Monster Energy Arenacross down to the wire at Wembley
By Sean Lawless on 17th Feb 16
The 2016 Monster Energy Arenacross Tour will go down to the wire in Wembley Arena on February 27 after defending champion Thomas Ramette (SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki) raced to an epic victory in Sheffield Arena last Saturday night, closing the gap to the top to just three points.
And there were double celebrations for SR75 with Thomas' team-mate Cyrille Coulon joining him on the podium in third.
Thomas' Main Event win was his fifth of the series and he heads to the 11th and final round of the championship riding a wave of confidence.
"Tonight was tough as I feel a little low in my health,” said Thomas. "I work hard to focus because I really like racing here in Sheffield Arena. I had to take the victory tonight so I pushed my focus and I have come away with the win and sit only three points behind in the championship which is amazing.
Pressure
"I am so happy to have Cyrille on the podium with me and my team are making everything perfect for me every time I am on the track on my amazing bike. I thank every sponsor and friend from the team for all they do.
"I feel no pressure now going into London for the finale as I have nothing to lose. I was knocked out of this championship and I have worked very hard to get myself back into the race.
"This makes me very happy and I look forward to racing at Wembley again, I am very excited.”
Both riders showed their class in Sheffield with solid qualifying on a loose track. Cyrille took a fantastic pole position - his first in three years of trying - with Thomas a comfortable third.
Going into the evening programme Thomas knew exactly what was required and he showed total focus on his RM-Z 450 to win both his heats. Cyrille came from a long way back in his first heat for second and would have won his other heat race but for a mistake two laps from home.
When the gate dropped on the Main Event it was Thomas who reacted first to claim the holeshot and he put in an almost flawless performance to lead all the way to the flag. Cyrille muscled his way up to third in the early laps and held his position until the end.
As well as running 2-3 in the Pro championship, SR75 Molson Racing Suzuki now lead the Pro team championship by 72 points.
"The guys rode amazing all day and in the show,” said team boss Geoff Walker. "To have both riders on the podium is just what we aimed for and it is very cool to accomplish this goal.
"Both riders again raced with respect and showed their class to take these results to get Thomas back into the championship hunt when we had been written off just a few weeks ago.
"The 72-point lead in the Pro team championship makes me personally incredibly proud as our teamwork, with support from our team partners on our amazing Suzuki race bikes, is so important to me as the boss.
"We will continue to work as a team to prepare for London and to say we are excited about this is an understatement.
"We have nothing at all to lose and this is a great position to be in.
"Once again I would like to thank all our team sponsors, our amazing riders and of course Paul Coop for his pit work this weekend.”
