Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner wins at the Greensboro Coliseum in just his second AMSOIL Arenacross start.
It only took Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner two starts to earn his first career professional win, as he swept both AMSOIL Arenacross Class Main Events at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, Saturday night.
With the win, Forkner became only the second Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross rider in history to claim victory in the AMSOIL Arenacross Series’ premier class. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, A&Y Racing Honda’s Daniel Herrlein extended his points lead and became the first Arenacross Lites winner in the division this season.
Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Gavin Faith nabbed the holeshot in the first Main Event, with Forkner and Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kyle Regal second and third respectively. Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose ran fourth, just ahead of teammate Jacob Hayes.
Faith held the top spot until he crashed on lap five, eventually remounting in sixth. That handed the lead to Forkner, with Blose second and Regal third. Then Blose went down on lap six, and Hayes passed Regal to move up to second place. Blose, the series points leader coming into Greensboro, re-entered the race in 14th place.
Out front, Forkner kept the hard-charging Hayes behind him, crossing the finish line with a lead of just over 1 second. Hayes was followed by TiLUBE/Tuf Racing Honda’s Jace Owen third, Regal and Faith. Meanwhile, Blose battled his way back to 11th.
When Forkner selected one of three cases to determine the inversion for the second Main Event, he chose the case with the number eight, meaning half of the 16-rider field would be inverted.
Despite having the eighth gate pick heading into the second Main Event, Forkner launched his Pro Circuit Kawasaki to the head of the field, leading Regal and Owen. Faith and Rockstar Energy Drink Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kyle Bitterman rounded out the top five. Regal pressured Forkner early in the race, but Forkner began to eek out a larger advantage, utlimately claiming the win just under 3 seconds ahead of Regal. Faith was third, with Woodstock/TZR KTM’s Travis Sewell fourth and Owen fifth. Hayes was sixth, with Blose seventh.
Forkner not only became the second rider to post a 1-1 sweep in 2016, he also ended the four-race win steak of the Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki team. Forkner also became the first Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross rider since Aaron Plessinger in 2014 to post an overall win in the AMSOIL Arenacross class. Reigning AMSOIL Arenacross Champion Regal earned his best result of the season with a second overall (4-2), while Faith was third overall (5-3).
In the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, Blose defeated his teammate Faith in the final to earn an additional championship bonus point. That helped Blose finish ninth overall (11-7), although it was the first time this season that he failed to finish on the overall podium. Thus, Hayes took over the Arenacross class points lead. Hayes has a four-point advantage over Blose, with Faith just one point behind Blose in third.
In the 15-lap Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, Woodstock/TZR KTM’s Cody VanBuskirk beat Herrlein and Yamaha rider Justin Cooper to the first turn. Herrlein slipped past VanBuskirk for the lead on lap two, bringing Cooper along with him into second. One lap later, VanBuskirk re-passed Cooper for second. Once out front, Herrlein maintained about a 2-second advantage over VanBuskirk to land the win, Herrlein’s second of the season. Cooper finished third. Herrlein’s lead in the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class standings is now 30 points over Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Jacob Williamson, who finished 16th in the main event. Hillview Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Roman is third, 32 points behind Herrlein.
The 2016 AMSOIL Arenacross season returns to the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for three nights of racing, Thursday, February 4, through Saturday, February 6.
2016 AMSOIL Arenacross Series
Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, North Carolina
January 30, 2016
Arenacross Class Main Event 1
1. Austin Forkner-Kaw
2. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
3. Jace Owen -Hon
4. Kyle Regal-Hus
5. Gavin Faith-Kaw
6. Kyle Bitterman-Hus
7. Ben Lamay-Hon
8. Isaac Teasdale-KTM
9. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
10. Joey Crown-Kaw
Arenacross Main Event 2
1. Austin Forkner-Kaw
2. Kyle Regal-Hus
3. Gavin Faith-Kaw
4. Travis Sewell-KTM
5. Jace Owen-Hon
6. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
7. Chris Blose-Kaw
8. Ben Lamay-Hon
9. Kyle Bitterman-Hus
10. Jacob Williamson-Kaw
Arenacross Overall Results/Main Event Results
1. Austin Forkner-Kaw/1-1
2. Kyle Regal-Hus/4-2
3. Gavin Faith-Kaw/5-3
4. Jace Owen-Hon/3-5
5. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/2-6
6. Ben Lamay-Hon/7-8
7. Kyle Bitterman-Hus/6-9
8. Travis Sewell-KTM/13-4
9. Chris Blose-Kaw/11-7
10. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM/9-12
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results/bonus points
1. Chris Blose-Kawasaki/2 points
2. Gavin Faith-Kaw/1 point
3. Ben Lamay-Hon/1 point
4. Jace Owen-Hon/1 point
5. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1 point
6. Kyle Regal-Hus/1 point
7. Travis Sewell-KTM/1 point
8. Austin Forkner-Kaw/1 point
2016 AMSOIL Arenacross Series Points Standings
1. Jacob Hayes-137/4 Main Event Wins
2. Chris Blose-133/1 Main Event Win
3. Gavin Faith-132
4. Travis Sewell-120/3 Main Event Wins
5. Kyle Regal-110
6. Ben Lamay-85
7. Gared Steinke-78
8. Daniel Herrlein-66
9. Jace Owen-65
10. Jacob Williamson-63
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event
1. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
2. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
3. Justin Cooper-Yam
4. Ben Nelko-KTM
5. Ramyller Alves-Yam
6. Stone Edler-Yam
7. DJ MacFarlane-Yam
8. Jared Lesher-KTM
9. Steve Roman-Suz
10. Dylan Walker-Hon
2016 AMSOIL Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Points Standings
1. Daniel Herrlein-75/2 Main Event Wins
2. Jacob Williamson-45/1 Main Event Win
3. Steve Roman-43
4. Dylan Walker-41
5. Lane Staley-39
6. Tyler McSwain-35
7. Justin Cooper-30
8. Henry Miller-24
9. Brandon Hartranft-18
10. Austin Stroupe-16/1 Main Event Win
Keith Tucker-16/1 Main Event Win
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