A Brit on the podium was the highlight for round five of the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour at The SSE Arena in Belfast, which kept an enthusiastic and screaming crowd on its feet this evening in heart-stopping style.
The Pro class eliminator was nothing short of a battle of attrition with plenty of surprises and hard racing tactics thrown into the mix. Former British MX champ Elliott Banks-Browne (Geartech Husqvarna), German supercross star Nique Thury (MVR-D Husqvarna) and Pro Lites front-runner Joe Clayton (Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki) made it through to the final, whilst Welshman Ashley Greedy (Team FRO Systems) won the vote of the people for the second week running.
After the head-to-head carnage, the Main Event seemed relatively calmer. Banks-Browne had a great start but was quickly passed by reigning AX champ, Frenchman Thomas Ramette (SR75 World Suzuki). Last night’s winner, MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna’s Adrien Escoffier from France, was right up there in the mix and, current red plate holder Cedric Soubeyras (Team FRO Systems), recovering from a poor start, was carving his way through the pack. At half-race distance, Aussie ace Dan Reardon (I-Fly JK Yamaha) made a move on Banks-Browne and held it to the chequered flag. Ramette was victorious and, in the process, clawed his way back up the championship leader board to within two points of Soubeyras. Reardon finished second and Banks-Browne claimed his first podium of the season. Clayton earned eight championship points to put him 17th overall in the championship stakes, from just one race.
The Pro Lites class featured a popular home-town lad in the form of I-Fly JK Yamaha’s Jason Meara. His determination to win in front of a partisan crowd was evident, however, he had super-fast Clayton and Chris Bayliss (Wooldridge Demolition) to contend with. He put in solid performances to consolidate a third overall position in the championship and keep in contention. The overall was taken by Clayton with Bayliss in second.
In the Youth classes, Carl Osterman again cleaned up in the Supermini group and Jake Davies in the 65cc category. Buster Hart sill retains his lead in the Superminis and Harvey Antrobus has a single point advantage over Shaun Mahoney in the 65s.
Pro Main Event
1. Thomas Ramette, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 20 points
2. Dan Rearson, Australia, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 18
3. Elliott Banks-Browne, GB, Geartech Husqvarna, 16
4. Cedric Soubeyras, France, Team FRO Systems, 15
5. Fabien Izoird, France, Buildbase Honda, 14
6. Adam Chatfield, GB, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 13
7. Adrien Escoffier, France, MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna, 12
8. Charles Lefrancois, France, Buildbase Honda, 11
9. Nique Thury, Germany, MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna, 10
10. Jack Brunell, GB, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 9
11. Joe Clayton, GB, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 8
12. Ashley Greedy, GB, Team FRO Systems, 7
Pro Championship
1. Cedric Soubeyras, 84 points
2. Thomas Ramette, 82
3. Charles Lefrancois, 71
4. Fabien Izoird, 64
5. Cyrille Coulon, France, SR75 World Suzuki, 63
6. Hugo Basaula, Portugal, Shocktech Kawasaki, 60
7. Dan Reardon, 58
8. Adrien Escoffier, 55
9. Jack Brunell, 51
10. Ashley Greedy, 45
Team Championship
1. SR75 World Suzuki, 145 points
2. Buildbase Honda, 135
3. Team FRO Systems, 129
4. MVR-D St Blazey Husqvarna, 81
5. Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 74
6. I-Fly JK Yamaha, 69
7. Shocktech Kawasaki, 60
8. RFX Suzuki, 44
9. Geartech Husqvarna, 32
10. GL12 KTM, 12
Pro Lites Overall
1. Joe Clayton, Team Green Holeshot Kawasaki, 40 points
2. Chris Bayliss, Wooldridge Demolition, 36
3. Jason Meara, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 32
4. Scooter Webster, Shocktech Kawasaki, 28
5. Ben Clayton, 28
6. George Clarke, 28
Pro Lites Championship
1. Joe Clayton, 198 points
2. Chris Bayliss, 171
3. Jason Meara, 163
4. George Clarke, 128
5. Scooter Webster, 127
6. Ben Clayton, 119
Supermini Overall
1. Carl Osterman, 40 points
2. Buster Hart, 36
3. Tommy Gilbert, 32
4. Charlie Keight, 27
5. Josh Jones, 27
6. Raife Broadley, 24
Supermini Championship
1. Buster Hart, 178 points
2. Carl Osterman, 160
3. Raife Broadley, 152
4. Tommy Gilbert, 135
5. Robert Storer, 127
6. Josh Jones, 123
65cc Overall
1. Jake Davies, 36 points
2. Harvey Antrobus, 34
3. Zane Stephens, 32
4. Shaun Mahoney, 30
5. Kyron Carron, 29
6. Ben Casey, 26
65cc Championship
1. Harvey Antrobus, 167 points
2. Shaun Mahoney, 166
3. Zane Stephens, 165
4. Jake Davies, 153
5. Kyron Carron, 131
6. William Murphy, 130
The 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour now takes a week’s break before travelling to the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield on Saturday the 10th of February.
Tickets are available via www.arenacrossuk.com