The 2026 Arenacross Tour continued with the middle round of the series at the SSE Arena in Belfast, and once again Dean Wilson was the dominant figure in the Pro class, although he did get toppled in the Head-to-Head races, while great racing was enjoyed by the massive crowd inside the tight arena!
Sadly for local fans, their home-town podium hero from last year’s opening night, Martin Barr, was injured in a big crash at the end of the whoops in the final Timed Qualification session in the morning. With broken ribs and bruised lungs, Martin is out for the weekend, even though his son Marty Junior is still good to line-up in the E-Mini class. We wish Marty Senior all the best for a speedy recovery.
After the crowd greeted the Pro riders with their trademark enthusiasm, especially their sole local warrior James Mackrel, they were treated to an incredible show from the Bolddog Action Sports Freestyle crew, who pulled some spectacular tricks right out of the top drawer!
The Pro Rider Hot Laps then started to get the crowd into it, with Ben Clayton setting the initial pace for AJP Racing, before being toppled by the Phoenix Tools Fantic of John Adamson, then the other AJP Racing man Adam Chatfield! “Chatters” held on there, until the top three from Timed Qualification hit the track, and ultimately the Championship leader Dean Wilson again stuck the #1 Armor Vision Powered by St Blazey Honda right at the top, although Stark Racing’s Jack Brunell moved ahead of the Dirt Store Triumph of Dylan Woodcock for second spot.
The first Pro Main Event saw Wilson having to fight from outside the top five, as Jack Brunell took up the running at the front. He briefly had to give way to a charging Eddie Wade on the Dirt Store Triumph, but Wade dropped back on the second lap as Matt Bayliss did his best on the J3M Shocktech Racing Husqvarna to hold off the charge from Wilson.
Mackrel was fighting hard for Substance JPR KTM, up into the top four briefly, but then Woodcock started to battle through from a poor start. Brunell finally had to concede to the amazing Wilson on lap eight out of 12, and the two most recent Champions finished first and second again. Woodcock chased down Matt Bayliss to make a pass for third on the very last lap!
In the second Pro Main Event, Brunell had nowhere near as good a start, and could only muster a comeback to fourth in the race. Wilson again took command in the 14-lapper, although amazingly the fastest lap was set by the flying veteran Adam Chatfield, who took second for AJP Racing behind Wilson and kept third-placed Woodcock behind him in third. Mackrel again raced hard for a well-cheered sixth behind Matt Bayliss in fifth.
The Head-to-Heads came before the final Main Event, and while Wilson breezed past Stark Racing’s Steven Clarke in his first race, he was deposed by Brunell in the Semi-Final, sensationally seeing the Champion beaten for the first time in 2026! His fellow Scot, John Adamson on the Phoenix Tools Fantic, put in a solid performance to beat Matt Bayliss, then James Mackrel in a tight encounter, putting him in the Final! Chatfield denied Woodcock, who yet again fell at the second hurdle to get no points from the Head-to-Heads.
In the final, Brunell did just enough to claim a two-second margin over his two challengers, while Chatfield just about saw off Adamson for second!
The reverse grid for the final Main Event was still not enough to deny Wilson a hat-trick of victories, and again his margin was just over three seconds, with Woodcock second this time ahead of Matt Bayliss. Bayliss was a solid fourth overall on the night as a result, with Brunell suffering most from the reverse grid to come home fourth. His Head-to-Head win keeps him just one point down on Woodcock in their battle for second in the series. Wade took a good fifth in the final race, with Mackrel again keeping the crowd happy with a great showing for sixth, putting him in that position overall.
