Top 10 in the Race to the Championship are set at the AMSOIL Arenacross in Reno, Nevada.
In a dramatic conclusion at the Livestock Events Center, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki Tyler Bowers captured his sixth overall victory during round eight of the AMSOIL Arenacross Championship in Reno, Nevada, on February 22. The event, which features Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, also served as to lock down the final 10 riders that will compete in the Race to the Championship.
Bowers landed his sixth overall victory of the season, fortifying his series point lead, while Factory Connection Honda’s RJ Hampshire dominated the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class by sweeping the class main events on both nights in his debut Arenacross weekend.
PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’s Jacob Hayes held the lead in the opening Arenacross main event, while Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammates Zach Ames and Bowers ran second and third. Bowers wasted little time in making his move to the front, passing Ames for second on lap two and then overtaking Hayes for the lead on lap three. Bowers was never headed after that.
Ames and Hayes battled for the runner-up position. On lap seven Hayes made his way back around Ames to take second place. Ames then experienced misfortune on lap eight, dropping out of the hunt for a podium finish. That allowed Motosport.com/MJM Express/Spinechillers Racing KTM’s Willy Browning to take over third, but his time in a podium spot was short-lived. PBR/TiLube/TUF Racing Honda’s Kyle Regal took over third on Lap 11 and finished there behind teammate Hayes.
Bowers selected the inversion for the second main event, and for the second night in a row inverted the entire field of 16 riders.
Hayes moved his way into fourth and was looking to secure a potential third straight overall victory, but he crashed on lap three, collecing Bowers and dropping both riders outside the top 10. Green endured consistent pressure for third from the likes of Motosport Hillsboro Kawasaki’s Gared Steinke, Ames, and his teammate Colt Nichols.
Out front, Hampshire raced to his first career Arenacross Class Main Event win with McDade in second. They were joined on the podium by Green, with Nichols fourth, Ames fifth, and Steinke sixth. Bowers battled his way back to finish seventh, with Regal in eighth. Hayes recorded a DNF and finished 15th.
Earlier in the evening, Bowers defeated Hampshire to win Head-to-Head Bracket Racing, and the additional championship bonus point proved critical in the overall standings.
Bowers’ resiliency in the second main event vaulted him to first overall despite 1-7 finishes, edging out teammate Nichols (4-4) by just one point. Nichols’ runner-up effort was a career-best result. Regal rounded out the overall podium in third (3-8). Hampshire’s first career premier class win landed him just off the podium in fourth (11-1), while Hayes finished 11th (2-15).
Bowers, who took over the points lead on Friday, now enters the Race to the Championship as the top seed. He will be joined by (in order of seeding): Ames, Hayes, Regal, Green, Browning, Nichols, McDade, Sewell and Gared Steinke. Team Faith/FLY Racing KTM’s Kelly Smith missed out on a qualifying spot by just six points. The championship points will be reset for these 10 riders for beginning of the Race to the Championship next weekend.
In just his second Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship Main Event, Hampshire showed how comfortable he already is in AMSOIL Arenacross. Hampshire grabbed the early lead in the 18-lap Lites main event and looked as though he’d go wire-to-wire for the second straight night, but a bobble on lap five handed the lead to KMS KTM’s Dave Ginolfi. However, just one lap later Hampshire reclaimed the position and set sail to victory. Behind him, the battle for the podium heated up as KTM rider Michael Horban moved into third on Lap 8 and then moved into second just a couple laps later. BWRengines.com Honda’s Maxx Malatia then assumed the final spot on the podium on Lap 13, while Ginolfi went from the race lead to a fourth-place result over the final 10 laps of competition.
BWRengines.com Honda’s Kyle White, who finished fifth, moved into the lead in the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class standings. He holds a six-point lead over AJ Oilfield Services Kawasaki’s Gray Davenport, who finished sixth.
The AMSOIL Arenacross Championship continues next weekend with the opening round of the Race to the Championship at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Saturday, March 1.
AMSOIL Arenacross Championship
Livestock Events Center
Reno, Nevada
Results: February 22, 2014
Arenacross Main 1
1. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
2. Jacob Hayes-Hon
3. Kyle Regal-Hon
4. Colt Nichols-Kaw
5. Kelly Smith-KTM
6. Willy Browning-KTM
7. Travis Sewell-KTM
8. Cory Green-Suz
9. Zach Ames-Kaw
10. Gared Steinke-Kaw
Arenacross Main 2
1. RJ Hampshire-Hon
2. Michael McDade-Kaw
3. Cory Green-Suz
4. Colt Nichols-Kaw
5. Zach Ames-Kaw
6. Gared Steinke-Kaw
7. Tyler Bowers-Kaw
8. Kyle Regal-Hon
9. Willy Browning-KTM
10. Kelly Smith-KTM
Arenacross Overall
1. Tyler Bowers-Kaw/1-7
2. Colt Nichols-Kaw/4-4
3. Kyle Regal-Hon/3-8
4. RJ Hampshire-Hon/11-1
5. Cory Green-Suz/8-3
6. Michael McDade-Kaw/12-2
7. Zach Ames-Kaw/9-5
8. Kelly Smith-KTM/5-10
9. Willy Browning-KTM/6-9
10. Gared Steinke-Kaw/10-6
Arenacross Lites
1. RJ Hampshire-Hon
2. Michael Horban-KTM
3. Maxx Malatia-Hon
4. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
5. Kyle White-Hon
6. Gray Davenport-Kaw
7. Axell Hodges-Hon
8. Robert Noftz-Yam
9. Brandon Glenn-KTM
10. Dylan Rouse-Hon
Arenacross Race to the Championship Seeding
1. Tyler Bowers-6
2. Zach Ames-5
3. Jacob Hayes–4
4. Kyle Regal–4
5. Cory Green–3
6. Willy Browning-3
7. Colt Nichols–2
8. Michael McDade–2
9. Travis Sewell–1
10. Gared Steinke–1
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After 5 of 10 rounds)
1. Kyle White-63
2. Gray Davenport-57
3. Maxx Malatia-54
4. Steven Mages-53
5. Daniel Blair-43
6. Dave Ginolfi-43
7. Lane Staley-26
8. Brian Alquist-21
9. Josh Struebig-17
10. Ryan Breece-16
Your Privacy Choices