Payne and Rousseau sweep Assen as Turners rebound for ninth

2026 FIM Sidecar World Championship

Round Five – Assen

Harrison Payne and Kevin Rousseau moved within touching distance of a second FIM Sidecar World Championship crown with a commanding double victory at Assen, while Australians Corey and Danyon Turner recovered from a difficult Sprint to finish ninth in the Main race.

Payne and Rousseau backed up pole position with wins by 5.679 seconds and 12.697 seconds, extending their championship advantage to 25.5 points ahead of the final round at Oschersleben.

Defending champions Sam and Thomas Christie finished second in both races to draw level on points with Pekka Päivärinta and Adam Christie. The latter pairing took third in the Sprint before a last-lap track-limits penalty dropped them from third to fourth in the Main race.

Turners recover for ninth

Corey Turner and passenger Danyon Turner faced a steep learning curve in qualifying, with the 52 MotoSports team reporting their first experience of running in wet conditions.

The Australians began the session on wet tyres on a wet and windy Assen circuit, before changing to dry tyres with between five and ten minutes remaining. With a single dry line developing, they recorded their fastest lap on their final lap to qualify 11th.

The ten-lap Sprint brought a tougher result, with the Turner Bros Racing ARS Yamaha finishing one lap down after an early turn one bingle. Their afternoon was considerably more productive, gaining two places from their grid position to finish ninth in the 16-lap Main race.

The Turners completed the Main race 52.041 seconds behind the winners and just 0.157 seconds ahead of Thomas Eder and Kevin Kölsch. Their best lap of 1m46.262s was also an improvement on the 1m46.917s they recorded in the Sprint.

Sprint race

Payne and Rousseau had edged Päivärinta and Christie by just 0.136 seconds in qualifying, but made a clean start from pole to lead the Sprint into the first corner.

Päivärinta and Christie initially gave chase ahead of the Christie brothers and the father-and-son Peugeot crew. Ted and Vincent Peugeot subsequently retired with a mechanical problem, leaving the leading three outfits clear of the battle behind.

Payne and Rousseau controlled the race to win in 17m20.652s, with the Christie brothers taking second and Päivärinta and Christie finishing another 0.668 seconds back in third. The winners also set the fastest lap at 1m42.949s.

Patrick Werkstetter and Valentin Pirat secured a season-best fourth, while Markus Schlosser and Lucas Krieg passed Bennie Streuer and Manon Vissenberg on the final lap to claim fifth. Just 0.751 seconds covered those three crews at the finish.

Assen Sprint results

Main race

Payne and Rousseau again led into the first corner in the afternoon, this time with Peugeot and Peugeot immediately behind, followed by Päivärinta and Christie, the Christie brothers, and Lewis Blackstock and Oscar Lawrence.

The Christie brothers worked their way into second but could not prevent the leaders from stretching away. Payne and Rousseau completed the 16 laps in 27m45.634s, winning by 12.697 seconds and again claiming the fastest lap, this time with a 1m42.739s.

The contest for the final podium place was much closer. Blackstock and Lawrence traded positions with Päivärinta and Christie in the closing laps, while the Peugeots closed back in after receiving a long-lap penalty.

Päivärinta and Christie passed for third through the final chicane, but were subsequently demoted one position for exceeding track limits at Turn 15 on the last lap. That handed third to Blackstock and Lawrence, with the Peugeots fifth.

Schlosser and Krieg took sixth ahead of Werkstetter and Pirat, Streuer and Vissenberg, the Turners, and Eder and Kölsch.

Assen Main race results

* Päivärinta/Christie completed the race in 28m03.554s, 17.920 seconds behind the winners, but were demoted one position for a last-lap track-limits infringement at Turn 15. The table shows the amended finishing order.

Title to be decided at Oschersleben

Payne and Rousseau head to Germany with six victories from the ten races contested this season and a 25.5-point buffer over both the Christie brothers and Päivärinta/Christie.

The 2024 champions can secure the title by winning the opening race at the final round, which takes place at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on October 2–4.

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