The fifth round of the 2017 Arenacross series got off to a flying start this morning at The SSE Arena, Belfast, with the top six Pro class qualifiers all putting in sub-23-second lap times, the top four in the Pro Lites less than half a second apart, a change at the top in the SuperMini first race and two local lads in the top four of the Youth 65cc group.
Last night’s Pro runner-up Cedric Soubeyras (RFX St Blazey MX) topped the qualifying leaderboard with a super-quick Brit Jack Brunell (Team Green Kawasaki) close behind and SR75 World Suzuki’s Thomas Ramette third. Round four’s victor Adam Chatfield (Buildbase Honda) qualified in 12th but, anything can happen in Arenacross and he’ll be out to prove himself again this evening.
Joe Clayton charged his Keystone Honda to the Pro Lites qualifying top position, whilst his brother in the SuperMinis suffered a slight change in fortune to finish the first race in second place behind his closest rival Bobby Bruce. In the youngest category – the Youth 65cc – Alex Henderson from Hillsborough and Charley Irwin from Ballyclare were in fine form and finished third and fourth. They both have another race this evening in front of a home crowd full of their family and school friends – Riverdale Primary (Alex) and Fairview Primary (Charley).
Pro Qualifying
1. Cedric Soubeyras, #85, RFX St Blazey MX, 22.333
2. Jack Brunell, #155, Team Green Kawasaki, 22.468
3. Thomas Ramette, #1, SR75 World Suzuki, 22.569
4. Adrien Escoffier, #137, MVR-D Husqvarna, 22.770
5. Florent Richier, #2, Keystone Honda Racing, 22.791
6. Ashley Greedy, #33, FRO Systems PAR Elite, 22.950
7. Sulivan Jaulin, #211, 23.013
8. Jay Wilson, #6, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 23.054
9. Hugo Basaula, #747, Team Green Kawasaki, 23.18
10. Romain Biela, #601, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 23.193
Pro Lites Qualifying
1. Joe Clayton, #14, Keystone Honda Racing 23.302
2. Dylan Woodcock, #60, Team Green Kawasaki, 23.451
3. Chris Bayliss, #259, Buildbase Honda Racing, 23.529
4. Yannis Irsuti, #170, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 23.600
Supermini Race 1
1. Bobby Bruce, #579, 20 points
2. Ben Clayton, #14, 18 points
3. Louie Kessell, #7, 16 points
4. Carl Osterman, #10, 15 points
Youth 65cc
1. Ashton Boughen, #2, 20 points
2. Ben Mustoe, #3, 18 points
3. Alex Henderson, #23, 16 points
4. Charley Irwin, #50, 15 points
Doors open for this evening at 6.00pm at The SSE Arena, Belfast, with the show getting underway at 7.30pm. Tickets are still available via the arena box office on 028 9073 9074, www.ssearenabelfast.com or, a few may be available on the door.