Team Suzuki Press Office – December 31.
The 2019 Arenacross indoor motocross race series gets underway in just a few weeks, when the gate drops for the opening leg of the six-round international championship in the UK.
Kicking off on Friday, January 18th at The SSE Arena, Belfast, the 2019 edition welcomes several new-to-Arenacross Suzuki competitors, as well as previous Suzuki-mounted Pro champions.
Under new rules for the 2019 Arenacross series, the 450cc Pro and 250cc Pro Lites riders will each contest two main events per class, and the results from each class will be combined to give an overall score. The top six Pros and the top six Lites will then be seeded through to the evening’s climax; the Arenacross Super Final. There is a twist for 2019 in that the 250 riders will get first gate pick, giving them a start-line advantage over the 450 riders.
Reigning Arenacross Pro, and recently crowned French Supercross champ Cedric Soubeyras, who won both 2018 championships on a Suzuki RM-Z450, has signed up for the Arenacross Tour, as has three-time Arenacross victor Thomas Ramette of privateer team SR75 Suzuki, who won the Pro class in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and was vice-champ in 2018. Leading French rider Ramette will be joined by fellow countryman Charles Lefrançois (third in 2018 Pros) in the 450cc Pro class, whilst long-standing team-mate Cyrille Coulon switches to the 250cc Pro Lites for 2019.
A new Suzuki-mounted team enters the Arenacross ring for 2019; Castrol Suzuki MBC. The team will field American hotshot Cole Martinez from Arizona and Portuguese Diogo Graca. Martinez was crowned King of Stuttgart at the ADAC Supercross Cup in November and leads the series ahead of Lefrançois. The final of the German Supercross will take place at Dortmund, Germany on January 11th to 13th and both Suzuki riders are in a strong position to win the title ahead of the opening Arenacross double-header on January 18th and 19th.
Arenacross Tour Dates:
18th January – The SSE Arena, Belfast
19th January – The SSE Arena, Belfast
1st February – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
2nd February – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
15th February – The Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield
16th February – The Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield
