The 2026 Arenacross Tour, Presented by Dirt Store, came to its conclusion at the SSE Arena in Belfast, and the megastar that is Dean Wilson continued to win in the most exciting way, fighting through the pack, and ultimately still not quite dealing well with those pesky Head-to-Head races. There were great performances wherever you looked at the final night of Arenacross 2026!
With Martin Barr already sidelined from a crash on Friday, the last remaining home Pro rider, James Mackrel, hurt himself in morning Practice and couldn’t ride for Substance JPR KTM – “I’m gutted as I was feeling really good!”. Marty was able to get back trackside to support his son in the E-Mini class, and the multitude of home riders in the support classes kept the crowd behind them!
Phoenix Tools Fantic rider John Adamson was the revelation of the Hot Laps session, holding on for a season-best fourth, only beaten by AJP Racing’s Adam Chatfield, J3M Shocktech Racing star Matt Bayliss sending it into second, then of course Wilson putting the #1 Armor Vision Powered by St Blazey Honda into pole position.
The opening Pro Main Event saw Matt Bayliss hit the front immediately, followed by the Stark Future machine of Jack Brunell. Adamson was again sharp off the gate in third, while his fellow Scot Wilson was languished in ninth out of turn one, but not for long. He fought his way brilliantly to fourth by the end of the first full lap, as Dylan Woodcock put the Dirt Store Triumph into third.
Wilson would snap past Woodcock at half distance to take second as Brunell dropped to fourth behind the top two in the series, then they both set after Bayliss! Finally they both got him, Dylan nearly squeezing past the Honda too, on lap nine of the twelve. It finished Wilson, Woodcock, and Bayliss, as Brunell could do no better than fourth, with Chatfield fifth.
That man Adamson again claimed the early lead in the second Pro Main Event, but Wilson and Woodcock were right with him and instantly past to take up the top two positions. Sadly Brunell, outside the top five off the start, got a rhythm section badly wrong and fell awkwardly in the mid-pack. In a difficult spot for help, the red flag came out to stop the race. Undiagnosed at the time of writing, Jack went to hospital conscious and aware. We wish him all the best.
On the restart, Wilson took command instantly and was never troubled. Matt Bayliss and Chatfield disputed second, with the 2013 Champion taking the spot halfway through the shortened race. Bayliss was just nabbed by Woodcock for third in the closing laps, before his teammate Eddie Wade also got past on the final circulation. Deano’s clear win sealed the Championship for the second year in succession, clearly a worthy Champion.
In the Head-to-Heads, Wilson dispatched new Pro-Am Champ Louis Brookes, but fell victim to a move from Chatfield to again miss the H2H final. Chatfield was met in the final by Wade and Matt Bayliss, and Wade just had that extra aggression to bring it home.
With third in the Championship on the line, Bayliss was fired up and led early in race three. Wade was on a high, however, and fired into the lead on lap four, before Wilson inevitably blitzed them both in the whoops, patiently picking his moment. Wade was able to just keep Wilson in sight, and that second place was enough to make it a Dirt Store Triumph 2-3 on the podium, and scoop the Team Championship award in the process. Woodcock took that third place to seal second in the series, and Matt Bayliss took fourth to take that third position in the series!
As always, the Pro Championship provided plenty of drama, action, and surprises. Your worthy Champion though, for the second year in row, is Deano Wilson!
Main Event 1
- Dean Wilson 5:04.497
- Dylan Woodcock +2.990
- Matt Bayliss +6.233
Main Event 2
- Dean Wilson 3:24.445
- Adam Chatfield +4.303
- Dylan Woodcock +6.332
Head-to-Head Final
- Eddie Wade 32.002
- Matt Bayliss +3.741
- Adam Chatfield +4.333
Main Event 3
- Dean Wilson 6:46.158
- Eddie Wade +4.152
- Dylan Woodcock +10.409
Pro Overall
- Dean Wilson 75 Points
- Dylan Woodcock 62 Points
- Eddie Wade 56 Points
Pro Championship
- Dean Wilson 228 Points
- Dylan Woodcock 182 Points
- Matt Bayliss 158 Points
Pro-Am
Just as in his Qualifying heat, Dan Bewley pulled out his best Speedway starting technique to grab the Holeshot in the opening Pro-Am race, but series leader Louis Brookes was right in his wake, and past by the time they completed the first full lap! Kyle McNicol was right at the sharp end in third ahead of Nev Bradshaw, with teenager Harry Lee in fifth. There were poor starts for strong qualifiers Josh Greedy and Callum McCaul, and neither truly recovered from them, finishing in seventh and eighth. Bradshaw worked past McNicol for third on lap two, but took until half-distance to close in on Bewley, who was having his best ride of the Tour! The veteran took second place on lap five, and Lee was just able to wear the Stark rider down to take third with two laps to go. Bewley still took a fine fourth ahead of McNicol, who had fought hard against Josh Taylor in a great scrap! The flying Brookes just needed a top ten in race two to clinch the title.
