Thousands of Supercross and FMX fans packed the LG Arena, Birmingham for round 3 of the Arenacross championship on Saturday night. And they weren’t disappointed, with great gate-to-flag racing and some Championships wrapped-up. But Adam Chatfield’s win-streak came to an end.
The first two rounds were dominated by Buildbase Honda’s Adam Chatfield, taking wins at both O2 London and Odyssey Arena, Belfast. And he was in confident mood coming to round 3.
“I’m really looking forward to racing this weekend,” said series leader Adam Chatfield “I’ve had a lot of fun racing the series and I’m really gonna try my best to make it a hat-trick – that’s my goal! And I like having the big cheques in my hand!”
Neville Bradshaw, just 4 points behind Chatfield after finishing on the podium at both previous rounds was looking to move to the top step.
“My speed has been good at the first two and I’ve been out in Spain working on my game and getting things dialled in more,” said the Putoline Honda rider. “I’m ready to send it hard in Birmingham this weekend and bring it down to the wire in Liverpool.”
A further seven points back and third for the Championship, Jack Brunell had a successful weekend of racing in Holland last week and he was looking forward to taking that good form into the Arenacross series.
Head-to-head
In the head-to-head it was the match-up between Neville Bradshaw and Adam Chatfield that was the stand-out race. Bradshaw got off to a flyer and was looking good to progress to the head-to-head final but Chatfield was having none of it as he had the confidence to take on the triple and pass Bradshaw for the heat win.
So it was Buildbase Honda’s Chatfield against Championship rival Jack Brunell in the final and with an extra championship points on offer they weren’t looking to have an exhibition race. The LPE Kawasaki rider was too strong for Chatfield and Brunell bagged the extra points.
Pro Main
Jack must have been fired up after his head-to-head win over Chatfierld as he went on to take the ALiAS holeshot and main event win, setting up a sensational showdown at the fourth and final round at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on February 12.
“I knew I had to win,” says Jack. “With Adam coming out on top in London and Belfast I had to beat him here to have any chance of the title. It was a great race for me – I got the holeshot and led every lap. I made a few mistakes but held it together and even when Adam started pushing me towards the end I stayed calm.
“It’s now going to go down to Liverpool. I know Adam’s in a great position but this championship is not over yet.”
Chatfield got a shocking start in the Main Event when he was squeezed out going into the 180-degree first turn but he made some quick passes and managed to work his way up to second.
“I’m happy with that,” says Adam. “I wanted to make it a hat-trick of wins but second will do. I’ve got a good points lead and just need to keep my head in Liverpool and I’ll have the title.”
Although Neville Bradshaw will not be giving up on the Championship just yet – he was clearly disappointed with the night, posting on Twitter “Woke up this morning and have seem to have forgotten how to ride a dirtbike. Horrible night. Pumped to have a good team behind me on bad nts”
Woke up this morning and have seem to have forgotten how to ride a dirtbike. Horrible night. Pumped to have a good team behind me on bad nts
– neville bradshaw (@nevsta272) February 2, 2013
Adam Chatfield now has a 12 point cushion on Bradshaw who has slipped to third, while Jack Brunell has moved up to second but is still 8 points adrift.
Youth
While the Pros are still battling for the Arenacross crown, two Youth titles were decided last night with Rossi Beard clinching the 65cc title and Dylan Woodcock landing the SW85cc championship. With both riders unbeaten so far – and with the best three results to count in the youth classes – neither rider can be caught.
Watch: iPhone video of 65 class final
It’s much closer in the BW85cc division where Mitchell Lewis’ second win on the trot has handed him a slim two-point lead over round one winner Joe Jefferies going into the final round.
Rookies
In the Rookies final Frazer Wakefield took victory in his series debut but Luke Dean leads the series by a single point from Ben Putnam with Chris Bayliss a further point back in third.
The tour finale will be a special ‘matinee’ afternoon show.
Tickets start at just £10 for children and £19 for adults with family tickets starting at £49. To buy yours call the box office on 0844 8000 400 or go to www.arenacrossuk.com
Results
1 Jack Brunnel – LPE Kawasaki
2 Adam Chatfield – Buildbase Honda
3 Cyrille Coulon – Suzuki France
4 Tom Church – SR75 World Team powered by Molson
5 Charles LeFrancois – Suzuki France
6 Mickael Musquin – Buildbase Honda
2013 Arenacross Series Standings
| 12/01/2013 | 12/01/2013 | 19/01/2013 | 19/01/2013 | 02/02/2013 | 02/02/2013 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | No. | Name | Total | Diff | Gap | Ra | He | Ra | He | Ra | He | ||
| 1 | 407 | Adam Chatfield | 59 | 0 | 0 | 20 | x | 20 | x | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 155 | Jack Brunell | 51 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 18 | x | 20 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 272 | Neville Bradshaw | 47 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 16 | x | 11 | x | ||
| 4 | 1 | Tom Church | 41 | 18 | 6 | 16 | x | 10 | x | 15 | x | ||
| 5 | 23 | Carl Nunn | 38 | 21 | 3 | 13 | x | 14 | 1 | 10 | x | ||
| 6 | 50 | Martin Barr | 36 | 23 | 2 | 15 | x | 9 | x | 12 | x | ||
| 7 | 871 | Cyrille Coulon | 33 | 26 | 3 | x | x | 15 | 2 | 16 | x | ||
| 8 | 162 | Stuart Edmonds | 29 | 30 | 4 | 14 | x | 8 | x | 7 | x | ||
| 9 | 225 | Charles LeFrancois | 26 | 33 | 3 | x | x | 12 | x | 14 | x | ||
| 10 | 85 | Mickael Musquin | 26 | 33 | 0 | x | x | 13 | x | 13 | x | ||
| 11 | 5 | Graeme Irwin | 21 | 38 | 5 | 12 | x | x | x | 9 | x | ||
| 12 | 917 | Eric Sorby | 20 | 39 | 1 | 9 | x | 11 | x | x | x | ||
| 13 | 15 | Adrien Lopes | 16 | 43 | 4 | 8 | x | x | x | 8 | x | ||
| 14 | 601 | Romain Biela | 11 | 48 | 5 | 11 | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| 15 | 7 | Gordon Crockard | 0 | 59 | 11 | DNF | x | DNF | x | x | x | ||
