Cedric Soubeyras leads Thomas Ramette
The Monster Energy Arenacross Tour put on a great show of skill and fast-paced racing action for the 10th round of the 2016 series at the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, on Valentine’s Day.
Sheffield Arena was packed to capacity with thousands of AX fans, who witnessed Thomas Ramette, of SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki, catching up in the Pro class to just three points behind current leader, Geartec Yamaha’s Cedric Soubeyras.
The crowning of Joe Clayton as ProLite, and Harry Kimber as SuperMini champions, the first-ever Arenacross electric motocross bike race, and an astonishing jaw-dropping trick from Freestyle ace Arran Powley ensured the event was truly exciting.
Edgar Torronteras, Petr Pilat, Nez Parker, Dan Whitby, Samson Eaton and Arran Powley gave an excellent Freestyle show, with ‘Babyface’ Powley rising to the occasion. He executed a perfect ‘Cliff-Hanger-To-No-Hander-Lander’ that won him the Big Trick vote.
Freestyle Demonstration wows the audience
He said: “I haven’t performed this trick at Arenacross before as we don’t usually have the landing space.
“It’s one of the hardest tricks to do and not many people do them but, when the crowd gets behind you, it motivates you to go the extra mile and so I just thought I’d throw it in and see what happened. Luckily it worked but I wasn’t expecting to do it twice as if I do it too many times I end up crashing.”
The Pro heats had only one casualty with American Collin Jurin, XBladez Husqvarna, who injured his shoulder, but the challenging track made traction difficult for the younger groups.
At around two-thirds race-distance Preston Williams slipped on one of the fast jumps, landed face first on hard soil and damaged a previously injured wrist. The medics attended him whilst the race continued for two laps before being stopped.
Sheffield hero Bailey Johnston was dominant in the Junior 65 class. He raced off the start line with Kiean Boughen and quickly moved into the lead, which he kept up to to the chequered flag.
The Main Event was a Thomas Ramette masterclass, who fended off all comers to take the race. The result means that the Pro class championship is extremely close, since Soubeyras sits on 189 points and Ramette on 186.
Ramette said: “This was a really important round for me. My goal was to close down on Soubeyras as, if he had got away from me this weekend, it could have all been over.
“Now with just three points in it, everything is on London and it’s going to be really intense and close racing. I’ve got two weeks to get prepared and I don’t intend to lose. I’m focussed on being the first back-to-back Arenacross Pro Champ!”
Winners Podium
The next event is The Monster Energy Arenacross Tour finale at the SSE Arena, Wembley, London on Sunday February 27th 2016.
Doors open at 6pm with the evening performance starting at 7pm.
Tickets can be bought by calling the box office on 0844 338 8000 or via the buy tickets link at www.arenacrossuk.com
Results:
Pro Main
- Thomas Ramette #1 SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki 25.207
- Adam Chatfield #407 Buildbase Honda 25.314
- Cyrille Coulon #5 SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki 25.929
- James Dunn #200 Hitachi Revo Husqvarna 25.954
- Cedric Soubeyras #120 Geartec Yamaha 25.779
- Paulo Alberto #941 Buildbase Honda 26.283
- Jack Brunell #155 SJR Kawasaki 26.058
- Matt Bayliss #4 Wooldridge Demolition Honda 26.065
- Florent Richier #2 LPE Kawasaki 26.434
- Julien Bill #25 SJR Kawasaki 26.844
- Xavier Boog #121 LPE Kawasaki 26.438
Pro Championship
- Cedric Soubeyras #120 Geartec Yamaha 189
- Thomas Ramette #1 SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki 186
- Cyrille Coulon #5 SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki 157
- Adam Chatfield #407 Buildbase Honda 135
- Fabien Izoird #871 LPE Kawasaki 128
- Jack Brunell #155 SJR Kawasaki 127
- Florent Richier #2 LPE Kawasaki 111
- Matt Bayliss #4 Wooldridge Demolition 110
- Angelo Pellegrini #941 Buildbase Honda 100
- Josh Hansen #100 SJR Kawasaki 79
Team Championship
- SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki 343
- LPE Kawasaki 271
- Buildbase Honda 248
- SJR Kawasaki 222
- Geartec Yamaha 192
- Wooldridge Honda 126
- Xbladez Husqvarna 82
- MVRD Fuel Husqvarna 59
- Hitatchi Revo Husqvarna 72
- Shocktech Honda 8
Pro Lites Main
- Joe Clayton #14
- George Clarke #161
- Edward Briscoe #56
Pro Lites Championship
- Joe Clayton #14
- George Clarke #161
- Jordan Moxey #981
Supermini Main
- Harry Kimber #78
- Kacey Hird #28
- Lewis Hall #419
Supermini Championship
- Harry Kimber #78
- Kacey Hird #28
- Lewis Hall #419
Junior 65 Main
- Bailey Johnston #19
- Jak Taylor #22
- Nathan Perry #77
Junior 65 Championship
- Kiean Boughen #5
- Ollie Colmer #6
- Jak Taylor #22
[…] total of eight of my photos from the ArenacrossUK event at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena were used by the Sheffield Star in their print edition today, […]