The Stark-riding teenager was never gonna be happy with that, however, and took a clean Holeshot from Lee in race two, while Greedy didn’t fancy a repeat of race one and was up there in third from the get-go this time! McNicol, James Rutter on the Honda, and Bradshaw followed, but Bewley was right at the back with McCaul and that was where they would both finish.
Bradshaw worked through the pack brilliantly, passing McNicol on the second lap, then Rutter on lap four. He hinted down a near five-second gap on Greedy to nab the Welshman on the penultimate lap, although he had already done enough to secure a podium spot, and second in the Championship! Brookes did his red plate justice with a brilliant ride, and Lee put in his best performance of the series to claim second on the night, and fourth in the series behind a consistent Greedy. Louis was proclaimed Champion, then called into action to race Dean Wilson in a Head-to-Head race immediately after the podium! It was a great series for the 18-year-old from Shropshire, a very worthy Pro-Am Champion and another trophy for the Stark Varg.
Race 1:
- Louis Brookes 4:20.803
- Neville Bradshaw +9.032
- Harry Lee +10.702
Race 2:
- Louis Brookes 3:32.633
- Harry Lee +5.225
- Neville Bradshaw +7.011
Overall
- Louis Brookes 50 Points
- Harry Lee 42 Points
- Neville Bradshaw 42 Points
Championship Overall
- Louis Brookes 147 Points
- Neville Bradshaw 126 Points
- Josh Greedy 115 Points
Supermini
After two crashes had cost John Slade his perfect season on Friday, he made amends tonight with a typically masterful display to take home the Supermini title! Mason Brown was hot enough off the gate to lead for the first lap and a half, but after Slade went past, the two fastest Small-Wheel riders of the series, Mason Staddon and Cameron Berry, also managed to pass him through the race. Berry in particular did well to recover from a sub-par start to claim second on circuit, advancing by one position per lap and confirming himself as the top Small-Wheel rider of the series, just ahead of Staddon. Kai Benjamin recovered from his rough Friday night to confirm third in the Small-Wheel class, although Finlay Hoskisson took third in that class for this round.
Brown was confirmed as the second-best Big-Wheel rider of the campaign, with Frank Bishop third in that category, but no-one could touch John Slade. A true star in the making, we can only watch with crossed fingers that such incredible talent gets taken all the way to the top of adult racing. He really is that good.
Supermini Big-Wheel (Night Race)
- John Slade 3:40.911
- Mason Brown +22.743
- Frank Bishop +23.475
Supermini Small-Wheel
- Cameron Berry 3:55.102
- Mason Staddon +5.739
- Kai Benjamin +1 Lap
Overall – Big-Wheel
- John Slade 50 Points
- Mason Brown 38 Points
- Frank Bishop 34 Points
Overall – Small-Wheel
- Mason Staddon 42 Points
- Cameron Berry 37 Points
- Finlay Hoskisson 23 Points
Championship – Big-Wheel
- John Slade 141 Points
- Mason Brown 110 Points
- Frank Bishop 93 Points
Championship – Small-Wheel
- Cameron Berry 128 Points
- Mason Staddon 122 Points
- Kai Benjamin 73 Points
Mini
With Roy Townley looking fast in the morning, Championship leader Blake Marks-Bracey was taking no chances to make sure of things, with a stunning start that immediately set the tone for the race. Townley kept him honest throughout, while Finlee Pope held third ahead of Preston Killoran. Pope needed to pass Townley to keep his third place in the series, as Killoran was close enough to keep second. Pope set the fastest lap of the race with two laps to go to close on Townley, but it was to no avail. BMB blitzed to the Championship win, with Townley second overall for the day, Pope third, but Killoran doing just enough to keep second in the points table ahead of Townley. However, Blake Marks-Bracey put together a great campaign to be crowned a worthy Mini class Champion!
Mini (Night Race)
- Blake Marks-Bracey 3:37.644
- Roy Townley +3.440
- Finlee Pope +8.090
Mini – Overall
- Blake Marks-Bracey 50 Points
- Roy Townley 44 Points
- Finlee Pope 38 Points
Mini – Championship
- Blake Marks-Bracey 144 Points
- Preston Killoran 123 Points
- Roy Townley 121 Points
E-Mini
Lancashire ace Harley Patel came into the night show with a perfect record on the line, but Cooper Swan had other ideas with a fine Holeshot to get ahead of the series leader. Maddox Knifton held third ahead of Ollie Smillie, but Aliyas Westwick put together a great first lap to climb to fourth. On lap three, Patel took the lead from Swan, but the Sur-Ron rider retaliated immediately! As they tangled at the end of the start straight, Patel hit the ground, and with a bit of damage dropped to seventh in the race. Swan claimed a deserved victory ahead of Knifton and Westwick, but Patel had done enough to clinch the Championship ahead of Swan and Knifton. Watch out for all of these names in the future!
E-Mini (Night Race)
- Cooper Swan 3:19.486
- Maddox Knifton +2.931
- Aliyas Westwick +7.254
E-Mini – Overall
- Cooper Swan 45 Points
- Maddox Knifton 40 Points
- Oliver Fostun 40 Points
E-Mini – Championship
- Harley Patel 139 Points
- Cooper Swan 123 Points
- Maddox Knifton 115 Points