After another successful and entertaining night of Arenacross at Wembley last weekend, the tour now heads to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for rounds three and four of the Arenacross ACU British championship and as always, it will be well supported by fans and riders alike.
They love their motorcycling in Northern Ireland and Ireland and that’s been proven year after year with sellout crowds at the SSE Arena over the past 11 years of Arenacross in the city. The Arenacross Tour has always been hugely supported when it visits Northern Ireland, which is why it continues to visit Belfast year after year, often with two back-to-back nights such is the demand and enthusiasm from the motorcycle mad fans living there. Once again, there will be a good sprinkling of talent from the Emarald Isle to add extra spice to the tour and the fans will be playing their part in creating the atmosphere that always makes the two nights in Belfast special.
Martin Barr (Apico Factory Racing Honda) will be looking to put the disappointment of not making the main event at Wembley behind him and put on a show for the Northern Ireland faithful who have supported him throughout his long and illustrious career as he continues to go up against the likes of current championship leader Dean Wilson, Conrad Mewse, Tommy Searle, Adam Chatfield, Jack Brunell and co. Marty will also be joined in the pro ranks for the two Belfast rounds by fellow countryman Jason Meara, while Jay McCrum will be going for amateur class glory, both of whom are from the Belfast area and are chomping at the bit to race in the SSE Arena and get the partisan crowd on side.
“Belfast Arenacross is always an exciting race to be a part of and I’m really looking forward to getting out there in front of a packed house again in my home city” says Jason. “The other lads have a good head start with two rounds and a full off season already under their belt, but I’m not really worried about that, I’ll just go out there, try my best and enjoy the atmosphere. I want to thank the D.A.D / APW team for the opportunity and hopefully I can reward them with some decent rides, also an extended thanks to my outdoor team Moto-Cycle for being generous enough to let me race. Bring on next weekend, it’s always a brilliant event and experience.”
That’s sentiment is echoed by Jay, who will have plenty of family and friends in the crowd watching and cheering him on. ‘I’m hugely grateful for this last-minute opportunity to race Belfast Arenacross in front of a home crowd. The last time I raced indoors was this event back in 2019, so I’m excited to get back out there, feel the atmosphere and have some fun! It was such a buzz last time I raced it; there’s nothing quite like it back here at home or in the U.K. Being out there in front of all those fans and soaking in the atmosphere of the show is really cool. It wouldn’t be possible to compete in these events without the help of the whole GOMX365 crew, so a huge thanks to those guys for sticking by me. I can’t wait, let’s go!!”
Joining Martin, Jason and Jay are plenty of youth and amateur riders from across the Irish sea to also experience the hype and buzz of racing the Arenacross tour. Nathan Green will be joining Jay in the amateur class, while Lewis Spratt will looking to put it on the box in the Futures class as he’s done before. While in the Supermini class Jack Deasy and Daniel McKenna will be the regional riders to watch and in the always popular 65cc class Bradley Thompson, Jax Weatherhead, Matthew Kelly and Erin Deazley (who is competing in the whole tour) will have the majority of the fans right behind them.
Varying tickets are still available for both nights of action at the SSE Arena, Belfast on Friday 31st January and Saturday 1st February and can be purchased from www.axworldtour.com where you’ll also find more information on the Arenacross World Tour and current championship standings.
