Jacob Hayes and Gavin Faith win at the AMSOIL Arenacross rounds in Michigan; Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy Kawasaki riders suffer injuries.
Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jacob Hayes and scored his first overall win of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross season, and claimed the first Arenacross win of his career during two wild nights of racing at Van Andel Arena, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday and Saturday.
Friday night’s race featured a pair of wild main events in the Arenacross class. Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chris Blose grabbed the lead in the opening Main Event, building a healthy advantage over Hayes and fellow Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Matt Goerke. But Hayes began to cut into Blose’s lead, and Hayes took over on lap six when Blose bobbled. Hayes and Blose then thrilled the Grand Rapids fans by going bar-to-bar all the way to the finish. Hayes was able to hang on and claim his second straight Main Event win, with Blose second and Goerke third.
With the win Hayes had the opportunity to select the inversion for the second Main Event, and he opened the box with the number zero in it, meaning that the riders would start where they finished in the first Main Event.
Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Kyle Regal grabbed the holeshot ahead of Blose and Babbitt’s Online Suzuki’s Cory Green. Blose then crashed on the second lap and was unable to continue. Regal coninued to cruise out front while the battle for second heated up between Green and ThermoTec Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry for second. Kiniry made an aggressive move on the inside of Green just after the finish line, at the start of lap nine, both riders hit the ground, opening up the door for Hayes, who started seventh, to move into second place, ahead of Goerke. The top three remained unchanged in the remaining laps with Regal earning his first Main Event win of the season while Hayes’ second-place finish was more than enough to claim the overall win. Regal earned the overall runner-up finish (5-1), while Goerke’s dual podium finishes (3-3) were food for third overall.
Saturday night commenced without two Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy Kawasaki riders, as Zach Ames had crashed in practice on Friday night, while Blose crashed in the main event, and both men were not fit to compete.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green’s Darian Sanayei took the lead in the first Main Event, ahead of Goerke and Spinechillers KTM rider Willy Browning. Faith started fourth but soon made his way into third place before lap three. Goerke passed Sanayei for the lead at about the same time, and the top three paced one another for five laps until Sanayei crashed out of the raace on lap seven. Faith then closed the distance to Goerke and made a successful bid for the lead. He then kept Goerke at bay to claim the win, with Browning third.
Faith opened box eight, meaning half the field would be inverted for the second Main Event, and Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages took advantage of the improved starting spot to grab the early lead over Browning and Faith. The top three ran nose to tail for most of the Main Event with the only position change among them coming when Faith made his way around Browning on lap 10. Mages was relatively unchallenged and went on to win, with Faith second and Browning third. Goerke overcame an 11th-place start to finish fourth.
Faith’s 1-2 finishes secured the overall, while Mages’ victory in the final Main Event vaulted him to the runner-up spot (5-1) in what was ultimately a three-way tie for the position. By virtue of his pair of third-place results, with the second Main Event finish serving as the tiebreaker, Browning (3-3) claimed the final spot on the overall podium ahead of Goerke (2-4).
The AMSOIL Arenacross Series continues next weekend with another two-night stop at World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, January 23-24, 2015.
AMSOIL Arenacross Series
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Results: January 16-17, 2015 (Rounds 2 & 3 of 20)
Friday Night
Main Event 1
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
2. Chris Blose-Kaw
3. Matt Goerke-Kaw
4. Travis Sewell-KTM
5. Kyle Regal-Hus
6. Robert Kiniry-Yam
7. Cory Green-Suz
8. Willy Browning-KTM
9. Darian Sanayei-Kaw
10. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
Main Event 2
1. Kyle Regal-Hus
2. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
3. Matt Goerke-Kaw
4. Travis Sewell-KTM
5. Steven Mages-KTM
6. Jordon Smith-Hon
7. Willy Browning-KTM
8. Cory Green-Suz
9. Cody VanBuskirk-KTM
10. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
Overall
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1-2
2. Kyle Regal-Hus/5-1
3. Matt Goerke-Kaw/3-3
4. Travis Sewell-KTM/4-4
5. Willy Browning-KTM/8-7
6. Cory Green-Suz/7-8
7. Steven Mages-KTM/11-5
8. Chris Blose-Kaw/2-15
9. Robert Kiniry-Yam/6-12
10. Daniel Herrlein-Hon/10-10
Saturday Night
Main Event 1
1. Gavin Faith-Hus
2. Matt Goerke-Kaw
3. Willy Browning-KTM
4. Gared Steinke-Kaw
5. Steven Mages-KTM
6. Cory Green-Suz
7. Travis Sewell-KTM
8. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
9. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
10. Michael McDade-Yam
Main Event 2
1. Steven Mages-KTM
2. Gavin Faith-Hus
3. Willy Browning-KTM
4. Matt Goerke-Kaw
5. Kyle Regal-Hus
6. Gared Steinke-Kaw
7. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
8. Travis Sewell-KTM
9. Cory Green-Suz
10. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
Overall
1. Gavin Faith-Hus/1-2
2. Steven Mages-KTM/5-1
3. Willy Browning-KTM/3-3
4. Matt Goerke-Kaw/2-4
5. Gared Steinke-Kaw/4-6
6. Travis Sewell-KTM/7-8
7. Cory Green-Suz/6-9
8. Kyle Regal-Hus/14-5
9. Dave Ginolfi-KTM/9-10
10. Daniel Herrlein-Hon/8-11
2015 AMSOIL Arenacross Series Point Standings (After 3 of 20 rounds)
1. Matt Goerke-84
2. Jacob Hayes-68/2 Main Event wins
3. Steven Mages-64/1 Main Event win
4. Travis Sewell-64
5. Willy Browning-63
6. Kyle Regal-60/1 Main Event win
7. Daniel Herrlein-50
8. Chris Blose-49/1 Main Event win
9. Robert Kiniry-49
10. Gared Steinke-44
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