About Us

Sidecar racing. Across borders. Together.

The Northern Sidecar Cup is an international European racing championship created for one simple reason: to give sidecar teams more opportunities to race, on great circuits, against strong competition, in a paddock where everyone shares the same passion.

Sidecar racing is unlike any other form of motorsport. It takes two people, one machine and complete trust. The driver and passenger have to work as one, centimetres above the asphalt, fighting for every tenth of a second.

It is spectacular to watch, incredibly demanding to race and, once it gets into your blood, very difficult to leave behind.

That passion is what drives the Northern Sidecar Cup.

From an idea to an international championship

The Northern Sidecar Cup was created to bring sidecar teams from different national championships and countries together.

Rather than limiting teams to racing within their own borders, the idea was to create a championship that could travel between countries, visit a variety of circuits and give competitors the opportunity to race against teams they might otherwise meet only occasionally.

In 2026, the Northern Sidecar Cup celebrates its fifth season.

During those years, the championship has developed into a genuinely international competition. The calendar has included everything from permanent Grand Prix circuits to traditional road-racing venues, bringing the NSC paddock to circuits in several European countries.

For 2026, the championship travels to Croix-en-Ternois, Hengelo, Nürburgring, Brands Hatch, Chimay, Mettet and Oschersleben — seven rounds across five countries.

And wherever we race, the principle remains the same:

Good racing. Good organisation. Fair competition. And a paddock people want to come back to.

Three classes, one paddock

One of the strengths of the Northern Sidecar Cup is the variety of machinery on the grid.

The championship brings together three categories:

1000cc – the big machines. Powerful, fast and spectacular, with the performance that makes modern F1-style sidecars such an impressive sight.

F600 – highly competitive 600cc machinery producing close racing and some fiercely contested championship battles.

F2 – the traditional short-chassis Formula 2 sidecars, with their own distinctive characteristics and a strong following throughout European sidecar racing.

The regulations allow both 600cc and 1000cc four-cylinder machinery, with the championship’s technical rules providing the framework for safe and fair competition.

Different machines. Different nationalities. Different ambitions.

But when the lights go out, everybody is there for the same reason.

To race.

Serious racing without losing the paddock spirit

We take the competition seriously.

Teams invest enormous amounts of time, money and energy into preparing their outfits. Riders and passengers travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres during a season. Nobody rolls onto the grid without wanting to perform.

But the Northern Sidecar Cup is about more than championship points.

One of the things we value most is the atmosphere in the paddock.

Sidecar racing has always had a special sense of community. The team you fight with for position on Sunday afternoon might be the same team lending you a part or helping repair your outfit on Saturday evening.

We want to preserve that.

You can race each other hard on the circuit and still have a beer, coffee or barbecue together afterwards.

In fact, we think that’s exactly how it should be.

The championship has grown while maintaining that combination of competitive racing and camaraderie, something that has become an important part of the NSC identity.

Racing across Europe

The word Northern may be in our name, but borders are not particularly important to us.

Over the years, the Northern Sidecar Cup has welcomed teams from across Europe. In 2026 alone, NSC events have attracted competitors from countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.

That international mix is exactly what we want.

Every country has its own sidecar traditions, teams, championships and racing culture. Bringing those communities together strengthens the sport.

It also makes the paddock considerably more interesting.

You may need three languages to borrow a tyre pressure gauge, but somehow everybody understands each other eventually.

Great circuits, different challenges

We deliberately want variety in the Northern Sidecar Cup calendar.

A season should test teams in different ways.

One weekend may take place on a modern permanent circuit. Another might bring teams to a traditional road-racing venue. Fast corners, tight sections, elevation changes, slipstream battles and heavy braking all demand something different from driver, passenger and machine.

Recent NSC seasons have visited circuits such as Brands Hatch, Nürburgring, Oschersleben, Chimay, Mettet, Croix-en-Ternois, Hengelo and Assen.

For competitors, that variety is part of the challenge.

For fans, it means there is usually something worth watching.

Actually, with sidecars, there is always something worth watching.

For established teams — and new ones

The Northern Sidecar Cup is not intended only for teams fighting for a championship.

Of course, we want strong competition at the front. Winning an NSC race or championship should mean something.

But a healthy championship also needs teams throughout the field.

Some arrive with years of international experience. Others are taking their first steps outside their national series. Some enter an entire season, while others join selected rounds.

All are part of the championship.

Our ambition is to provide a place where experienced teams can compete at a high level while newer teams can gain experience, discover new circuits and become part of the wider European sidecar community.

Because today’s newcomer might be tomorrow’s race winner.

More than riders and passengers

A sidecar championship doesn’t happen because somebody publishes a calendar.

Behind every race weekend is a large group of people.

Organisers. Circuit staff. Marshals. Technical officials. Timekeepers. Medical crews. Photographers. Volunteers. Sponsors. Partners. Mechanics. Friends and family.

And, of course, the fans who travel to circuits to watch one of motorsport’s most spectacular disciplines.

The Northern Sidecar Cup depends on all of them.

We therefore see the NSC not simply as a collection of races, but as a community involving everyone who contributes to keeping sidecar racing alive and moving forward.

Our ambition

Our ambition for the Northern Sidecar Cup is straightforward:

to help sidecar racing grow.

That means creating opportunities for teams to race.

It means working with organisers and circuits to build an attractive international calendar.

It means keeping the championship accessible while maintaining proper sporting and technical standards.

It means giving sponsors and partners a championship worth supporting.

It means introducing new spectators to sidecar racing.

And it means making sure that when teams pack up after the final race of the season, they’re already talking about where we’re going next year.

We don’t expect everything to be perfect. Motorsport rarely is.

But we do believe in listening to the paddock, learning from every season and continuing to develop the Northern Sidecar Cup together with the people who actually race in it.

The Northern Sidecar Cup is for the sidecar community

Ultimately, the Northern Sidecar Cup belongs to the people who make sidecar racing what it is.

The drivers who keep the throttle open.

The passengers who somehow consider hanging outside a racing sidecar at full speed a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

The mechanics working late into the evening.

The families and supporters travelling across Europe.

The marshals standing trackside whatever the weather.

The organisers who make racing possible.

And the fans who understand why three wheels can sometimes be much more exciting than four.

Whether you’re competing for a championship, entering your first international event, helping a team in the paddock or simply standing at the fence watching the racing:

you are welcome in the Northern Sidecar Cup.

Three wheels. Two people. One passion.

This is the Northern Sidecar Cup.