The Garmin Arenacross Tour blew into London on Saturday night for the series showdown at Wembley Arena and signed off in the same way it started six weeks ago in Belfast – with a flat-out, adrenalin-pumping white-knuckle ride from the first drop of the gate to the final chequered flag!
Apico LPE Kawasaki’s Fabien Izoird nailed the Pro crown at round six in Sheffield but the final two podium positions were on the line and with a stacked international line-up of seriously swift men no-one was racing for anything other than the win.
At the end of the night there was yet another rider on top of the podium – Frenchman Thomas Ramette (Buildbase Honda) – making it four different winners from seven rounds. In just his second appearance on the tour he dominated to win both his heats and nail a gate-to-flag win in the Main Event.
“It has been a great night for me – I won both my heats and the final so it has been perfect,” says Thomas. “I really liked the track, you needed to be smooth because it was very slippery and that suited me.”
After filling in at short notice in Sheffield where he finished ninth, for Wembley he had more time to prepare – and it showed.
“I came to my team on Wednesday and we worked on the bike and I got used to it. It’s been great to work with the Buildbase Honda team. Hopefully I will come back next year.”
Second on the night and third in the championship, Cyrille Coulon (SR75-Molson Suzuki) cemented his reputation as a ferociously fast Frenchman with some serious indoor skills.
“It’s been a good weekend and a good day today,” says CC5. “The track is very slippery and so tight but I got a good time in practice and rode aggressively in the Main Event. I thank the team – SR75-Molson – and all the sponsors for making my tour possible. Arenacross has been organised really well and I’ve really enjoyed it, I’d love to come back and do it again next year.”
Our furthest travelled rider, Aussie Daniel McCoy (MBO Sport ASA Yamaha) ended his UK adventure with third on the night and second in the series.
“It was definitely a good experience,” reckons Daniel. “I came over to race at late notice which always makes it a bit harder but I got some decent results and the team’s been really, really good and I got along with everyone. I’m super-happy – hopefully I can come back and do another series.”
So there you have it. Seven rounds in six cities over an ultra-intense six-week period. The 2014 Garmin Arenacross Tour kicked butt in Belfast, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield before scoring a KO in the capital – 2015 can’t come fast enough!
