Charley Irwin has his sights set on top spot in Belfast Arenacross

The last time the 11 year-old raced in Belfast he brought the house down as he claimed a third place on the Friday night and went one better on Saturday night finishing second. “It was back in 2016 when I last raced there and to be on the podium twice was pretty special but now that I have moved up from the 65cc class into the SW85cc class I believe I can go one better and stand on the top step at my home round for the first time. I’m really finding the 85cc KTM suits me a lot better as my results are showing so heading to Belfast I’m confident of getting the job done.” Said Charley.

The local boy has taken to the SW85cc Discount Beds KTM like a duck to water since stepping up last year and finished second in the Cumbrian MX Championship. At the recent Dublin Supercross Charley raced to three wins before claiming the final with yet another victory, so his confidence looking ahead to Belfast is well founded.

For the first-time ever, the opening round of the series will be a Friday and Saturday night double-header at The SSE Arena, Belfast on the 18th and 19th of January 2019! The series will then head back across the Irish Sea to The Genting Arena, Birmingham over the weekend of February 1st and 2nd, with the grand finale firing up Sheffield’s Fly DSA Arena on February 15th and 16th.

Looking ahead to the 2019 series, Matt Bates, CEO of Action Sports Live (ASL) the company behind Arenacross, said: “Arenacross never fails to entertain some pretty big audiences year after year and as we enter our seventh season of staging the tour, we’re more excited than ever to constantly challenging ourselves to deliver something fresh to the year-round motocross fan. To kick off the series in Belfast is pretty special and I’m sure it will be two nights to remember.”

The organisers hope to make an announcement soon regarding other top local riders that they are in negotiations with regarding the rounds in Belfast.