE WIN is in the pocket! 🏆🏆
❤️ Thank You!

This weekend would have been impossible without the help of many:

Talens Racing: Thank you for the warm welcome and shelter when we arrived without setting up a tent! You're wonderfull.

Mark de Vink: For the incredible effort and having us around!

Our supporters and fans for your endless support. We love you.

Now, it’s time to get the sidecar back in the workshop and prep for the next rounds. We’ll keep you posted!

Arai Helmet Europe | FIM Sidecar World Championship |Northern Sidecar Cup | Sidecarshop | Rayfilm

Photo: Fabrice Guyon Motorsport, Marcel Schraal, Didier Loncou, Theo en Annemarie Motorsport Photography 🙏

We will be leaving LeMans asap after the FIM Sidecar World Championship race. Because we’ve got an appointment at the Northern Sidecar Cup Sunday!! Are you ready, kids?
Aye aye, captain!! 😎

Debut in the French Superbike Championship: From Rodeo Bull to P7!

Last weekend, we made our debut in the French Superbike Championship (FSBK). This prestigious series is used by many World Championship teams as a dress rehearsal, as both championships kick off at the iconic Le Mans circuit. It was extra exciting for us, as Océane was making her comeback at a competitive racing level!
We knew from last year that there was a fundamental problem with the handling, and after our test in Val de Vienne, we thought we had finally found a workable solution. However, once we hit the track at Le Mans, it became clear that nothing could have been further from the truth. The sidecar was incredibly unsettled and felt completely wrong for both of us.
More than a 19th place in the first qualifying session wasn't in the cards. That wasn't what we had hoped for, and honestly, we began to doubt whether we could even participate in the World Championship this way. We were still struggling with the same issues we'd felt before, but we simply lacked the technical expertise to pinpoint the exact cause.
Fortunately, Harry Payne and Kevin Rousseau use the same brand of shocks. When they heard we were in trouble, Harry immediately offered to take a look. It quickly became clear that the shocks were indeed set up completely wrong; we were essentially riding with zero damping. It turns out we’ve been racing like this since we started with our beloved LCR, but due to all the other problems last season, the root cause had never surfaced.
But it didn’t stop there. Upon a thorough inspection and measurement of our sidecar, it turned out that several other fundamental settings were completely off. We were absolutely flabbergasted; so many things we experienced over the past year suddenly made sense. Team Steinhausen was so supportive that they immediately gave the sidecar a proper base setup. And what a difference! We could finally "just" drive without the sidecar feeling like a bucking rodeo bull.

The Races
We started Race 1 from P19 with renewed confidence. The start was decent, despite a small missed shift and the sheer chaos of the back of the pack. The sidecar felt great and the engine was running like a dream, allowing us to fight our way through the field. After some great battles, we finished in P10! We are thrilled with this result and incredibly proud of Océane. To come back from such a grueling injury and deliver a result like this in such a competitive field is simply fantastic. After the race, Harry and his team stopped by again to fine-tune the final settings.
Sunday morning at 8:00 AM (!) we had to qualify for the second race. It was barely light and freezing cold. We didn’t quite manage a perfect lap and decided to save our energy for the race: P15.
By the time the second race started, the sun was out and the grandstands were packed. The start was a bit easier since we were slightly further up the grid. The sidecar felt even better than before, allowing us to maintain a strong pace and move forward again. It was a joy to race without the machine doing unpredictable things. We were over the moon to finish in a beautiful 7th place, gapping our direct competitors by 1.5 seconds.

Confidence for the World Championship
It was a wonderful conclusion to an emotional weekend. We’ve regained the confidence we need to start the first round of the World Championship during the 24H of Le Mans in two weeks!

Special Thanks
We want to express our gratitude to everyone who helped us. Specifically Félix Moussault and Amadine, who stood by us tirelessly all weekend. Tim Reeves Paul Kirby and Bas Emmens who acted as our "supermarket" and technical oracle once again. Philippe LeBail for balancing our rain wheels, and Team Laidlow for sharing the pit box.

But most of all, we want to thank Harry Payne and Team #45 - Steinhausen Racing. When Harry realized we were at our wits' end, he took immediate action. He and his team spent a tremendous amount of time completely resetting our sidecar, even though they had plenty of their own work to do. Without their time, knowledge, and shared information, we could never have achieved these results. FSBK Le Mans was a success for us. On to the first round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship!

📷 Rémi LANDAIS

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