SR75 World Team Suzuki underlined its status as the most dominant team in the history of the Power Maxed Arenacross Tour at Birmingham’s Genting Arena on Saturday night with a 1-2 finish in the Main Event.
After the disappointment of Newcastle a week earlier, round three brought a determination and focus from both Thomas Ramette and Cyrille Coulon which could leave nobody in any doubt as to the commitment and determination of this team.
Simply put, these guys showed their class on the best track of the tour so far.
Qualifying went well with Thomas fourth and Cyrille fifth. Crucially, TR put his fastest times in at the end of the session when conditions were at their tough- est as both guys stayed calm and worked on alternative lines.
The track crew did a good job with preparations for the night show to get some moisture into the dirt and Cyrille got off to a sol- id start in heat one, having a cool race with Cedric Soubeyras and Hugo Basaula. Cyrille sat in third until a final corner pass moved him to a cool second place.
Heat two saw Thomas control his pace and remain calm to take a solid second while working on lines.
The guys lined up 2-3 for their second heat and TR pulled the holeshot to lead Soubeyras and CC. Cyrille set about working his way past Soub into second place and controlled his pace with Thomas riding a perfect heat up front.
TR rode the top-eight Hot Lap contest with another show of control and focus to take the win and the valuable three championship points that go with it as the fight-back continued.
Both guys nailed the start in the Main Event with TR taking a beautiful holeshot with CC in tow. Thomas took control a er an ini al burst to pull a gap as Cyrille worked the track and focussed on consistency while those around him dropped off one after another as they pushed the pace to stay with our guys.
Both riders showed a cool class to reel o the laps with a significant gap to Fabien Izoird in third. There was no hiding the delight from the guys as they crossed the line – a feeling that runs through every member of our crew and team partners as a 1-2 in this sport is something very, very special and for our guys to come back after last week’s disappointment shows what these amazing athletes are all about.
“Wow! That was an intense night,” said Team Principal, Geoff Walker. “These guys never fail to amaze me with their work ethic and ultimate focus. My respect for them still somehow grows literally every day after all the years we have worked together.
“It was great to see the guys work their race bikes like this as we work so hard to take these already fantastic Suzuki bikes and develop them so our guys feel completely at one with their machines.
“I cannot stress how proud I am of everyone involved in what we do. Our support structure is small and we work to maximise every department and remain strong during the ups and downs of our sport all year long.
“Thanks to our amazing riders, our crew, our team partners and the event crew for giving us a great track to showcase how cool this sport is.”
“Tonight has been surreal,” said Thomas Ramette. “I have had great speed all tour and tonight I felt controlled and it felt cool to race this track. I needed to get back into the championship after last week and we worked as always to make things perfect.
“It is great to go 1-2 again with Cyrille and of course it is great to get this win in front of the fantastic fans here in Birmingham. This place never fails to provide a great track and atmosphere.
“Thanks as always to our team partners, the team crew and of course everyone who supports us.”
“Tonight I am happy to be with my team-mate on the podium,” said Cyrille Coulon. “We race good tonight and I feel good on my race bike. My starts are good and this new bike is amazing. I feel comfortable and I know I am making a good feeling in the races.
“Everyone works so hard in this team all the years I ride for them and it is great for us all that we make such a great night and a great final. Thanks SR75 Suzuki and all team sponsors, our supporters and all fans in this cool place.”
