The smoke had hardly settled after the AX fireworks of Saturday night when Round Three of the 2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Tour, powered by Ford Ranger, kicked-off on Sunday afternoon.
Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena was again the host and even if the racing were only going to be half as dramatic as the events of the night before, then the fans were still in for a stellar show.
Youth and Pro Lites
So far this season Harry Kimber has pretty much had things all his own way in the Supermini class, taking all race wins bar one in Round One at Manchester Arena.
Despite this the Team Green riders of Lewis Hall and Kacey Hird looked like they may have been able to threaten the Hardcore Racing rider in Glasgow.
Ultimately it was Kacey Hird that put a stop to Kimber’s reign of dominance. The lad from Barnsley grabbed the holeshot in Supermini race two with the Suzuki of Ben Burridge separating the Kawasaki rider from Kimber who sat third early on.
After a tremendous battle for second position Kimber was able to make a pass on Burridge but it was too little too late, the gap to Hird was too great. This allowed the Kawasaki rider to grab a win after a rollercoaster weekend.
In the 65 class the duo of Kiean Boughen and Ollie Colmer have traded wins through the previous two rounds, and it was no different for Round Three. Colmer took the first moto win but Boughen was able to answer right back and take victory in moto two. Colmer was second and Jak Taylor was third. There’s an awesome little rivalry brewing between the two young racers and it’ll be interesting to see how it progresses through the series.
The Pro Lites class has been owned by MVRD Fuel / Wheeldon Off Road Centre’s Joe Clayton so far in 2016 with maximum championship paying points in the bag for the Husqvarna pilot. He had yet to really be challenged in his quest for the 2016 Pro Lites crown.
However, that all changed on Sunday afternoon. Clayton headed into the afternoon show and moto two with a race win from earlier in the day, although he had to fight hard for it.
The Devon-based Husky rider found that he had to work even harder once the gates dropped for moto two. The Sealmoto Brookmeade / LRS Yamaha of George Clark was able to grab the holeshot and early race lead with Clayton hot on his heels.
The pair played cat and mouse early on in what was undoubtedly the best race of the Pro Lites season so far. But that was only the beginning – chaos was about to come calling. Clayton ended up going down twice in the race, once with a lapper and once whilst fending off an attack from Edward Briscoe. The rider from Devon was still able to salvage a third place finish behind an impressive George Clark. J.Nudds Shellfish pilot Joran Moxey continued his consistent run with a second place finish.
Pro Class
It’s safe to say that both SJR Kawasaki’s Josh Hansen and SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki’s Thomas Ramette were looking to bounce back strong after so-so performances the night before at Round Two, while LPE Kawasaki’s Fabien Izoird was looking to continue his good form in Scotland.
Ramette started his night well, taking the holeshot in Heat One and behind him his fellow Frenchman, Izoird went down. Later that lap Ramette also hit the deck handing the lead to British rider Matt Bayliss (Wooldridge Demolition).
The French dominated Round Two in Glasgow but as the heat progressed it looked as though Sunday was going to belong to the Brits, as Bayliss led from Buildbase Honda’s Adam Chatfield in second and Shocktech Honda’s Ashley Greedy in third.
It wasn’t long before Izoird was challenging Greedy for third and in an impressive ride after his first lap crash Izoird displayed his blazing fast pace on the Glaswegian track, managing to cross the finish line in third behind Chatfield in second. Bayliss had a smooth race and took the chequers in first.
Heat Two saw Ramette’s team-mate Cyrille Coulon take his first of several holeshots on Sunday afternoon, but he wasn’t able to hang onto the lead for long. Hansen made an early move past the Suzuki rider through the first rhythm lane and never looked back.
The American looked like a different rider to his performance on Saturday night – this was the type of ride we were expecting out of #100. Hanny went on to take the chequers ahead of Coulon in second and Geartec Yamaha’s Cedric Soubeyras in third.
Pro Heat Three saw Izoird really show off his speed and confidence in Glasgow – the KXF rider led from start to finish. He was followed up by Coulon, who was having a great night in Glasgow and Hansen’s team-mate Jack Brunell rounded out the Heat Three podium.
In Heat Four Hansen once again dominated proceedings – the California native replicated his game plan from his first heat, taking the early lead and never looking back. Soubeyras followed him over the line in second and Ramette, who didn’t look quite like his normal smooth self, was third.
LCQ
With only two spots left up for grabs in the LCQ it was all to play for. James Dunn nicked the holey before being passed by Buildbase Honda’s Angelo Pellegrini and his own Hitachi Revo Husqvarna team-mate Jordan Booker.
Dunn did attempt to retaliate against Booker but to no avail. Pellegrini and Booker would take the final two spots in Main Event. However, James was thrown a lifeline when he was chosen as the ‘promoters choice’ to progress to the Main.
H2H
Sunday afternoon saw some of the best Head-to-Head races so far this year. Notable matches were Chatfield vs Coulon, Bayliss vs Soubeyras and Bayliss vs Izoird.
Ultimately it boiled down to a H2H final between Hanny and Izoird, the two most impressive riders of the round. After a close start, a slight bobble from Hansen allowed Izoird to run away with things, Hansen would sensibly throw in the towel – saving his energy for the Main. This left Izoird to pick up four bonus points, which could be crucial to his title challenge come the last round in London.
Main Event
The ingredients were in place for tasty Main Event. Izoird shot out of the gate, followed closely by Coulon, Ramette and Hansen. Throughout the first half of the race a blanket could’ve been thrown over the top four riders.
Hansen was eventually able to make moves around Ramette and Coulon with his sights set firmly on Izoird at the head of the pack. A few back and forth passes were made between the pair but Hansen was able to make use of some awesome race craft in order to make one final assertive pass for the lead.
Izoird had no answer for him. The US AMA Supercross star went on to claim his inaugural Monster Energy Arenacross Main Event win. Coulon kept the team points coming for Geoff Walker’s SR75 Molson Suzuki Racing when he dramatically passed Izoird in the last corner for second place, leaving Izoird to settle for third .
Coulon showed speed and consistency all weekend long on board his Suzuki and he couldn’t hold back his delight: “I felt very good today, I felt good on the bike and I liked the track and my team is awesome!
“The track was very slippery, but it was good. The whoops were big but they were my strong point. So I felt good on the track and comfortable on my bike.
“I finally had a good start tonight, I haven’t had a good one in a while. The whole SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki team is great and I want to say thanks to them and to the boss Geoff – they’re great guys and do a lot of work for the team and for me and Thomas [Ramette].
“I’m happy for the team as Thomas is riding well also and we’re looking good in the championships. Also congratulations to Josh and Fabien for tonight.”
After a rocky start to the series Josh Hansen took his first race win and speaking to Dirt Bike Rider after the Main, he commented: “I’m stoked! It’s been something that I’ve had to get used to, with the small tracks and stuff.
“I think I rode patiently tonight and I didn’t rush stuff like I did last week. I put myself in good positions and made passes when I needed to make the passes. I’m really stoked.
“It’s all a lot of fun, the crowds are great over here and the other riders are great to race against and ride with. I’m really enjoying myself.
“I think the UK [Monster Energy Arenacross] series is great, they put on a good show and I’m stoked to be here.”
It must’ve been a strange weekend for Hansen with the AMA series kicking off in his homeland while he races a championship in the UK. “It was weird yesterday, a little different,” Hansen added. “I couldn’t ride properly, my head was in different places you know. But if I’m not going to be over there I’m glad that I’m here. To race in front of the people here in the UK means a lot to me, it’s cool.”
The Scottish are a lucky bunch. Two doses of insane AX races in one weekend! Lets hope the same can be said for the Irish as we head to Belfast for rounds four and five this Friday and Saturday. If you can make it, see you there.
Results: 2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Tour – Glasgow Round Three
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Championship Standings – 65cc Class
1. Ollie Colmer, 114 points
2. Kiean Boughen, 101
3. Jak Taylor, 95
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Championship Standings – Supermini
1. Harry Kimber, 116 points
2. Ben Burridge, 98
3. Lewis Hall, 96
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Championship Standings – Pro Lites
1. Joe Clayton, 116 points
2. George Clarke, 99
3. Jordan Moxey, 99
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross – Pro Class Main Event
1. Josh Hansen, #100, SJR Kawasaki
2. Cyrille Coulon, #5, SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki
3. Fabien Izoird, #871, LPE Kawasaki
4. Thomas Ramette, #1, SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki
5. Cedric Soubeyras, #120, Gertec Yamaha
6. Jack Brunell, #155, SJR Kawasaki
7. Matt Bayliss, #4, Wooldridge Demolition Honda
8. James Dunn, #200, Hitachi Revo Husqvarna
9. Adam Chatfield, #407, Buildbase Honda
10. Angelo Pellegrini, #941, Buildbase Honda
11. Jordan Booker, #114, Hitachi Revo Husqvarna
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Championship Standings – Pro Class
1. Cedric Soubeyras, 58 points
2. Fabien Izoird, 57
3. Cyrille Coulon, 50
4. Thomas Ramette, 47
5. Josh Hansen, 46
6. Jack Brunell, 42
7. Adam Chatfield, 37
8. Florent Richier, 32
9. Matt Bayliss, 32
10. Angelo Pellegrini, 29
2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Championship Standings – Team Championship
1. SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki, 97
3. SJR Kawasaki, 92
1. LPE Kawasaki, 87
4. Buildbase Honda, 66
5. Geartec Yamaha, 59
6. Wooldridge Demolition Honda, 41
8. Hitachi Revo Husqvarna, 24
7. Xbladez Husqvarna, 20
9. Shocktech Honda, 4
10. MVRD Fuel Husqvarna, 2
