Arenacross has confirmed its race classes for the 2027 Arenacross British Championship, as unprecedented demand from young riders prompts a new qualification format for the upcoming season.
Words and Images by AXUK
Interest in racing Arenacross has reached its highest level yet, with hundreds of applications received from riders hoping to take their place on the start gate when the championship gets underway in Birmingham next February.
But it isn’t simply the number of applications that has caught the Arenacross team’s attention.
Across the country, young riders are already putting in the work to earn their place. Training programmes have stepped up, race results are being shared, applications have been carefully put together and social media has been full of young racers documenting their progress and making it very clear just how much an Arenacross place would mean to them.
For a championship that has always set out to give young British riders a stage, the response has been impossible to ignore.
Arenacross Promoter Matt Bates said:
“We’ve genuinely been blown away by it. We’ve always had huge interest from kids wanting to race Arenacross, but this year it feels like it’s gone to another level.
We’re seeing kids training specifically for it, families following every announcement and riders putting themselves out there and showing us why they want to be part of it. The amount of Arenacross content we’re seeing from young riders on social media is unreal.
That’s exactly what we want. We want kids to really want that place on the start gate. We want Arenacross to be something they work towards and something they’re incredibly proud to be part of when they get there.
The difficult bit is that we simply can’t take everybody. There are a limited number of gates inside an arena and an unbelievable amount of young talent wanting to fill them. So for 2027, we’re giving more riders the opportunity to come to Birmingham and earn their place through racing.”
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NEW BIRMINGHAM QUALIFICATION FORMAT
For the opening two rounds at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham, Arenacross will invite a larger group of riders to take part in a new qualification process, with places in the two live evening shows up for grabs.
Following the Birmingham weekend, the top 14 riders in the championship standings, based on their combined results across both nights, will automatically qualify for the remaining rounds in Belfast and Aberdeen.
Should any of those riders be unable to compete at a subsequent round, invitations will pass down the championship standings until all 14 positions have been filled.
The new format has been designed to give more young riders an opportunity while maintaining the competitive standard required for Arenacross and creating a clear route through the championship.
As ever, rider selection considers more than results alone. Riding ability, potential, experience and progression all form part of the process, alongside attitude, sportsmanship and a rider’s approach to being part of the wider Arenacross championship.
With Arenacross combining elite racing with a major live entertainment show, riders selected to compete become part of something bigger than their individual race. From the youngest E-Mini racers upwards, they represent the championship both on and off the track.
2027 ARENACROSS RACE CLASSES
Following the success of the 2026 season, the same four race classes will return for the 2027 Arenacross British Championship:
AX E-Mini
AX Mini (65cc)
AX Supermini
AX Pro Am
The four-class structure creates a pathway from riders as young as four years old through to the Pro Am ranks, putting Britain’s emerging racing talent onto the same Arenacross stage as the country’s leading professional riders.
For some, Birmingham will be their first experience of racing under the Arenacross lights. For others, it will be another step in a journey that has already seen them progress through the championship’s youth classes.
Either way, competition for those gates has never been stronger.
Bates added:
“We’ve always said we pay attention to what’s happening in British motocross, and we mean it. We’re watching these kids progress, we’re talking to people around the sport and we’re seeing the work they’re putting in.
To every young rider who’s applied, whether you ultimately get a place this year or not: keep going. Keep racing, keep progressing and keep putting the work in. The fact we’ve got this many kids fighting to be part of Arenacross tells us British motocross has an incredibly exciting future.”
The 2027 Arenacross British Championship gets underway with Rounds 1 and 2 at bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham on 6–7 February, before heading to Belfast on 12–13 February and Aberdeen on 26–27 February.
(Applications to register your interest in riding the series are now closed and those who registered have until the 1st November to complete their ‘next steps’ form. Not all riders who have applied will be successful in making the qualification process)