Main Event 1
- Dean Wilson 5:10.956
- Jack Brunell +3.032
- Dylan Woodcock +7.955
Main Event 2
- Dean Wilson 6:02.162
- Adam Chatfield +5.753
- Dylan Woodcock +9.459
Main Event 3
- Dean Wilson 6:59.041
- Dylan Woodcock +3.330
- Matt Bayliss +5.557
Head-to-Head Final
- Jack Brunell 1:00.688
- Adam Chatfield +2.847
- John Adamson +2.965
Pro Overall
- Dean Wilson 75 Points
- Dylan Woodcock 62 Points
- Jack Brunell 61 Points
Pro-Am
The opening Pro-Am race brought the expected dominance from Stark riding teenager Louis Brookes from Shropshire. Rocketing out of the start line ahead of the completely different 250 two-stroke machine of Nev Bradshaw, Brookes immediately began pulling away from the pack and was never caught. The battle raged behind him and Bradshaw, with Josh Greedy just edging into third ahead of Josh Taylor and Nathan Green. Harry Lee was higher up early on but crashed down the order.
The same was true of race two, and Brookes again punished the field to win by just over three seconds, with Bradshaw second again, but Taylor got the better of his fellow Josh, Greedy, who took fourth ahead of home hero Lewis Spratt.
Brookes now has a solid 13-point lead over Bradshaw going into tomorrow’s final round!
Race 1:
- Louis Brookes 4:28.711
- Neville Bradshaw +3.506
- Josh Greedy +6.633
Race 2:
- Louis Brookes 4:29.419
- Neville Bradshaw +3.443
- Josh Taylor +6.193
Overall
- Louis Brookes 50 Points
- Neville Bradshaw 44 Points
- Josh Taylor 38 Points
Supermini
There was a shock in the Supermini class as John Slade, with a perfect record before the night show, threw himself over the bars through the whoops section, leaving Small Wheel leader Cameron Berry to hit the front and just hold Mason Staddon back by a second and a half! John was up instantly but couldn’t recover the time lost, and came home in fifth spot, still third in the Big Wheel class behind Lincoln Forte, who did well after his mechanical issues in Birmingham, and Mason Brown. Slade was still top Big-Wheel overall, with Corey Heffernan salvaging third in the BW class. Kai Benjamin rode consistently to take third in the SWs behind Berry and Staddon.
Supermini Big-Wheel (Night Race)
- Mason Brown 4:17.353
- Lincoln Forte +0.426
- John Slade +1.676
Supermini Small-Wheel
- Cameron Berry 4:03.521
- Mason Staddon +1.514
- Kai Benjamin +26.181
Overall – Big-Wheel
- John Slade 41 Points
- Mason Brown 38 Points
- Corey Heffernan 30 Points
Overall – Small-Wheel
- Cameron Berry 47 Points
- Mason Staddon 42 Points
- Kai Benjamin 26 Points
Mini
The 65cc warriors battled hard in a topsy-turvy day for them, and Welsh flyer Preston Killoran took over the lead when first race winner Roy Townley fell on lap two! Blake Marks-Bracey went down at the same time, leaving the series leader with a fight through the pack. He passed Finlee Pope for second with two laps to go, enough to claim the overall for the day. Townley recovered to fifth, giving him third overall behind Killoran, while BMB still leads the Championship going into the final day.
Mini (Night Race)
- Preston Killoran 4:22.726
- Blake Marks-Bracey +3.440
- Finlee Pope +8.090
Mini – Overall
- Blake Marks-Bracey 44 Points
- Preston Killoran 43 Points
- Roy Townley 41 Points
E-Mini
Harley Patel kept it neat and tidy as always to claim the E-Mini race win and maintain his perfect record for the series, while Cooper Swan kept him honest to take second overall for the day. Maddox Knifton had to fight through from a poor start in the second race to get to sixth, just about enough to take the final spot on the podium away from Aliyas Westwick, who rode brilliantly to take third in the night race. Cooper is now second in the series, but with a 22-point gap to chase down on Patel!
E-Mini (Night Race)
- Harley Patel 3:22.241
- Cooper Swan +1.628
- Aliyas Westwick +9.311
E-Mini – Overall
- Harley Patel 50 Points
- Cooper Swan 42 Points
- Maddox Knifton 37 Points
The first night at Belfast was spectacular, and the crowd fantastic, so will the Saturday night craziness be able to match it! There’s no doubt that the racing will throw up plenty of drama again!
