The race to Abu Dhabi for the Arenacross World Tour Finals is all set to resume as the final qualifying round heads to Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday 22nd February.
International racers such as former Arenacross champions Thomas Ramette (SR75 World Team Suzuki) and Cedric Soubeyras (DRT Kawasaki) will be gunning to secure their spot on the start gate at the plush Etihad Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on the now confirmed date of Saturday 5th July. They’ll also be joined in Manchester by American Arenacross racer Michael Hicks who will be stepping in to replace Jorge Zaragoza for the Stark Future Racing Team. Zaragoza took the opening qualifying round victory in style with a wire-to-wire win but unfortunately has recently picked up a knee injury ruling him out of Manchester. Hicks is putting together a solid season in AMA Arenacross, currently lying third in the AX Pro championship with some main event wins under his belt and he’s also leading the electric bike X Pro championship, so has had plenty of successful seat time on the Stark Varg coming into Manchester and his first taste of Arenacross outside of the U.S.
Further international racers like Adrien Escoffier (D.A.D / AWP KTM), Yannis Irsuti (Stark Future Racing). Joan Cross (Substance JPR Kawasaki) and Charles LeFrançois (Armor Vision / St. Blazey) will also be in the mix along with all the British riders who have been racing the Arenacross British championship over the past five rounds.
Dean Wilson (Armor Vision / St.Blazey Honda) will not only want to go undefeated in the British championship, but he’ll also want to win the World Tour qualifying final at Manchester after finishing third in the opening round behind Zaragoza and Soubeyras. As will Conrad Mewse (Crendon Tru 7 Honda Racing) who would love to end his AX British championship campaign on top of the box. Add current and previous Arenacross champions Jack Brunell (Stark Future Racing), Tommy Searle (Dirt Store Triumph Racing) and Adam Chatfield (S.Briggs Honda) into the mix along with further British talent such as Matt and Chris Bayliss (SC Sportshome Husqvarna), Martin Barr (Apico Factory R acing Honda), Eddie Wade (Stark Future Racing), Ash Greedy (S.Briggs Honda), Ben Clayton, Jayden Ashwell (AJP Racing), Jake Preston, Kyle McNicol (Substance JPR KTM) and Bailey Johnston (D.A.D / AWP Racing) and the final race to Abu Dhabi and the Arenacross British championship in Manchester is set to be a thriller. Especially as the Arenacross Tour will be celebrating their 100th night of AX by adding a celebrity minibike race and the ‘Amped race to Manchester’ kids balance bike race to the schedule and as always, the FMX riders and ‘Fuel Girls’ will be bringing the glitz and added excitement to ‘showtime’ on what will be another incredible night in Arenacross history.
To be part of it, go to www.axworldtour.com to secure your tickets or VIP Experiences and to find more info on the British and World Tour championships.
