The cream of the world’s sidecar crop head to Donington Park this weekend as the FIM Sidecar World Championship roars into action.

The leading international series gets underway on April 11 and 12, as it lines up as part of the Thundersport GB package at the Leicestershire track.

Donington Park is no stranger to World Sidecar action. Going back to the 1980s, the track played host to some memorable scraps with famous battles between the likes of Steve Webster, Rolf Biland and Egbert Streuer.

After a five year absence the series returned to the track last year, with the now legendary Tim Reeves and passenger Gregory Cluze emerging victorious and it would be a fool who bets against the dynamic duo sealing it again this weekend.  Reeves has become hot property over the last decade, sealing the championship five times.

But he and Cluze won’t be getting it all their own way, particularly with the threat of an equally strong Brit duo – Birchall brothers Ben and Tom. The Birchalls won the last race of 2014 at Le Mans to take runner-up spot in the championship, and they will be looking to pick up where they left off.

Another element that could spice things up a bit is the fact that Reeves and Cluze were missing from the pre-season test in Croatia last month as Reeves was sidelined with a back injury. As a result the duo haven’t had a big chance to run in their new chassis against the guys who will be their rivals this year, which could put them on the back foot this weekend.

Of course it isn’t all about the Brits. There is plenty of international interest with some top names expected to be snapping at the Reeves/Cluze and the Birchall boys’ back wheels. Four times champ Pekka Paivarenta will be back with his partner Kirsi Kainulainen, a respected rider herself in the Finnish motorcycle championship.
 
Other pairings to keep an eye out for include Dutch duo Bennie Streuer and Geert Koerts and Slovenian Janez Remse and his English passenger Stuart Ramsay. Remse hopes for better luck this year after a crash in the second round last year ended his season.