Tour hits the Toon
By TMX Archives on 28th Jan 15
The 2015 Arenacross Tour has passed the halfway mark and this weekend the UK and Europes top indoor specialists hit the road to the North East for a Sunday afternoon showdown at Newcastles Metro Radio Arena.
The big story from last weekend's fourth round was 2013 champ Adam Chatfield's amazing comeback when he topped the podium just five days after leaving a Belfast hospital.
There's no doubt that the Brazil-based Brit is a class act indoors and his performance moved him up to third in the Pro standings – and that's despite his no-score in Northern Ireland. Adam – who won at round two – is 20 points adrift of series leader Thomas Ramette.
But with four rounds to go he's still got time to overhaul the Frenchman who topped the podium at the opening round of the tour in Manchester at the start of January.
Sandwiched between the pair is series newcomer Florent Richier, a last-minute fill-in for Steve James' injured champion Fabien Izoird. Richier's form has been outstanding with three second-placed finishes but he's still looking for his debut win.
In Manchester he admitted he wasn't used to riding ruts indoors and if the soil in Newcastle is anything like last year's then he'll get even more experience but given the way he adapted to conditions at the opening round he's a serious threat.
Winner of the second night in Belfast, Italian Angelo Pellegrini had a bad night in Birmingham and slipped to fourth in the standings just one point ahead of Harri Kullas. The Finn looks solid in his heats but so far hasn't translated that form to a final. Behind Harri sits the next-best-Brit Elliott Banks-Browne.
EBB's getting better every round as he gels with his new machine and we saw last year in Liverpool that he's got the skills to win when he came out on top on his 24th birthday. The Suffolk star turns 25 the day after Newcastle so will be looking for an early present.
With a question mark hanging over Steven Clarke, realistically the only other Pro in with a solid chance of winning is Ramette's French team-mate Cyrille Coulon. CC#5 has had a slow start to the series but with his attacking style and all-out commitment don't bet against him.
Round five kicks off at 3pm this Sunday (February 1) at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle.
For more information and to buy tickets go to www.arenacrossuk.com
FOR MORE MX DIARY STORIES SEE TMX NEWS JANUARY 29, 2015 (ISSUE 1956)
