The 2026 Arenacross Tour has fired into life this morning in Birmingham as the BP Pulse LIVE Arena felt the rolling thunder of dirt bikes for the first practice sessions and races in preparation for tonight’s opening round of the series!
The Pro riders were the first on track, led out by the new Phoenix Tools Fantic squad of John Adamson and Carlton Husband, and typically it did not take them long to stitch their combinations together and get the lap times tumbling down!
Fastest of all was Dean Wilson, the reigning Champ asserting his authority immediately as he hammered the #1 Armor Vision powered by St Blazey CRF 450 Honda to the top spot by around a quarter of a second from Dylan Woodcock on his Dirt Store Triumph.
Woodcock and Wilson were back and forth for much of the session, with the J3M Shocktech Racing Husqvarna of Matt Bayliss in a fine third at the end of the second session. However, a late charge by AJP Racing’s Adam Chatfield fired him up the order to third by the end of the final run.
Sadly hitting the dirt in first practice was Jake Preston, topping off a tough week for the Substance JPR KTM team boss after losing two riders through the week. Local boy Luke Burton answered the call and was upbeat about getting some AX action for the first time in two years! His new team boss has to ride through the pain barrier tonight with a lot of skin gone from his shoulder after hitting the Freestyle landing ramp at the end of his crash.
There was also a small tip off through the whoops for AX rookie Carlton Husband, but Chris Bayliss was having “the worst morning ever” after borrowing a display bike because his wouldn’t start. Then he got landed on by Martin Barr, the pair of them lucky to emerge unscathed.
Dirt Store Triumph’s Eddie Wade and his former Stark Future teammate Jack Brunell rounded out the top six, the former Champ tailing Wilson for much of the second session.
Support Classes
The Pro-Am class charged into their Qualifying Heats, with Louis Brookes and Josh Taylor fastest in morning practice, and Taylor took the Holeshot in Heat One ahead of Neville Bradshaw and teenager Harry Lee. Lee’s first race on a four-stroke, his Triumph TF 250-X, was looking good as he challenged his older rivals, and as Taylor bobbled in a corner, so Lee made the move to pass both Yamaha men to take the lead! He was never to give it up and looks good for tonight’s Main Event ahead of Bradshaw, Taylor, and the third Yamaha of Ross Clarke.
Speedway star Dan Bewley might have had a challenge for the top three but hit the gate on his Stark and had to fight back through the pack, which he did to take a solid fifth by the flag. His final pass down the last whoop section caught Austin Beasty by surprise, and the youngster landed heavily off the track, hurting his shoulder. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Heat Two was led briefly by Honda man James Rutter, but Josh Greedy was too good through the opening rhythm sections and hit the front with authority. Ulster teen Lewis Spratt was also in the mix, but Louis Brookes seemed to come from nowhere to pass both Spratt and Rutter through the whoops to take second at the end of the first full lap.
Spratt then fell after the whoops on the following lap and needed to regroup, holding on for sixth at the flag behind Oliver Williams and Callum McCaul. Rutter was a lonely third, but just as Brookes closed on Greedy, so the Welshman clipped a lapped rider and hit the floor. He re-joined just ahead of Rutter to hold on to second, but Brookes took his Stark to a clear win and looks to be a real threat for tonight’s Final.
The Supermini opening race saw the expected dominance from young John Slade, showing almost Pro-level pace on his Big-Wheel 85 to win by over 25 seconds from leading Small Wheel ace Cameron Berry. Berry survived a small tip-over to hold onto second on-track, ahead of a great scrap between Frank Bishop and Mason Staddon, who rounded out the top three in the Big-Wheel class.
In the Minis, the 65cc scrappers saw three riders close together in practice times, and it was those three – Finlee Pope, Preston Killoran, and Blake Mark Bracey – who hit the front together in their opening race. BMB, looking more like 1990s star JMB with his great style, fought through to the lead, but he could never relax as Killoran and Pope battled behind him. All three were rapid through the rhythm sections, with former E-Mini Champ Roy Townley a solid fourth behind them. Bracey nearly fell in the final lap, but held on to take it from Killoran and Pope. Race two tonight could be a close one.
Finally, the E-Minis hit the track in a silent but hectic race, with Cooper Swan and Aliyas Westwick first and second to begin with, before Aliyas clipped Cooper’s rear wheel to put them both on the ground. Northern flyer Harley Patel inherited the lead, and held on for a clear win, while Eli Tomac lookalike Maddox Knifton stayed second for the whole race ahead of Oliver Fostun, who took third despite nearly catching Maddox on the last lap. Westwick recovered to fourth and Swan to seventh, so if those two avoid trouble they could be right in the mix for tonight’s second race.
The preparations have been made, the riders have settled into the circuit, so Arenacross, Presented by Dirt Store, is ready to roll for the main show tonight! If you haven’t got tickets yet, what are you waiting for? The Fan Zone opens at 4pm, where any ticket holder can meet the riders and check out the bikes and teams for NO EXTRA CHARGE. It’s Arenacross party time in Birmingham, come and join us!
