Swiss rider Markus Schlosser (Yamaha) and his German passenger Luca Schmidt drew first blood in the battle for supremacy in the 2025 FIM Sidecar World Championship when they raced to a commanding overall victory at the opening round at Le Mans in north-west France at the weekend.
• FIM Sidecar World Championship gets under way at Le Mans
• Markus Schlosser and Luca Schmidt claim overall victory in France
• Round two at Estoril - Portugal this weekend coming
Staged at the Circuit Bugatti as part of the iconic 24 Heures Motos programme, Schlosser – who was champion in 2021 – and Schmidt renewed their intense rivalry with reigning champions Harrison Payne (Yamaha) from Britain and his French passenger Kevin Rousseau and following the opening two races in the seven-round series have moved into a comfortable series lead.
The Payne/Rousseau partnership got their title defence under way by narrowly topping Qualification ahead of Schlosser and Schmidt before dominating Friday’s Sprint race, leading every lap to cross the line over one-and-a-half seconds clear of the Swiss/German pairing.
However, a mechanical issue at the start of Saturday’s points-scoring race sidelined Payne and Rousseau, leaving Schlosser and Schmidt perfectly positioned to take full advantage and they streaked to victory by over nine seconds from Finland’s Pekka Päivärinta (Yamaha) and his British passenger Adam Christie to leave Le Mans with the early advantage.
After seizing control at the start of the eleven-lap Sprint race, Payne and Rousseau resisted early pressure from the British/French pairing of Todd Ellis (Yamaha) and Emmanuelle Clement – who won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 – before Schlosser and Schmidt eased into second as the race approached the halfway mark.
With three laps left British brothers Sam and Thomas Christie (Yamaha) moved into third position with their compatriots Tim Reeves (Yamaha) and Mark Wilkes, who were champions together in 2019, completing the top five just a quarter-of-a-second ahead of the French pairing of Ted and Vincent Peugeot (Yamaha).
Päivärinta and Adam Christie lasted less than a lap before spinning and being hit by British brothers Sam and Jack Laidlow (Yamaha) with the incident putting both crews out of the race.
There were dramatic scenes on the grid for Saturday’s racewhen the Payne/Rousseau outfit experienced a technical issue that delayed the start and forced the race distance to be reduced from eighteen to twelve laps, but there was worse to come for the defending champions who lasted less than a lap before being forced out with a blown engine.
Schlosser and Schmidt moved into an early lead ahead of Päivärinta – a five-time FIM Sidecar Rider World Champion – and Adam Christie who were then pushed back to third by Sam and Thomas Christie.
With a clear track ahead of them and the threatened rain holding off, Schlosser and Schmidt cruised away from the chasing pack as behind them the battle raged with Päivärinta/Christie ensuring Christie/Christie remained within striking distance before pouncing on the final lap for second.
Ellis and Clement were a race-long fourth to match their Sprint race result and ensure a solid start to their season with Reeves and Wilkes battling worn tyres to once again finish fifth, this time chased by Laidlow/Laidlow who won their own personal battle just to get their damaged outfit to the line for race two.
Round two takes place this coming weekend (26-27 April) at Estoril in Portugal, scene of last season’s dramatic title decider, with Schlosser and Schmidt leading Christie and Christie by thirteen points before a six-point gap back to Ellis and Clement.