2017 Arenacross ready for action
By Team TMX on 21st Sep 16
With the outdoor season drawing to a close plans are well advanced for the highly-anticipated 2017 Arenacross Tour which kicks off on January 7 at the Manchester Arena.
The AX Tour can never be accused of standing still and the 2017 series will be no different with some high-profile changes including a revised race format that promises to be off the wall, the UK's biggest ever prize pot of cash totalling £140,000, a highly-competitive Pro Lites Under-23 class, new Pro teams and a Pro Hot Lap.
The newly-styled and dangerously competitive Head-to-Head races will replace the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). This means that instead of the top eight riders going through to the one-on-one, points-scoring carnage, the Pro riders positioned ninth to 16th after qualification, will take to the circuit, together with the top two fastest under-23yrs Pro Lites riders, in a fight to the wire.
They will be set off in pairs and while points won't be allocated there is a chance for the top four to grab some decent prize money. For the riders with nothing to lose but all to play for this new-style H2H is guaranteed to be explosive.
AX has always been fast-paced and punishing so while the top eight Pro qualifiers won't have to face the ultra-tense H2H or LCQ as in previous years they will still be pushed to the limit with a superpole-style Hot Lap against the clock. Here they can score additional points which could be crucial when it comes to the final championship positions.
In this innovative AX feature, the top eight will individually run a one-off timed lap and they can pick up three points for the fastest, two for second and one for third.
Start-line positions will not be affected by the hot lap though as those positions will have already been determined earlier in the day by qualifying and the evening's heat races.
"For decades the UK motocross world was starved of a consistent and professional indoor race series,” said AX promoter Matt Bates. "Now I'm proud to say that when we complete our fifth consecutive year, having paid almost half a million pounds in prize money and attracted almost 200,000 fans since we started, we have one of the best indoor series in the world and it can expand way beyond our imagination. We offer bucket loads of exposure to the industry and a chance for ‘professional' riders to earn a living from racing dirt bikes.”
2017 Arenacross tickets are on sale now via www.arenacrossuk.com or by calling the Box Office on 0844 338 8000.
