Steel yourself for Sheffield!
By TMX Archives on 2nd Nov 07
ANOTHER long, hard outdoor season is behind us once again and as attention shifts from the great outdoors to the indoors and the spectacle of supercross, the opening round of the Future West promoted ACU British Supercross Championship arrives right on cue at the spiritual home of the UK supercross, the Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, tomorrow (Saturday) night.
The longest running and most successful domestic supercross of them all, Sheffield has played host to genuine legends and famous moments in its 11-year history, from that Jeremy McGrath headlined first event to Mike Metzeger's jaw-dropping backflip, but this year's event looks set to be one of the closest fought races ever seen inside the hallowed hall of the Hallam Arena.
And there is even the strong chance that the fans will see a home grown winner in the Pro classes.
Over the last decade, Sheffield has virtually been a North American benefit, with US and Canadian riders dominating proceedings and the podium, but in the shape of world MX2 number two Tommy Searle, for the first time, a British talent is ready and more than able to turn the tide of foreign dominance.
Coming off the back of his sensational GP and MXdN campaigns, and with his eyes clearly on the future of SX in America, Searle undoubtedly has the talent and the speed to grab the win, but it will be no easy feat to achieve as the Sheffield line-up this year is stacked, and with no obviously superior US rider to run away with things hopefully the fans are in for a real knock-down drag-out war at the front of the Pro 125 and Pro Open classes.
There is still a strong chance of a US winner though, as recently crowned British MX2 champ Mike Brown and Jeff Alessi are both scheduled to appear, and the Canadian contingent is out in force too with Sheffield regular Colton Faccciotti heading up a charge that includes Jean Sebastian Roy, Doug Dehan and Ryan Lockhart.
A surprise package could well be Spaniard Xavier Hernandez who is definitely no slouch on a supercross track, while if Searle is to grab a victory he is going to have to overcome a strong UK contingent too as Carl Nunn, Lewis Gregory, Gordon Crockard, and Ashley Greedy all appear on the entry list. All four are technically very precise and controlled riders and Nunn and Gregory in particular have successful histories at Sheffield and strong, crowd pleasing performances should be expected from them for sure.
See T+MX News, Friday, November 2, 2007 for full report