Sidecarcross world championship
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Country | International |
| Inaugural season | 1980 |
| Drivers' champion |
 Jan Hendrickx Ben van den Bogaart
|
 Current season
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The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, first held in 1980. It is organised by the (FIM). Before 1980, a European competition was held from 1971 onwards.
The current champions for the 2015 season are the Belgian-Dutch combination Jan Hendrickx and Ben van den Bogaart, having won their first World Championship together. van den Bogaart previously had won two World Championships as the passenger of Ben Adriaenssen.
The sport is predominantly amateur, with only the top-riders, like former and current World Champions Ben Adriaenssen, Daniël Willemsen and Etienne Bax being professional.
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 are in and from Europe. Sidecarcross is similar to 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 is therefore of highest importance. Record world champion Daniël Willemsen estimated that the passenger's contribution to the success of a team is at least 50%, and that not enough credit is given to the passenger.
The sport is especially popular in Eastern Europe. Parallel to the riders' competition, a manufacturers' championship is also held.
While usually a male-dominated sport, the 2014 season saw the participation of a woman driver in the competition. Belgian Sabrina van Calster scored two points in the first race of the Swiss Grand Prix.
The World Championship in sidecar motocross is held annually form the European spring to autumn. The fifteen Grands Prix of the season are held in nine countries: Switzerland (two events), Germany (three events), Czech Republic, Netherlands, France (three events), Estonia, Spain and Latvia (two events). In comparison to the 2014 season five extra Grands Prix were added. Germany increased its number of Grands Prix from two to three while Latvia increased theirs from one to two. The Belgian Grand Prix was re-added to the season after having been cancelled in 2014 because of bad weather. Ukraine, who had its 2014 Grand Prix cancelled because of the political situation in the country, originally received a Grand Prix for 2015 but this event was removed from the calendar again. Switzerland also had its number of Grands Prix increased from one to two while Spain had not been on the calendar since 2005.
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