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 Kristers Serģis (born January 14, 1974) is a retired Latvian sidecarcross rider and five times World Champion. Kristers Serģis came to the sidecarcross sport through his father, himself a rider in the days of the Soviet Union. He made it possib ...

and his passenger

Artis Rasmanis Artis Rasmanis (born 1971) is a retired Latvian sidecarcross passenger and five times World Champion. Rasmanis was part of the most successful partnership in sidecarcross world championship history, winning five titles with his driver Kristers Ser� ...

from Latvia, thereby winning their third World Championship together.History - World Champions
sidecarcross.com, accessed: 31 October 2013 The pair won the competition with a margin of 32 points, with Dutch rider

Daniël Willemsen Daniël Johan Nico Willemsen (born 7 May 1975 in Lochem, Gelderland) is a Dutch sidecarcross rider and ten times World Champion. Willemsen is the most successful rider in sidecarcross history, winning the title ten times, in 1999, 2003, 2004, ...

and his Belgian passenger

Sven Verbrugge Sven Verbrugge (Schoten, 21 August 1967) is a retired Belgium, Belgian sidecarcross passenger and triple Sidecarcross World Championship, Sidecarcross World Champion, winning the title in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Verbrugge started racing motocross in ...

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 Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

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.

Overview

The thirteen races of the season were held in ten countries,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(2x),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(2x),

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

(2x),

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In comparison to the 1999 edition which had twelve Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of the

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

had been dropped from the calendar while the GP's of

and

had been added and both France and Germany receiving a second Grand Prix. Events typically consist of a qualifying competition, held in multiple stages on Saturdays of a race weekend while the two race events are typically held on Sundays. One exception to this rule is Easter weekends, when the races are held on Easter Monday. Race weekends can consist of additional motocross or quart support races as well, but the FIM stipulates that the World Championship races have priority. Riders have to be provided with at least one 30 minute free practice session, which will be timed. A race can consist of up to 30 starters and the qualifying modus is dependent on the number of entries. Up to 32 entries, it will be held in one group split into two sessions of 30 minutes each. Above 32 entries, the starter field will be sub-divided into two groups through ballot and the current standings. Each qualifying group can consist of up to 30 racers. Should there be more than 60 entries, a pre-qualifying has to be held. Of the riders in the two groups, the top-twelve directly qualify for the races. The remaining teams then go to a second-chance qualifying, in which the best six advance. The riders placed seventh and eighth remain in reserve should one of the qualified teams not be able to participate.FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPENDIX
FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013 The points system used in 2000 was the same as had been in use since 1984 with the best fifteen teams receiving points in every race and the race winner receiving 20 points. It was the last time this system was used, with changes being made to it in 2002 and, again, in 2003:

Retirements

At the end of the 2000 season a number of long-term competitors retired from the World Championship, the most successful of those being German Alois Wenninger, runners-up in 1997 and active since 1992.ALOIS WENNINGER GP RECORD
The John Davey Pages, accessed: 9 November 2014

Calendar

The calendar for the 2001 season:FIM Sidecarcross World Championship – 2000 Calendar
FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013 * Flags for passengers not shown.

Classification

Riders

The top ten teams in the final overall standings were:FIM SIDECAR MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Classification 2000
FIM website, accessed: 2 November 2013 * Equipment listed is motor and frame.

References

External links

The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110812011944/http://www.fim-live.com/en/sport/sidecarcross/events/ Official FIM website – Sidecar Motocross World Championship {{Sidecarcross world championship Sidecarcross world championship, 2000 Sidecarcross World Championship seasons