It's the power of London
By TMX Archives on 25th Feb 15
The eighth and final round of the 2015 Arenacross Tour crashes into the capital on Saturday (February 28) and with double points up for grabs there are five riders with a mathematical chance of lifting the Pro title.
The eighth and final round of the 2015 Arenacross Tour crashes into the capital on Saturday (February 28) and with double points up for grabs there are five riders with a mathematical chance of lifting the Pro title.
Of course, mathematical and realistic are two different things and while fifth-placed Adam Chatfield (CBR ASA Honda) would be a popular choice to regain the crown he won in 2013 even the 27-year-old doesn't give himself much of a chance.
"I think as of right now with London still to come I'm the only rider to have won twice," he said.
"It's a shame I got hurt [in Belfast] otherwise I would have been in for the championship - but because I couldn't even race I missed a potential 24 points.
"The last couple of races I've had some bad luck and in Sheffield I got taken out at the start but the crash in Belfast has definitely held me back."
Leading the field is French favourite Thomas Ramette (SR75 Molson Suzuki) on 134 points.
Out of all the championship contenders he got the sh*ttiest end of the stick after Ashley Greedy's banzai move in the first turn of Sheffield's Main Event and saw a 13-point lead slashed to just six.
The man who did the slashing was fellow Frenchman Florent Richier (LPE Racing Kawasaki) who took his first Main Event win of the series.
Making his AX debut in 2015, Flo has been both fast and super-consistent and team boss Steve James is heading into Wembley Arena with an open mind.
"Our preparations are going to be the same as normal," he said. "We're just going there with the same frame of mind, to be the best we can.
"Whoever wins deserves to win and with double points it's going to be so close.
"Ramette's been great all the way through and so has Flo. As we've seen this year anything can happen - so often it's luck that wins it on the night.
"It's been a great series but very hard, much harder than last year. If we finish second I'll still be very proud.
"The atmosphere has been electric and I'm really looking forward to London - it's going to be a great final round."
It's likely that Steve will also field Mika Musquin and another hired gun as part of a two-man SJR Kawasaki team which, along with Loic Rombaut (LPE Racing Kawasaki), could hand Richier the advantage as Ramette will just have team-mate Cyrille Coulon to ride shotgun for him on Saturday night.
Is that fair? Er, probably not...
Italian Angelo Pellegrini (Oakleaf Honda) lies third in the standings and with a 24-point deficit to Ramette it's safe to say it would be a huge shock if the second night winner in Belfast was to lift the title.
And the same has to be said for fast Frenchman Coulon, who's eight points behind Pellegrini but if he can get the starts he's got what it takes to move up to third in the title chase.
And with SR75 Molson holding a 33-point lead over LPE Racing Kawasaki in the team championship there's much more at stake than individual honours at Wembley.
For more details and to buy tickets go to www.arenacrossuk.com
FOR MORE MX DIARY STORIES SEE TMX NEWS, FERUARY 26, 2015 (ISSUE 1960)
