Father and son duo Ted and Vincent Peugeot shine in sidecar

Currently on course for their highest-ever finish to an FIM Sidecar World Championship season, Ted and Vincent Peugeot (LCR Yamaha) are sitting fifth in the points table with the fifth and penultimate round at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.

In such a specialised sport, it is not unusual to see family members racing together, however what makes the Peugeots – who away from the racetrack are both mechanics – stand out is the fact that it is the son, twenty-three-year-old Ted, who is at the controls and the father, fifty-three-year-old Vincent, in the sidecar.
 
“Yes, it’s quite unusual for the son to be the rider,” said Ted. “Often, you’ll find the father at the handlebars and the son in the sidecar, but we made this choice because my father has always been a passenger and never wanted to ride and I felt more comfortable at the handlebars. So, it’s a bit different from other teams, but that’s surely what makes us strong.
 
“I’m not really his boss within the team – that’s the unique thing about sidecars, every member of the team is just as important as the next, so we all make decisions together. Often, communication between my dad and me is easier because we’re not afraid to speak our minds to each other.”
 
Originating from Pont-de-Roide in the east of France, close to the border with Switzerland, Ted got his first bike at the age of eight and started competing in hillclimb events where he won two junior national titles before joining his father in a sidecar outfit in 2019 constructed by LCR master chassis builder Simon Périllat.

Vincent, who contested the 2016 FIM Sidecar World Championship as passenger for Olivier Duchamp, has a background in sidecars having started competing in hillclimb events with his father and, as passenger for a number of different riders, won multiple French, Swiss and European titles. In fact, so strong is the family connection with sidecars, when Vincent was born, he was taken home from the hospital in one because his father did not have a car licence.

After finishing their debut season in the FIM Sidecar World Championship together in 2021 in twelfth, they climbed as high in sixth the following year and this season – having achieved their first podium as a team with second last time out at Cremona in Italy – they are poised to go one better.
 
“We’re very pleased with our pace in the races, as well as with the progress made on the chassis this year. We’ve managed to reach a new level. Our main goal for the season has already been achieved when we got on the podium at Cremona. Now we’re aiming for many more podium finishes and why not a top-three finish next year?
 
“Of course, our ambitions in this sport are to win and one day, perhaps, claim a world championship title, but above all we want to share good times as a family and have fun.”