Artis Rasmanis
Encyclopedia
Artis Rasmanis is a retired Latvia
n 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 Serģis
. He retired from international sidecar competition after their fifth title in 2002. He is however still active in the motor sport, racing quad bikes now, finishing 12th in the FIM European championship in 2007.
He now works as a manager at SIA "Rasmanis & Dankers". He originally graduated as an agricultural machinery mechanic from Priekuļi agricultural technical school in Cēsis District
in 1990.
as his driver. After two seasons with limited success and starts, Serģis switched to Normunds Bērziņš as his partner for 1994 and 1995 but continued to have only a small impact on the race circuit. In late 1995 Artis Rasmantis returned as his partner and in 1996, in the fourth race of the season they archived their first race win, on 21 April in Betekom, Belgium
. The season after, their fortunes improved greatly and the duo won their first of five world championships this year. In 1998, they repeated their success and in 1999 they missed out by only one point to Daniël Willemsen
/ Marcel Willemsen
on their third triumph. Also, in 1998, they managed to win the German sidecarcross championship. However, Serģis / Rasmantis continued their successful partnership with three more titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. With their fifth title they became record holders in world cup wins in this sport. Previously, two drivers had archived four crowns, but none five. After this fifth title, Rasmanis retired from international competition but Serģis continued to race.
Source:
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n sidecarcross
Sidecarcross
Sidecar-cross racing, also known as sidecar motocross, is very similar to regular, solo motocross but with a different type of motorcycle chassis, and with a team of two people riding together instead of one, a driver and a passenger. While not confirmed most articles seem to show Sidecarcross...
passenger and five times World Champion
Sidecarcross world championship
The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme , held since 1980. Previous to that, a European competition was held from 1971 onwards....
.
Rasmanis was part of the most successful partnership in sidecarcross world championship history, winning five titles with his driver Kristers Serģis
Kristers Sergis
Kristers Serģis 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 possible for his son to take up the sport after Latvian independence in 1990...
. He retired from international sidecar competition after their fifth title in 2002. He is however still active in the motor sport, racing quad bikes now, finishing 12th in the FIM European championship in 2007.
He now works as a manager at SIA "Rasmanis & Dankers". He originally graduated as an agricultural machinery mechanic from Priekuļi agricultural technical school in Cēsis District
Cesis District
Cēsis District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. It bordered the former districts of Valmiera and Valka to the north, Limbaži and Riga to the west, Gulbene to the east, Ogre and Madona to the south. It was organized into two...
in 1990.
Sidecarcross world championship results
Artis Rasmanis entered the sidecarcross world championship in 1992, with Kristers SerģisKristers Sergis
Kristers Serģis 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 possible for his son to take up the sport after Latvian independence in 1990...
as his driver. After two seasons with limited success and starts, Serģis switched to Normunds Bērziņš as his partner for 1994 and 1995 but continued to have only a small impact on the race circuit. In late 1995 Artis Rasmantis returned as his partner and in 1996, in the fourth race of the season they archived their first race win, on 21 April in Betekom, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The season after, their fortunes improved greatly and the duo won their first of five world championships this year. In 1998, they repeated their success and in 1999 they missed out by only one point to Daniël Willemsen
Daniël Willemsen
Daniël Johan Nico Willemsen is a Dutch sidecarcross rider and eight times World Champion.Willemsen is the most successful rider in sidecarcross history, winning the title nine times, in 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011...
/ Marcel Willemsen
Marcel Willemsen
Marcel Willemsen is a Dutch sidecarcross passenger and 1999 World Champion.Marcel won the 1999 world championship as the passenger for his older brother, the seven times world champion Daniël Willemsen...
on their third triumph. Also, in 1998, they managed to win the German sidecarcross championship. However, Serģis / Rasmantis continued their successful partnership with three more titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. With their fifth title they became record holders in world cup wins in this sport. Previously, two drivers had archived four crowns, but none five. After this fifth title, Rasmanis retired from international competition but Serģis continued to race.
Season by season
| Season | Driver | Equipment | Position | Points | Races | Wins | Second | Third |
| 1992 |  Kristers SerģisKristers Sergis Kristers Serģis 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 possible for his son to take up the sport after Latvian independence in 1990... |
Kawasaki Kawasaki Heavy Industries Consumer Products and Machinery Company Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine is a division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries that produces motorcycles, ATVs, utility vehicles, jet ski personal watercraft, and general-purpose gasoline engines. Before the 2011 fiscal year it was called Consumer Products & Machinery... -EML EML Sidecars The EML Sidecars company, short EML, is a Dutch Sidecarcross and Quad frame manufacturer, having won numerous worldchampionships in this sport.EML stands for Einmalig, meaning unique.-History:... |
46 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | Kristers Serģis |
KTM KTM KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen... -EML |
33 | 25 | 9 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | Kristers Serģis |
KTM-EML | 18 | 11 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 1996 | Kristers Serģis |
KTM-EML | 6 | 132 | 16 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1997 | Kristers Serģis |
KTM-EML | 1 | 277 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 1998 | Kristers Serģis |
Zabel-BSU | 1 | 299 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 1999 | Kristers Serģis |
Zabel-BSU | 2 | 385 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| 2000 | Kristers Serģis |
MTH MTH Racing engines MTH racing engines are two-stroke lightweight engines, built by an Austrian company, MTH. They are used in motocross sidecars and ultra lightweight aeroplanes.... -BSU |
1 | 298 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| 2001 | Kristers Serģis |
MTH-BSU | 1 | 534 | 26 | 16 | 4 | 3 |
| 2002 | Kristers Serģis |
MTH-BSU | 1 | 662 | 28 | 24 | 1 | 2 |
| Overall 1992 - 2002 | 2624 | 170 | 68 | 31 | 14 |
Source:
- Passengers in italics.