This weekend’s epic event at the Genting Arena at Birmingham’s NEC went off with fantastic performances all round showing that every racer in the UK Arenacross Tour is hungry for success.
Both Cyrille Coulon and Thomas Ramette once again showed their class, maturity and speed through the day and night programmes using lines and hitting out consistent fast laps during qualifying and the racing, which would see them through to the solid third and fourth place results in the Main Event.
Thomas, who this week was running with a bit of an illness, now runs with four pole positions from four rounds and the fact he is having fun every time he hits the track is testament to his mental strength and incredible hunger, not to mention his ability and shear speed on a dirt bike!
Birmingham brought us another step towards something like our full strength as a team with Cyrille being able to take a result to match the speed he began showing in the previous two rounds in Belfast.
Cyrille was in a fully controlled place all day and night in Birmingham showing his amazing skill by passing riders with apparent ease and having fun while the track was in a good useable condition during the heat races. We are only a few weeks into his recovery after surgery and, with what is essentially a broken ankle this tough SOB never ceases to amaze us all here at the team.
The Birmingham event gives us a chance to meet up with most of our team partners and sponsors at the afternoon pit party and it was great to have so many of the people who help make this team operate at this level around to see how we do things.
When the racing began Thomas blasted into a comfortable lead in heat one and took the victory with control while Cyrille had to work around a few riders in his first heat to seal a controlled victory.
With a first corner ‘tangle’ under his belt Thomas had some work to do in his second heat but he again came through with a third place finish to comfortably make the main and qualify for the Head-to-Head races.
Cyrille once again had work to do and set about moving to the front while passing with clean moves and control. After a bit of ‘swapping’ with Harri Kullas for the lead CC5 took the win again to seal the number one gate pick for the Main.
The H2H races ended with TR6 taking a steady second to secure three points and Cyrille taking the final single point on offer after some more cool rides.
Main Event.
After a battling first couple of turns Thomas took an early lead for the first few laps of the Main, trying to hit his lines and race the track as he had all day. A couple of small mistakes saw Thomas drop a couple of places to Adam Chatfield and Florent Richier as Cyrille advanced from mid-pack up to fourth behind Thomas.
The flow was not with Thomas from mid-race so he kept things focused to hold his third position with Cyrille running cool laps behind. These two brought home two fantastic results for themselves and the team, and with Thomas extending his Pro championship lead to 11 points on an what could be classed as a slightly off day we are all buzzing. To top this off we took great points in the Pro Team Championship to stretch our lead a little further.
“Today was up and down for me but I am happy to take good points from my results tonight,” said Arenacross Championship points leader Thomas Ramette. “My speed is good, my bike is great and everyone in this team is giving me fantastic support and this means every lap I make in this Arenacross UK tour is fun.
“I want to win every time but I am learning with this team I can race with control and with no pressure I will make results. I will work hard this week and look forward to Newcastle. Thanks again to all our sponsors and it was great to meet everyone and race in this amazing atmosphere.”
“I feel good with my riding this race,” Cyrille Coulon said. “My condition is improving every time and I want to push for the next races to make more improvement.
“Every time I make improvements and I want [to be in] this team for winning. My speed is good today but I cannot make my moves in the final as track changes a little to make more strong for just ride inside line.
“I take my result and I am working for Newcastle. Thanks to my team and crew and thanks to all of our sponsors and friends for their support in this race. Big noise is big fun for the race.”
Geoff Walker, Team Owner commented: “This was another amazing event for us as a team and the sport as a whole.
“Screaming fans, great racing and an abundance of skill on show from some great professionals.
“I want to thank Thomas and Cyrille for their head down attitudes at this one in difficult circumstances. These boys never complain and are here to do work and race hard.
“Thomas is showing incredible control in this championship and is maturing every day into a very strong minded racer. This dimension in his racing backs up his insane speed on track which is an absolute pleasure to watch and encourage.
“The fact is, both Thomas and Cyrille are professional in their approach to racing, and indeed life, which means we can all work together to race every time with a pure focus and a smile on our faces. Simply put, when we do all we can and try as hard as we can the results will be what they will be.
“These guys give it everything and that will always be good enough for me and this team no matter what the result. I and the crew would like to congratulate Adam and Florient on their great podium performances in Birmingham.”
Thomas Ramette: Positions – Heat races 1-3, Head-to-Head 2nd, Main Event 3rd. Suzuki RMZ450
Cyrille Coulon: Positions – Heat races 1-1, Head-to-Head 4th, main event 4th Kawasaki KX450F
