SR75-Molson Racing Suzuki’s Thomas Ramette won the 2016 Monster Arenacross Championship, powered by Ford Ranger, that concluded at SSE Arena in London, UK at the weekend for the second successive season.
The French RM-Z450 rider arrived at the Wembley venue three points behind in the championship chase.
On the night, Ramette, who scored five Main Event wins, seven podiums and nine pole positions in the hotly-contested series, was unbeatable:
After winning his heat races, an exciting battle followed in the final Main Event of the season, with Ramette and arch rival Cedric Soubeyras bar-to-bar on several occasions before Ramette took the chequered flag in fourth place to seal his second title and become the first rider to achieve back-to-back wins.
Team-mate Cyrille Coulon finished the series in fourth position after being disqualified from the event following an on-track incident with another rider, but his strong performances in the series helped Suzuki run-away with the Manufacturer Championsip. “I honestly cannot be happier!,” said a delighted Ramette. “This is such a big emotion for me after a tough series. I gave everything to this championship and I am champion again when we had the toughest series so far. This is an incredible feeling and I am so happy for my team.
“Everything has been perfect with my team and my bike and I feel proud to be a part of this team. I had to deal with many things through this tour and what I had to cope with in Wembley is ridiculous but I have a great mentality which my team help me to control and focus only on racing.
“I thank everyone involved and I want to say thank you to Geoff for being a great boss, to Paul and Tony for their work each weekend; and of course to our sponsors and my supporters.”
“My championship has been great and I feel strong, I am making great starts and my SR75 Molson Suzuki bike is perfect for my style,” said Cyrille Coulon. “I wanted to make a big result in Wembley for myself and my team but I lost my cool in the final after someone made big contact and injured me in the head-to-head races.
“I have been disqualified from the race and lost third in the championship, which is disappointing, but Thomas was fastest guy and I congratulate my team-mate and my team for the championship. I pushed hard for 11 rounds in this championship and my team is so good. Thanks to my team, my family, all our fantastic sponsors, Paul, Tony and the Boss Man.”
Team boss, Geoff Walker commented: “It’s been an amazing championship and I am ecstatic and incredibly emotional. The efforts of both riders along with our team partners, supporters and families have been unreal and I can’t thank them all enough.
“By now we all know Cyrille was disqualified at Wembley for making contact with another rider and I have to respect the series’ sanctioning federation’s decision. Although it is impossible to control riders in the heat of race action Cyrille knows it is unacceptable as a rider in this team to take overly-aggressive action. I actively discourage this and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous.
“Having said that I stand by Cyrille as this was his only small error in three years as an SR75 rider and I won’t let it cloud the amazing feeling of being back-to-back double Monster Energy Arenacross Champions!”
Ramette and SR75 Molson Suzuki are currently in Daytona, Florida to take part in this weekend’s ninth round of the AMA/ FIM World Supercross Championship.
