Arenacross World Tour: Northern Ireland riders shine on the big stage at Belfast's SSE Arena
Local fans went home happy after home riders produced some outstanding performances over two nights at the Belfast rounds of the Arenacross World Tour.
Martin Barr finished third in Friday night’s Pro final, while Lewis Spratt claimed third on both nights in the AX Futures.
Jason Meara made his 2025 Arenacross debut and left Belfast with two top-six finishes in the Pro finals.
Ballyclare’s Martin Barr was cheered all the way to the podium in Friday’s Pro final, behind the unstoppable Dean Wilson and Conrad Mewse, who finished first and second on both nights.
“It's brilliant to have another podium 20 years after my first professional podium at Belfast," Barr said. "It was something very special to do it in front of the home fans and at 37 years of age is something I am very proud of.
"The reception I I got from the crowd once I was up on the freestyle ramp, you can't buy that.
"You just can't even describe what it feels like."
He got the holeshot in the sixteen lap final before eventually bringing the Apico Honda home in third.
He reflected: “I knew I didn't have the pace for Conrad (Mewse) or Dean (Wilson), however once I saw Tommy Searle was out, I thought I had half a chance here.
"I just put my head down, kept hitting the markers and concentrated on being perfect every lap."
Again Barr made it through to the main event on Saturday after finishing fourth and second in his heats.
He fought his way into the top five on the opening lap before a collision with Adam Chatfield on lap two ended his challenge.
“He came up the inside of me and put me over the berm into the bales. I went down but managed to pick myself up to finish eleventh. It was disappointing but it’s arenacross and anything can happen," he shared.
For Loughbrickland’s Jason Meara it was his first round of the tour and on the opening night he went straight through the heats into the final where he finished sixth on the MotoCycle GasGas.
He reflected: “It was all plain sailing on the first night and I had a solid ride in the main event for a P6.
On day two he was sixth fastest overall: “My speed was good heading into the night show, however the heat races were a disaster as I messed up the starts.
"I was fired up going into the head-to-head and managed to win, which was unreal.
"It was probably the highlight of my weekend because the crowd really got behind me and it got me into the main event.
He made a decent start in the final and got into fifth early and was battling with Adam Chatfield to the chequered flag.
“All in all a great night and a fantastic event with a pretty sizable chunk of prize money to bring back home, so I couldn’t be happier," he smiled.
Omagh’s Lewis Spratt completed the event with four top three finishes to extend his third place points tally in the AX Futures Championship.
The teenager was consistently fast in qualifying on the McCullaghs Centra KTM 125 and holeshotted all four races.
He settled for a safe third in his opening race on Friday and in the night race led on the opening laps before dropping to fourth.
“I kept the pressure on Austin Beasty and passed him on the last lap for third," he said.
On Saturday he again took third in his opening race however he looked odds on to win the night race which he led until two laps from the flag.
“I made a huge mistake before the finish jump and landed with a massive pain from my ankle which resulted in a very bad sprain," he continued.
"It left me a bit second hand for the final two laps but I hung on for another third.
"It was frustrating because I think I could have been further up” he explained.
The series moves to Aberdeen this weekend.