2000 Sidecarcross World Championship

rdf:langString 2000 Sidecarcross World Championship

rdf:langString Kristers Serģis - Artis Rasmanis

rdf:langString The 2000 FIM Sidecarcross World Championship, the 21st edition of the competition, started on 19 March and finished after thirteen Grand Prix on 24 September 2000. The championship was won by Kristers Serģis and his passenger Artis Rasmanis from Latvia, thereby winning their third World Championship together. The pair won the competition with a margin of 32 points, with Dutch rider Daniël Willemsen and his Belgian passenger Sven Verbrugge coming second. Willemsen was the defending champion, having won the 1999 World Championship with his brother Marcel as passenger. Marcel Willemsen was unable to compete in the 2000 edition because of injury. Third place went to the German combination Klaus and Thomas Weinmann. All up, 50 teams were classified in the overall standings with last place going to the Russian team of Anatoli Daineh and Aleksey Bessarabov. 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 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.