Matt Goerke’s second main event win proves to be crucial in a tight battle at the AMSOIL Arenacross in Council Bluffs.
If anyone doubts the competitiveness of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, then they simply haven’t been paying attention, as last night’s stunner at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, provided all the evidence necessary.
As has been the case at several rounds this season, a tiebreaker was needed to sort out the overall standings, only this time it had to separate three riders instead of just two. When the final tabulation was completed, Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Matt Goerke was credited with his third victory of the season over Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing teammates Gavin Faith and Kyle Regal. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites main event, current championship point leader Daniel Blair also earned his third victory of the season and extended his series lead for the Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM team.
Regal pulled the holeshot to lead the first Arenacross main event, running ahead of Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammates Chris Blose and Jacob Hayes. Series point leader Hayes crashed in the whoops on lap two, falling to the rear of the 16-rider field while Blose and Faith took over second and third place respectively. Goerke ran fifth early, and it took him several laps to find his way around Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Gared Steinke for fourth, but he made the move with enough time to put himself into podium contention.
Regal maintained his lead over the field for the entire 15-lap main to claim the win. Blose tried hard to catch him, but it cost the Kawasaki rider as he crashed in the whoops on lap 13. Faith took over second place while Goerke moved into third. As the checkered flag flew, the top three remained the same with Regal, Faith and Goerke. Hayes fought his way back up to eighth, while Blose had to settle for 10th.
Regal had the opportunity to select the inversion for the second main event, and he drew the number zero, meaning no riders would be inverted. ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry took advantage of his second chance at the same gate position to grab the holeshot ahead of Hayes and Goerke. Hayes and Kiniry then made contact in the whoops with Hayes crashing and dropping to the tail end of the field; he would remount nearly a lap behind the leaders. Kiniry stayed on two wheels, but fell all the way to eighth. Goerke, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to take the lead, which would prove to be vital. Faith and Regal slotted into second and third—and all this before lap two!
The frontrunners set a fast pace, and there top three running order was set for the rest of the 15-lap main. Goerke took his fourth main event win of the season, with Faith finishing second and Regal finishing third. Hayes fought his way back to 11th place.
The identical first and third-place finishes by Goerke and Regal locked them into a tie for first in the overall order, while Faith’s consistent pair of runner-up finishes made him a rare third player in the tiebreaker. In the end, Goerke’s win in the second main event gave him an advantage over the other two, while Faith’s second-place finish slotted him second overall, ahead of Regal. TZR Woodstock KTM’s Travis Sewell finished fourth (5-4), and Steinke rounded out the top five (4-5).
Regal, who entered the night 14 points out of the lead, took over the Arenacross point lead as a result of Hayes’ tough night. Hayes and Goerke sit in a tie for second, just one point behind Regal as the schedule heads into the final round before the season-ending Race to the Championship begins.
Blair was dominant in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class main event, racing to the holeshot ahead of TZR Woodstock KTM’s Scott Zont and ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha’s Josh Cartwright, and never looking back. As Blair opened up a lead, Cartwright applied pressure on Zont for second, and he took it over on lap two. Blair and Cartwright asserted themselves out front, while College Hunks Moving Junk/Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Dave Ginolfi charged through the field from seventh place to move into podium position on lap 12. Blair cruised to a wire-to-wire victory ahead of Cartwright and Ginolfi.
Blair extended his lead in the championship standings to 19 points over TZR Woodstock KTM’s Cody VanBuskirk, who finished sixth. Team DirtBikeMike Yamaha’s Brandon Glenn, who finished fifth, sits third, 21 points back.
AMSOIL Arenacross Series
Mid-America Center
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Results: March 7, 2015
Arenacross Main Event 1
1. Kyle Regal-Hus
2. Gavin Faith-Hus
3. Matt Goerke-Kaw
4. Gared Steinke-KTM
5. Travis Sewell-KTM
6. Bobby Kiniry-Yam
7. Cory Green-Suz
8. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
9. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
10. Chris Blose-Kaw
Arenacross Main Event 2
1. Matt Goerke-Kaw
2. Gavin Faith-Hus
3. Kyle Regal-Hus
4. Travis Sewell-KTM
5. Gared Steinke-KTM
6. Steven Mages-KTM
7. Bobby Kiniry-Yam
8. Cory Green-Suz
9. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
10. Brandon Glenn-Yam
Arenacross Overall (Main Event Finishes)
1. Matt Goerke-Kaw/3-1
2. Gavin Faith-Hus/2-2
3. Kyle Regal-Hus/1-3
4. Travis Sewell-KTM/5-4
5. Gared Steinke-KTM/4-5
6. Bobby Kiniry-Yam/6-7
7. Cory Green-Suz/7-8
8. Dave Ginolfi-KTM/9-9
9. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/8-11
10. Steven Mages-KTM/16-6
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results
1. Chris Blose-Kaw/2 points
2. Gared Steinke-KTM/1 point
3. Kyle Regal-Hus/1 point
4. Gavin Faith-Hus/1 point
5. Matt Goerke-Kaw/1 point
6. Travis Sewell-KTM/1 point
7. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1 point
8. Cory Green-Suz/1 point
AMSOIL Arenacross Series Point Standings (After race 12 of 20)
1. Kyle Regal-308/4 main event wins
2. Jacob Hayes-307/6 main event wins
3. Matt Goerke-307/4 main event wins
4. Travis Sewell-248
5. Bobby Kiniry-242/1 main event win
6. Chris Blose-230/4 main event wins
7. Steven Mages-227/1 main event win
8. Gavin Faith-225/4 main event wins
9. Gared Steinke-207
10. Cory Green–168
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Daniel Blair-KTM
2. Josh Cartwright-Yam
3. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
4. Scott Zont-KTM
5. Brandon Glenn-Yam
6. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
7. Dylan Rouse-KTM
8. Tanner Moore-KTM
9. Jake Locks-KTM
10. Mason Wharton-Kaw
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 5 of 9)
1. Daniel Blair-69/2 main event wins
2. Cody VanBuskirk-50
3. Brandon Glenn-48
4. Jake Locks-26
5. Mason Wharton-24
6. Clay Elliott-22
7. Dalton Oxborrow-18
8. Benjamin Nelko-18
9. Jason McConnell-18
10. Tanner Moore-17
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