2020 Sidecar World Championship
| 2020 FIM Sidecar World Championship. | |||
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The 2020 Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship was a scheduled motorcycle road racing championship for sidecar motorcycles and was due to be the 72nd running of the Sidecar World Championship. On 19 August 2020 the championship was cancelled by, organiser and championship, promoter, RKB-F1 Motorsport, in conjunction with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Prior to the cancellation, there had been several attempts to reorganise the championship.
The World Championship was to be contested across 8 rounds which were to be held across Europe.[2]
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes were the reigning Driver and Passenger Sidecar World Champions, respectively, going into the 2020 season, having won the World Championship in 2019.[3]
Planned calendar
The provisional 2020 World Championship calendar was announced on 21 January 2020.[4]
| Round | Dates | Country | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18-19 April |  France
|
Circuit Bugatti, Le Mans |
| 2 | 16-17 May |  Germany
|
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Klettwitz |
| 3 | 27-28 June |  Hungary
|
Pannonia-Ring, Ostffyasszonyfa |
| 4 | 24-26 July |  United Kingdom
|
Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown |
| 5 | 29-30 August |  Croatia
|
Automotodrom Grobnik, Rijeka |
| 6 | 17-20 September |  Netherlands
|
TT Circuit Assen, Assen |
| 7 | 3-4 October | Germany
|
Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Oschersleben |
| 8 | 24-25 October |  Portugal
|
Circuito do Estoril, Estoril |
The French round in Le Mans was due to be part of the 2020 24 Heures Motos event with the FIM Endurance World Championship.[4]
The German (EuroSpeedway Lausitz) round was due to be part of the second round of the 2020 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) Championship.[2]
The British and Dutch rounds of the championship were due to be part of the Brands Hatch and TT Circuit Assen rounds of the 2020 British Superbike (BSB) Championship.[2]
Calendar expansions and changes from 2019 to 2020
The 2020 World Championship would have seen the first race since 2002 held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit.[5]
The championship would also have returned to the United Kingdom, having last held a British championship round, at Donington Park, in 2016. Brands Hatch had not hosted a round of the World Championship since 2015.[5]
Cancellation
After a ban on gatherings of more than 1000 people, brought in by France's Health Minister, it was announced, on 10 March 2020 the 2020 24 Heures Motos was postponed until the 5 and 6 September 2020.[6] Then 2 days later it was confirmed the French round of the Sidecar World Championship would also be postponed until 5 September 2020.[7]
On 7 April 2020, a revised 2020 World Championship calendar was announced by the FIM. The number of rounds reduced from 8 to 7 due to the cancellation of the Assen BSB event.[8] Three of the remaining events had also been rescheduled.[9]
| Round | Dates | Country | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27-28 June | Hungary
|
Pannonia-Ring, Ostffyasszonyfa |
| 2 | 24-26 July | United Kingdom
|
Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown |
| 3 | 29-30 August | France
|
Circuit Bugatti, Le Mans |
| 4 | 4-6 September | Croatia
|
Automotodrom Grobnik, Rijeka |
| 5 | 3-4 October | Germany
|
Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Oschersleben |
| 6 | 17-18 October | Germany
|
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Klettwitz |
| 7 | 24-25 October | Portugal
|
Circuito do Estoril, Estoril |
On 29 May 2020 it was announced the new opening two rounds of Hungary and Britain had been postponed, both without a new date, and for the British round, venue, confirmed.[10]
On 26 June 2020 a further revised 2020 World Championship calendar was announced. This included further cancellations and rescheduled events[11]
| Round | Dates | Country | Circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4-6 September | Croatia
|
Automotodrom Grobnik, Rijeka |
| 2 | 26-27 September | Hungary
|
Pannonia-Ring, Ostffyasszonyfa |
| 3 | 3-4 October | Germany
|
Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Oschersleben |
| 4 | 16-18 October | United Kingdom
|
Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown |
| 5 | 24-25 October | Portugal
|
Circuito do Estoril, Estoril |
On 19th August 2020 it was confirmed by the FIM and RKB-F1 Motorsport that the 2020 FIM Sidecar World Championship would be cancelled.[1]
Championship changes
The 2020 FIM Sidecar World Championship was due to be the first to be organised and run on behalf of the FIM by RKB-F1 Motorsport. This was confirmed by the FIM on 15 January 2020.[12] This organisation partnership between the FIM and RKB-F1 Motorsport also included a new title sponsorship deal with Santander Salt Ltd.[12]
Technical regulations
Although not outlawed explicitly previously, the use of a drive-By-Wire system was confirmed as legal for the 2020 championship.
The minimum weight for both Formula 1 chassis (engine mounted behind the driver) and Formula 2 chassis (engine mounted below the driver) was decreased to 225 kg.
Other international sidecar competitions in 2020
After the cancellation of the World Championship, RKB-F1 along with World Championship sponsor Santander Salt Ltd and World Superbike team sponsors Bonovo Action organised a 2 round 4 race international competition. The 2020 International Sidecar SuperPrix Sponsored By Bonovo Action and Santander Salt consisted of two events; The Bonovo Cup held between 2 and 4 October 2020 at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben; and The Santander Salt Cup held between 16 and 18 October 2020 at Brands Hatch.[13] The competition was won by former British Champions Todd Ellis and Charlie Richardson with their F1 LCR Honda machine.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2020 FIM Sidecar World Championship cancelled". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nutley, Barry. "FIM Sidecar: World Sidecar Championship Calendar 2020 announced | RKB F1 Motorsport | Molson British F1 Sidecar Championship | Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship". Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "Tim Reeves & Mark Wilkes". FIM Awards. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nutley, Barry. "FIM Sidecar: World Sidecar Championship Calendar 2020 announced | RKB F1 Motorsport | Molson British F1 Sidecar Championship | Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship". Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "FIM Sidecar World Championship | FIM". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "24 Heures Motos postponed to 5 and 6 September 2020". Eurosport UK. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "FIM Sidecar French round postponed". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "Updated 2020 race calendars for BSB, WorldSBK and MotoGP in one place". www.bemoto.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "FIM Sidecar World Championship calendar update". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ Nutley, Barry. "FIM Sidecar: 2020 Calendar, Update 29th May | RKB F1 Motorsport | Molson British F1 Sidecar Championship | Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship". Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ "FIM Sidecar: 2020 Calendar, UPDATE 26 JUNE". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "FIM and Santander Salt Limited team-up". www.fim-moto.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ Nutley, Barry. "International Sidecar Superprix to round out 2020 | RKB F1 Motorsport | Molson British F1 Sidecar Championship | Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship". Archived from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
- ↑ Nutley, Barry. "Brands Finale sees Kershaw/Charlwood crowned Champions, as Ellis/Richardson lift International Superprix victory | RKB F1 Motorsport | Molson British F1 Sidecar Championship | Santander Salt FIM Sidecar World Championship". Retrieved 2021-04-22.
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