They think it’s all over... It Iz now
By Dick Law on 20th Feb 14
Fabien Izoird lifted the 2014 Garmin Arenacross Series crown at Sheffields Motorpoint arena on Saturday night, in front of 7,000 screaming motocross fans.
The French Apico LPE Kawasaki rider won round six in the ‘Steel City'.
Izoird's nearest challenger, Daniel McCoy could still tie on points – if he were to win the main and the ‘Head-to-Head', while Izoird failed to score any points at the final round at
Wembley Arena.
However Izoird would still claim the championship by virtue of his higher number of race wins.
The interesting Sheffield track looked wet, but wasn't, and rode well, making for some great racing, although the whoops section caused the riders problems all night long and could have cost the Dyer and Butler KTM team both of its riders through injury.
The evening show kicked off with heat one just after 7pm, as Thomas Ramette and Ryan Voase went up the start-straight side-by-side.
A mistake by Voase on the opening circuit meant he ended the lap back in fifth, as Ramette led from Chris Bayliss and Izoird.
By the end of the lap two, though, Izoird was in the lead ahead of Ramette and Coulon as Italian Angelo Pellegrini took over fifth spot.
A lap later Coulon was up to second and with three laps to go Pellegrini was up to third, as Ramette hung on to fourth to the end.
James Harrison and Jason Dougan both crashed out and took no further part in the event due to their injuries.
Broken
Steven Clarke grabbed the holeshot in heat two, but as he came to the end of the whoops section for the first time he nose-dived into the banked turn and went down heavily, walking off the track and out of the event with a suspected broken wrist.
This left British outdoor champion Kristian Whatley in the lead, ahead of team-mate McCoy and Loic Rombaut.
On lap two of the action-packed heat, Whatley went over the whoops at such speed that he completely missed the turn at the end, carried on over the banking, and rejoined the race in third, as McCoy and Rombaut dived past.
Jamie Law was making up for a bad start and was up to sixth when he came off at the very same place his team-mate Clarke had on the first lap, resulting in another suspected broken wrist and both bikes loaded back into the team transporter.
With three laps to go Rombaut overhauled McCoy for the win with Whatley third, some way behind his young team-mate McCoy.
Pellegrini grabbed the holeshot at the start of the third heat and McCoy slotted into second at the end of the first lap, with the ever-threatening presence of Izoird in third.
McCoy made a couple of mistakes, allowing Izoird through to second and with five laps to go Izoird preformed a typical block-pass on Pellegrini for the race win, as McCoy hung on to third ahead of Luke Arbon.
The fourth and final heat of the night looked like all-out war as Ramette and Whatley went up the start straight side-by-side.
Whatley exited the first turn in the lead, though, as Ramette was shuffled back to fourth behind Neville Bradshaw and Coulon.
Whatley over-cooked the whoops on lap three and missed the turn, again, dropping him back to third as Coulon and Bradshaw moved ahead.
Slip
Rombaut was making up ground from the back of the pack after a bad start and was now in fifth and really motoring.
At the halfway stage Whatley made another slip which enabled Rombaut and Ramette to pass, as the leading pair of Coulon and Bradshaw pulled away at the front.
With two laps to go leader Coulon messed up in the whoops, crashed and exited the race, leaving Bradshaw to inherit the lead from the flying Rombaut and Whatley.
On the final lap Rombaut wrestled the lead from Bradshaw, but was deemed to have passed on a waved yellow flag and was penalised one minute, which in effect placed him last.
Bradshaw toook the win from Whatley and Ramette, with a poorly Ashley Greedy fourth.
With Romain Biela and Chris Bayliss making the main via the LCQ race, the scene was set for an epic finale.
Close
As the gate dropped for the final race of the night, Izoird and Pellegrini led into turn one and none of the others could get close for the rest of the race.
Hovever, behind the leaders all hell was breaking loose.
Whatley was in third for four laps until he fell following a clash with Coulon and after being passed by the on-form Rombaut and Bradshaw, the British Champion slipped back to eighth before he started a fightback.
Ramette had a midfield start and then crashed back to tenth on the opening lap to finish the race in ninth, just behind a struggling Whatley. Izoird, meanhwile, notched up his fourth win of the series and his third maximum points score.
The finishing order was Pellegrini, Rombaut, Coulon, McCoy and Bradshaw, with Chris Bayliss the first UK rider in seventh – and the last to be lapped.
New champion Izoird said: "It's been a great night for me and the team as I won both my heats, the main event and the head-to-head' and my Apico LPE Kawasaki team-mate was on the podium as well.
"All night I have had good starts and great speed for maximum points in my first time in Sheffield.”
The Rookie race is always manic and with the new champion Todd Kellett absent through illness, it was Mitchell Lewis' time to win a race on his MX World Honda.
Lewis got the holeshot with Ben Harrison doing all he could to stay with him, while Charlie Putnam and Joe Clayton scrapped for third.
Joe Jeffries joined in the fun for third, until he crashed down to ninth on lap five as Oliver Benton – initially sixth – took over fourth place, a lap down on the leaders.
Although Kellett can't be beaten for the championship, second place is still up for grabs as Lewis and Clayton are now equal on points with one round remaining.
Aaron Booker headed the Big-Wheel 85 class from the drop of the gate to the chequered flag, leaving Harry Kimber and Marcus Phelps to fight it out for second place, with both riders making mistakes and taking advantage of errors made by the other.
In the end Phelps claimed second, with Kimber third ahead of Lee Perfect, who spent the whole race in fourth.
Things couldn't be tighter in the championship chase, with any of the top three realistically in with a chance of the title. Ben Burridge on his DN Honda only just won the Small-Wheel 85 class.
Burridge holeshot, but Lewis Hall soon ousted the fast-starting Kurt Griffiths and pressured Burridge all the way to the finish line, the pair crossing it almost side byside.
Preston Williams took a fine third after passing Griffiths on lap three.
Fast
The title will be decided at the
last round between Burridge and Griffiths.
Buster Hart is the Junior 65cc champion, after the Bikesport KTM rider passed the fast-starting Jay Sevitt on on lap one and he went on to notch up another win to add to three others in the series.
Todd Leadbitter moved from sixth early on to finish second in the six-lap race, as Sevitt hung on to third ahead of Callum McCaul.
Although Hart is the champion any one of seven will riders be battling it out for the class runner-up position at Wembley in two weeks' time.
