Arenacross Tour’s newly-announced shake-up gets seal of approval

The newly-announced shake-up of the Arenacross Tour race-night format has received wide-ranging support from leading teams and manufacturers.

The changes to the Arenacross Pro and Pro Lites class set up for 2019 will see the best 450cc-mounted supercross and indoor motocross racers from around the world take on the best in the 250cc class in a 14-rider Super Final. The Super Final follows two Main Event races per class, with the top six from each category automatically seeded through to the evening’s finale.

The remaining two places will be adopted by the last one standing after the eight-rider head-to-head eliminator, and the winner of the last chance qualifier (LCQ).

With a finite number of spaces in each class available, leading Pros, Pro Lites and team managers are now in the process of signing up for the 2019 Tour.

Commenting on the new-look Arenacross Tour, Matt Bates of ASL said: “You could hardly say that Arenacross has been boring, especially as, for the last five years, the championship has been decided on the last few laps of the final Main Event. But the fact is we want Arenacross to stay fresh and lead with ideas, and that’s why we’ve decided to give the fans what they wanted – a stacked class of 250 and 450 riders in every race. Lap times don’t lie and the chances are that if a fast 250 Lites rider holeshots the Super Final, they have as good chance as any to stay at the front, but what’s more exciting is that riders like Cedric Soubeyras, Thomas Ramette, Greg Aranda and Dan Reardon will have to charge the through the pack to stand a chance to be on the podium – and the racer in me tells me that’s what people want to see!”

Buildbase Honda’s Dave Thorpe said: “I believe the Arenacross team have done the right thing. It is already a very successful event for spectators but needed an injection of excitement and something fresh on the racing front. As a team manager, it is clear that we need the best riders available in each class and it will be important for our partners and supporters to have a rider in each of the five races. It is important for our team to have competitive guys out there, and that’s what we’re currently working on, as we will want both our Pro AX and Pro Lites riders in the Super Final at the end of the evening.”

Mark McCann of FRO Systems, added: “It’s a change for the better as we will get two classes of extremely fast riders, attracting the not just the best 450cc riders, but also the best of the 250cc group. From a team perspective, it will be interesting as, dare I say that whereas the Pro Lites did not previously play such a huge part in the overall team setup, now they will. It’s a massive opportunity for them.”

Also lending its support to the Arenacross Tour, Ross Burridge, Senior Racing Co-ordinator for Kawasaki Motors UK said; “The Arenacross series is valued incredibly highly at Kawasaki, going from strength to strength and always offering an exciting and entertaining evening for customers both old and new to off-road sport. With the new format for 2019 announced, we can see that this will offer even more action-packed entertainment with the Lites class now becoming more like an SX2 class, hopefully meaning even more high-level 250cc riders will join the series. I personally can’t wait to get going in January”.

Arenacross Tour tickets are on sale now, with prices from just £12 for a child visitor on Friday evenings and substantial discounts for two-night tickets. Arena doors will open at 6pm, with the opening ceremony getting underway at 7.30pm.