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Video: Arenacross fires into Sheffield this weekend

Published: 12 February 2019 Updated: 12 February 2019
The startline action from 2018
The startline action from 2018
1

The final two rounds of the 2019 Arenacross tour will take place this coming weekend at the Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield, following four previously successful nights in Birmingham and Belfast.

Rounds three and four took place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham earlier this month, with FRO Systems rider, Cedric Soubeyras, becoming the first competitor in the event’s history to win an event overall on a Pro 250, against a pack of angry 250cc and 450cc machines.

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Soubeyras will be out for a repeat of this historic win this coming weekend, with riders from as young as nine-years-old doing battle in some of the most competitive indoor motocross action across the globe.

The Birmingham track took a three-man team two days to construct, using 150 lorry loads of locally sourced mud. After the first night’s racing at each venue, the circuit is then deconstructed and rearranged for the following evening’s round to keep the action engaging.

The three-part series began last month at the SSE Arena in Belfast, which hosted the first two rounds before moving to Birmingham.

MCN was at the first leg of the Birmingham round and spoke with Matt Bates, CEO of Action Sports Live (ASL) the company behind Arenacross. “We started in Belfast two weeks ago with two sell-out events, which is an amazing achievement to start with,” Bates said.

“We’ve gone from hosting one night shows with a crowd of around 6500, to two night events with audiences of between 10,000 and 11,000 people.

“Around 50% of our audience is a new audience and we are introducing young families to biking. At this time of the year there’s not a lot of riding going on and definitely not a lot of riding competitions, so if you need your fix of two wheels then we have that.” 

The evenings are split into a wide variety of machines, ranging from 65cc two-strokes to thumping 250cc and 450cc ‘Pro’ classes, with tickets still available at www.arenacrossuk.com.

Geoff Walker is the owner of the SR75 Suzuki team, who compete in the 450 Pro and 250 Pro classes and said: “Nothing compares to the intensity of Arenacross in the UK. We’ve done AMA Supercross and raced all over the globe and nothing compares to it.

“The size of the tracks is one factor, which causes the field to tighten up and you have to push so hard to make a pass and quite often you will make a little bit of contact.”

Walker and his team have competed at every single Arenacross event since its inception and went onto say: “For the spectacle and the entertainment this gives to the fans and sponsors, the series quite often speaks for itself.

“We race all over the world and obviously this is home for us and it’s great to show everybody what we do and what Suzuki do as a manufacturer.”

This was echoed by Jack Timms, from Gloucester, who was competing in the newly-formed Pro AM Cup, designed for experienced amateurs wanting a taste of indoor motocross.

“I always come here to watch and always enjoy it,” Timms said. “I fancied a go and there’s now a class around for people like us to, so I thought I’d come along and try it.

“It’s very different and I’ve never ridden anywhere like it. It’s enjoyable, but you’ve got to be precise. We normally do 20 minute motocross races. These races are probably only five minutes long, but I’m more tired!”

Final Birmingham race and championship results

Main Event Super Final

  • 1. #1 Cedric Soubeyras FRO Systems Husqvarna, 15 points 
  • 2. #20 Greg Aranda Team Green Kawasaki Kawasaki, 13 
  • 3. #4 Fabien Izoird Shocktech Kawasaki Kawasaki, 11 
  • 4. #737 Valentin Teillet SR75 Suzuki Suzuki, 9 
  • 5. #3 Charles Le Francois SR75 Suzuki Suzuki, 8 
  • 6. #33 Ashley Greedy FRO Systems Honda, 7

Pro Lites Main Event Overall

  • 1. #1 Cedric Soubeyras, FRO Systems, 30 points 
  • 2. #737 Valentin Teillet, SR75 Suzuki, 26 
  • 3. #6 Adrien Escoffier, Buildbase Honda, 22 
  • 4. #259 Julien Lebeau, Wooldridge Demolition, 18
  • 5. #1x Joe Clayton, Team Green Kawasaki, 16 
  • 6. #744 Diogo Graca, Castrol Power1 Suzuki, 14

Pro Lite Championship

  • 1. #1 Cedric Soubeyras, 131 points 
  • 2. #737 Valentin Teillet, 83 
  • 3. #6 Adrien Escoffier, 82 
  • 4. #259 Julien Lebeau, 77 
  • 5. #1x Joe Clayton, 53 
  • 6. #744 Diogo Graca, 45

Pro 450 Main Event Overall

  • 1. #20 Greg Aranda, Team Green Kawasaki, 28 points 
  • 2. #4 Fabien Izoird, Shocktech Kawasaki, 26 
  • 3. #3 Charles Lefrancois, SR75 Suzuki, 24 
  • 4. #17 Matt Bayliss, Wooldridge Demolition, 18
  • 5. #8 Hugo Basaula, Shocktech Kawasaki, 13 
  • 6. #64 Nique Thury, FRO Systems, 13

Pro 450 Championship

  • 1. #20 Greg Aranda, 131 points 
  • 2. #4 Fabien Izoird, 93 
  • 3. #3 Charles Lefrancois, 90 
  • 4. #64 Nique Thury, 68 
  • 5. #8 Hugo Basaula, 56 
  • 6. #10 Jack Brunell, 50

Team Championship

  • 1. Team FRO Systems, 195 points 
  • 2. Team Green Kawasaki, 184 
  • 3. SR75 Suzuki, 150 
  • 4. Shocktech Kawasaki, 149 
  • 5. Wooldridge Demolition, 124 
  • 6. Buildbase Honda, 101 
  • 7. Castrol Power1 Suzuki, 55

Pro-Am Cup

  • 1. #52 Luke Dean, 15 points 
  • 2. #28 Jack Timms, 13 
  • 3. #143 Luke Bull, 11

Overall

  • 1. #52 Luke Dean, 28 points 
  • 2. #143 Luke Bull, 26 
  • 3. #81 Trystan Williams, 18

Youth Results

Rookie Cup

  • 1. #11 Ben Clayton, 30 points 
  • 2. #48 Adam Collings, 24 
  • 3. #10 Carl Osterman, 22

Championship

  • 1. #11 Ben Clayton, 83 points 
  • 2. #33 Josh Greedy, 70 
  • 3. #48 Adam Collings, 67

Team Green Supermini Cup

  • 1. #9 Raife Broadley, 30 points 
  • 2. #11 Ethan Sills, 26 
  • 3. #7 Tom Harris, 20

Championship

  • 1. #9 Raife Broadley, 77 points 
  • 2. #4 Alfie Jones, 68 
  • 3. #11 Ethan Sills, 58

Youth 65 Cup

  • 1. #100 Isaac Ash, 28 points 
  • 2. #80 Zane Stephens, 22 
  • 3. #184 Jamie Keith, 18

Championship

  • 1. #80 Zane Stephens, 78 points 
  • 2. #292 Freddie Bartlett, 71 
  • 3. #100 Isaac Ash, 70

Remaining 2019 tour dates:

  • February 15 – The Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield  
  • February 16 – The Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield

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By Dan Sutherland

News Editor, sportsbike nut, and racing fan.