A packed SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow on Saturday night witnessed some great bar-to-bar AX racing and a return to competition from two-time British MX champion Billy MacKenzie for round two of the 2017 Arenacross Tour.
SR75 World Team Suzuki rider Cyrille Coulon had to pull one out of the bag after an off in his first heat race left the Frenchman with it all to do if you was going to make the Main Event. A win in his second heat smoothed things over, giving the Suzuki pilot a boost ahead of the Hot Laps, which he went on to ace, claiming three extra championship points.
Coulon then led the Main Event from wire to wire and was followed home by his teammate Thomas Ramette, as he started his fightback from last week’s disastrous opening round in Manchester.
It was a mixed night for MVR-D Husqvarna as they attempted to put their recent rider troubles behind them (they split from Kristian Whatley last week).
The team drafted the ever popular Neville Bradshaw as a replacement but the South African ended the night with a big get off and a trip to A&E – Nev later said he was lucky to get away with just a broken hand.
MVR-D teammate Adrien Escoffier had his own troubles trying to make the final after a collision with Mat Bayliss in Heat 4. But he clearly has plenty of spirit and speed, and he put that to good effect in the final – picking up an impressive third place to move himself to third in the series standings.
In the overall points on the night, the newly-introduced Hot Lap result bumped Team RFX St Blazey’s Cedric Soubeyras up to third, which moved the Frenchman into fourth in the championship.
Home crowd hero Billy MacKenzie was enthusiastically cheered on as his fans nearly blew the roof off the stunning arena. And the Buildbase Honda Racing rider responded, taking the win in the Head-to-Head LCQ to make his way to the night’s final. MacKenzie is so often quick out of the start gate – that’s certainly what helped him to take the H2H final win – but in the Main, a poor start left him too much to do and he was unable to make any significant progress in the short-format race.
After an opening weekend to forget for SR75 World Team Suzuki, it all turned around for the close-knit team headed by Geoff Walker. With his win in the night’s final and the extra points gained in the Hot Laps, CC5 has wrestled the AX Red Plate from the Italian Stallion Angelo Pellegrini – who DNF’d in the Main after a get off – and the top six are now only split by four points.
Pro Lites
The youngest member of the Buildbase Honda team Chris Bayliss impressed in the first race. He kept his cool to find his way through traffic and took the win. The super-quick Yannis Irsuti won the second final and the I-fly JK Yamaha pilot continues to top the Pro Lites standings with Bayliss just three points behind.
Team Green Kawasaki’s Dylan Woodcock took the Pro Lites overall with two quality rides, taking second in both Glasgow finals. He sits 10 points behind Irsuti in the standings.
Supermini and 65cc
In Glasgow, the Supermini class was dominated by the trio of Kacey Hird, Team Green Kawasaki teammate Bobby Bruce and Wheeldon Off Road Centre’s Ben Clayton who took the overall for the Glasgow round.
But it wasn’t without drama for the Superminis. The second race witnessed a huge yard sale crash. And with all but about three riders in a massive tangled pile of bikes in front of the whoops, there was no choice but to re-rack at the starting gate, leaving Kacey Hird very frustrated after securing a sweet start.
Over in the 65cc class RFX KTM’s Ashton Boughen was once again in complete control and now has a seven point lead over Team Green Kawasaki’s Ben Mustoe.
The 2017 Arenacross Tour trucks south this week to Birmingham for round three at The Genting Arena on Saturday, January 21.
Tickets are still available via www.arenacrossuk.com or by calling the box office on 0844 338 8000.
Results AX Glasgow SSE Hydro Arena round two – Arenacross Tour 2017
Pro Main Event
- Cyrille Coulon, #5, SR75 World Suzuki
- Thomas Ramette, #1, SR75 World Suzuki
- Adrien Escoffier, #137, MVR-D Husqvarna
- Cedric Soubeyras, #85, Team RFX St Blazey
- Adam Chatfield, #407, Buildbase Honda Racing
- Jack Brunell, #155, Team Green Kawasaki
- Matt Bayliss, #4, Buildbase Honda Racing
- Billy Mackenzie, #211, Buildbase Honda Racing
- Hugo Basaula, #747, Team Green Kawasaki
- Florent Richier, #2, Keystone Honda Racing
Pro Championship
- Cyrille Coulon, SR75 World Suzuki, 33 points
- Angelo Pellegrini, Team RFX St Blazey, 31 points
- Adrien Escoffier, MVR-D Husqvarna, 31 points
- Cedric Soubeyras, Team RFX St Blazey, 30 points
- Adam Chatfield, Buildbase Honda, 30 points
- Thomas Ramette, SR75 World Suzuki, 29 points
- Florent Richier, Keystone Honda Racing, 27 points
- Jack Brunell, Team Green Kawasaki, 27 points
- Matt Bayliss, Buildbase Honda, 25 points
- Hugo Basaula, Team Green Kawasaki, 22 points
Pro Lites Overall
- Dylan Woodcock, #60, Team Green Kawasaki
- Chris Bayliss, #259, Buildbase Honda Racing
- Yannis Irsuti,#170 I-Fly JK Yamaha
Pro Lites Championship
- Yannis Irsuti, I-Fly JK Yamaha, 75 points
- Chris Bayliss, Buildbase Honda, 72 points
- Dylan Woodcock, Team Green Kawasaki, 65 points
Supermini Overall
- Ben Clayton, #14
- Kacey Hird, #528
- Bobby Bruce, #579
Supermini Championship
- Ben Clayton, 78 points
- Kacey Hird, 72 points
- Bobby Bruce, 64 points
Youth 65cc Overall
- Ashton Boughen, #2
- Ben Mustoe, #3
- Shaun Mahoney, #11
Youth 65cc Championship
- Ashton Boughen, 78 points
- Ben Mustoe, 71 points
- Freddie Bartlett, 64 points
