Sidecars: Sprint race victory for Payne & Rousseau in Austria

Duo move up to third in Sidecar World Championship standings

Manx sidecar driver, Harry Payne and passenger Kevin Rousseau have secured success during the latest round of the FIM Sidecar World Championship.

The Steinhausen Racing duo took part in the fourth round of the series at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and took first place in the sprint race held on Saturday (5 August).

Having qualified for the contest in P2, Payne and Rousseau then took the lead from Todd Ellis and Emmanuelle Clement into the first corner and would go on to hold their top spot right up to the chequered flag in very wet conditions.

The main 17-lap race the following day (6 August) was brought to an early halt following a red flag incident which involved Sidecar TT champions, Ben and Tom Birchall - both were taken to the medical centre afterwards for further checks.

The race was later restarted and run for a shorter 15 laps and featured a close battle between the top four teams with Payne and Rousseau eventually finishing fourth.

Their performances this weekend move them up to third in the championship standings with three rounds to go.