After the epic madness of two days in Aberdeen the Arenacross Tour moves southwards to the Midlands and the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham this Saturday, 4th February for round 5 of the 2023 ACU British Arenacross Championship.
Just one point separates Crendon Fastrack Honda’s Conrad Mewse and GTCI Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle and after their clash in Sunday’s Pro Final in Aberdeen there could be fireworks between these two in Birmingham.
Mewse’s teammate Josh Gilbert stayed cleared of the wreckage on Sunday to take his first AX Main Event win and a good night in the Resorts World Arena could keep him in the hunt for the Tour Finale at Wembley on the 18th February.
A battered and bruised Jack Brunell of the TLD Gas Gas team is a rider who could threaten the top three and has AX experience in abundance as has Fus Marsh Husqvarna racer Adam Chatfield who is starting to move upwards in the standings. Elliott Banks-Browne onboard the Mark McCann 64 YouTube Channel and his teammate Joe Clayton have both shown they have good speed and have both been close to getting on the box and will see Birmingham as a big opportunity to do so.
Luke Burton will have the home crowd behind and has been improving as the rounds go on so he could be a possible surprise packet on home soil.
With injuries depleting the Pro ranks some new riders are rumoured to be joining the tour for the final two rounds so watch this space for an up date.
The Pro-Am class has been filled with high drama in every race and Birmingham will be no different. Josh Greedy is currently the pacesetter with a four point advantage over Sion Talbot. Travis Steels has had some impressive riders as has Dirt Hub test rider Kyle Lane, who will be racing in front of his home crowd, so expect these two to put pressure on the leading duo.
Charley Irwin swept the board in the AX Futures class in Aberdeen eking out a 12 point lead in the series over Joel Fisher. Fisher has been the only other rider to win a race in this class and he will be determined to do the same in Brum.
In the Supermini’s no one has been able to stop Isaac Ash who has won all eight races on the tour so far. Behind him though the battle is raging with just two points separating Lewis Spratt in Second, Austin Beasty in third and Harry Lee in fourth. Harrison Schoffield didn’t ride in Belfast but took an impressive second on Sunday in Aberdeen and could put the cat amongst the pigeons this weekend.
Casey Lister has dropped just one race win in the AX 65 Youth Category and holds a hefty 22 point lead over John Slade in second. Slade has been consistent at every round and will be keep to get a win under his belt before the tour is out. Jamie Currie had a great Aberdeen weekend and will looking to close in on Slade this weekend.
This weekend will see the last qualifying round of the AX E5 championship with the top riders from here joining their Belfast and Aberdeen counterparts in a big showdown in Wembley.
Some tickets are still available via www.arenacrossuk.com
