Whilst there’s a stacked field of quality riders to witness flying around the British Arenacross Championship circuits in the 2024 tour, there’s no doubt that two of the leading contenders will be the top two from the 2023 Championship – reigning Champion Tommy Searle, and new British Motocross Champion Conrad Mewse!
Words & Images: Arenacross UK
We caught up with both of them in the week ahead of the opening race in Manchester, and to make it fair we asked them exactly the same questions! Here’s what they had to say:
AX: 2023 saw you both at the sharp end, finishing top two on all but one occasion, but not often on the same point of the track together. Do you think you’ll have more on-track battles through the 2024 season?
Tommy: We’ll have to see when the gate drops! I’m normally quite good off the start so my plan is to get the start and get away, but we’ll have to wait and see, there are a lot of good riders and you never know, which is the best part of Arenacross!
Conrad: Yeah, I hope so, we weren’t together much because my starts were terrible! I’m certain that we’ve got them sorted this year, so we’ll be at the sharp end, he’s a good starter and a good racer so I’m looking forward to some close races and good battles with him and many other guys.
AX: What are your thoughts on the Stark team, especially with Jack Brunell being competitive at your level last year, and now he has the electric bike too?
Tommy: I think it will be good to see, it’s an unknown really, we know they’re good out of the start, and on some ground and tracks they will be better than others. We’ll have to wait and see. I spoke to Jack and he seems to like it. I don’t know if I’m gonna like racing them or not, it takes you by surprise sometimes because you don’t know where they are on the track. They could be close and not really making a bad move, but because you can’t hear them it can be unsettling.
Conrad: I’m not familiar with the other riders, they’ve got a solid line-up and those bikes are very good out the gate so for sure. All three of them are going be up there from the get-go and Arenacross isn’t easy to pass, so I think it will give them a fantastic shot at getting some good results.
AX: Do you know Justin Bogle, and how much of a threat do you think he will be?
Tommy: I think a lot, I think he’s good. It’s nice to have an AMA Champion racing the series, especially on the Stark, I think it brings a lot to the Championship. He’s a good starter anyway and I think he will be in the mix.
Conrad: No I have no idea, I know his name, I imagine he’s very good at Supercross. I’ve never seen him ride in person, and I think UK Arenacross is a lot different to what he’s used to over there. It would be cool to mix it up with him and hopefully it’s not a walk in the park for him and we can put a challenge to him.
AX: Is there anyone else on your radar who you think might be an issue for you?
Tommy: I don’t know, mainly the Starks and Conrad. I think Harri will be good, he’s a good starter, I think there will be a few more riders in the mix for the podium, and I think that will make it better with more of us fighting for wins. It’s one of the exciting things about Arenacross, it’s short races and intense so you never know what to expect, we’ll have to see on the night!
Conrad: Yes there’s some good riders, Arenacross is pretty crazy and anyone can win it, a lot of things can happen. I try not to think about other people, I just focus on myself, just make sure I get my start dialled in and the rest will follow. I’m sure a lot of people will turn up on the night and different people will shine in different places, it looks like a strong line-up and I’m looking forward to getting racing again.
AX: Last year you were fresh to Arenacross, with experience only from years ago so hardly relevant. With one Tour under your belts, have you changed your preparation much now you know what to expect?
Tommy: Not really no, it’s been hard for any of us who haven’t been able to get out to Spain. I’ve got a track to practice on but it’s been too wet, so I’ve been up at SX Worx to prepare a bit up there, just done what I can. I feel that I take to the tracks pretty well and the tracks are well prepared.
Conrad: I’d really like to say the preparation has been a lot more! I’ve done a lot and I’m in a way better position than I was last year. I’ve got a whole series under my belt and I kinda know where I’m at now. I’ve just been doing my normal thing, been getting some intense riding in and some short sprints to match the AX races. It’s quite difficult because it’s such a short lap time, it’s hard to go practising on an Arenacross track for a whole day.
AX: How do you change your bike from a motocross setup to cope with AX?
Tommy: Just the gearing and suspension, we go up a couple of teeth on the sprocket so it’s a bit more ‘bottom-endy’. I’ve got the new 2024 450 Kawasaki which is a really, really good bike and I’ve been happy on that since I got on it. All I’ve done is put a pipe on it and an ECU, then changed the gearing.
Conrad: With the gearing, we make it a lot shorter to give it that extra response out of the turns to make the triples and on-offs, the suspension a lot stiffer, and that’s it. The Honda is a fantastic all-round bike and they’re the only things we change from indoors to outdoors. We wrapped up both outdoor titles on it last year, so it was obviously good enough and I’m looking forward to getting another year on it.
AX: Any changes from last year or is it the same team around you?
Tommy: No, there’s no one that’s come with me from last year, it’s a full new team, Dirt Store Kawasaki, owned by Nick at GTCI, joining forces with Jon Giffard from GRT. They both get the job done, and we have Mel Pocock on the team so he brings a lot of fun to it and there’s a really nice atmosphere.
Conrad: Yeah it’s exactly the same team around me, I’m a massive believer of ‘don’t fix what’s not broken’, I’ve got a fantastic group around me with an amazing mechanic, and the team’s just brilliant. The bike’s perfect, it hasn’t changed much so I’m in a very good place at the minute.
AX: What was your favourite venue from 2023?
Tommy: Belfast, I really like that one, and Birmingham was very good as well.
Conrad: It was probably Belfast. It was an awesome crowd, and I loved the dirt there, it was quite technical, and the track layout was awesome! I’ve never raced in Manchester so I’m looking forward to experiencing that one this weekend.
AX: How much merch do you sell from these events, and have you got any nice designs out for 2024?
Tommy: Yeah we do well with it, the whole Kecks thing with myself and Billy Bolt, it’s nice to give back to the sport and we have nearly sold out of the new 2024 kit we’ve got out there so it’s good. Arenacross have got me on their merchandise as well so it’s nice to see.
Conrad: No I don’t sell any merch! I haven’t got to that point yet, I would like to start it, but I just want to focus on my riding for a few more years, get some results in and then we can look at that sort of stuff.
AX: Finally, here’s a scenario: you’ve had a tricky qualifier and are in a head-to-head with Ashley Greedy – do you go inside the gate or out?
Tommy: I wouldn’t know, it depends on the first corner to be honest! I think Ash is good, it’s nice to have him back in the series. He’s a good rider, a lot of people think he just wants to take people out, but he’ll be really fast. He’ll be a good asset to the series, he’ll make it interesting but he’s not as bad as he used to be, I think he’s calmed down a bit. If I find myself in any head-to-head, I will be a little bit cautious!
Conrad: It all depends on the start! He’s known for being quite aggressive in the head-to-heads but I need to focus on my start, try and beat him out of the gate and ride my own race. For sure the inside would be stronger, just depends on what the track is like on the night.
So who is your favourite for the 2024 Arenacross crown? One of these two, or will one of the other contenders get amongst them to challenge for the title?!
Tickets for the 2024 British Arenacross Championship presented by Fix Auto UK are on sale now, visit www.arenacrossuk.com now.
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