Kyle Regal gives Husqvarna its first AMSOIL Arenacross title in a thrilling Las Vegas finale.
Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Kyle Regal came out on top of the closest title fight in AMSOIL Arenacross history to earn his first career AMSOIL Arenacross Championship and give Husqvarna its first Arenacross title at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Friday night, while Preston Plumbing Yamaha’s Ryan Breece won the Arenacross Lites East/West Shootout.
A lot of extra eyes were watching the series finale, as the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series finale would take place at Sam Boyd Stadium the following evening, and Regal came into the night deadlocked with Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Jacob Hayes in the AMSOIL Arenacross Race to the Championship standings. Hayes had erased Regal’s lead with back-to-back wins in the series in Tacoma, Washington and Fresno, California. The momentum continued to run in Team Babbitt’s favor as the racing commenced at South Point Arena when team rider Matt Goerke defeated Regal for the win in the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, robbing Regal of a crucial bonus championship point.
There was more drama in the first of the two Arenacross main events when a number of riders collided, including championship contenders Goerke and Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Gavin Faith. Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose snatched the race lead with Regal right behind him. Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Gared Steinke ran third, and Hayes was fourth. Hayes quickly shot past Steinke and slowly caught Regal by lap four. Hayes tried to make an inside pass on Regal, but Regal was able to keep the aggressive Kawasaki rider at bay. Regal then showed some aggression of his own by pulling away from Hayes and putting pressure on the leader Blose, who got loose in the whoops on lap six and crashed right in front of Regal, with both riders hitting the ground. That allowed Hayes to slip past both riders and take control of the first main event. ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry inherited second place, but Regal was quickly back on his machine to rejoin the race in third place. Blose was unable to continue.
Regal charged past Kiniry on lap 10 and closed the gap to Hayes. The desperate Regal tried a last-lap surge through the whoops, and that brought him alongside Hayes in the final corner, but Regal couldn’t make the pass. Hayes won the race and put himself in a good position by being able to claim a tiebreaker if it became necessary to determine the AMSOIL Arenacross Champion. Regal finished second with Kiniry third, Steinke fourth and TZR Woodstock KTM’s Travis Sewell fifth.
But as things turned out, the tiebreaker wouldn’t be needed after an amazingly tense second Arenacross main event. The race began with another pileup off the start. Steinke took the early lead ahead of Faith and Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages, and both Both Regal and Hayes emerged unscathed to run together on the track as the race commenced. But before the first lap was even in the books, the championship battle took another dramatic turn when Hayes made heavy contact with Regal in a turn [see video footage of the incident below], forcing him to the ground. Hayes continued while Regal was left to pick up his bike, and it appeared that Regal’s championship hopes were over until steam began to billow from Hayes’ bike as he crossed the finish line. His collision with Regal had damaged his water pump, and although Hays gamely tried to continue, he was forced to pull off the track, effectively deciding the title in Regal’s favor right then.
Out front Steinke kept Faith and Mages at bay as the top three were separated by about a second. Faith attempted to make an inside pass on Steinke at the start Lap four, but Faith lost traction, allowing Mages to take over second place. That allowed Steinke to open up some breathing room. Faith able to pass Mages for second again about one lap later, and although Faith kept Steinke honest, the KTM rider went on to earn his second main event win of the season. Faith was second, with Mages third. Regal stayed out of trouble for the rest of the race and locked up the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross title with a ninth-place finish.
“It was crazy on that first lap,” the new champion said. “I knew Jacob [Hayes] was close, but I came into the corner before the finish and just got taken out. I’ve never been hit that hard in my life. I just tried to get up as fast as I could, and went to work. After a few laps I passed Jacob as he was rolling the jump, so I knew something was wrong with his bike. I knew that was the championship right there, but I had to make sure I put in 15 laps to take the checkered flag and make it official, and here we are. Not necessarily the way I wanted to win it, but I’m just so happy and can’t thank my team enough.”
The wild night produced the seventh different AMSOIL Arenacross overall winner of the 2015 season as Steinke’s 4-1 results netted his first career overall win. Regal’s 2-9 finishes gave him second overall as well as the championship. Mages was third overall with 9-3 main event finishes. When the final points were tallied for the Race to the Championship, Regal outscored Hayes by just four points. Faith’s strong night vaulted him from fifth to third, while Babbitt’s Online Suzuki’s Cory Green moved up from sixth to fourth. Goerke finished fifth in the series standings.
Mages captured the holeshot ahead of Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Champion Daniel Blair in the first-ever Arenacross Lites Class East/West Shootout. Blair made an early pass for the lead, but a crash behind him in the rhythm section collected nearly half of the field, bringing out the red flag and forcing a restart. Breece grabbed the lead off the restart, with Blair in second once again. A&Y Racing Honda’s Daniel Herrlein ran third, with Mages fourth and Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Champion Dave Ginolfi fifth. Breece would pull away while Blair succumbed to Herrlein, who made a pass for second place on lap four. Not long after that, Blair lost third place to Mages.
Breece was balked by lappers late in the Shootout main event, and Herrlein was able to close the gap to just over 1 second, but time ran out and Breece raced to the first AMSOIL Arenacross win of his career on perhaps the biggest night for the Arenacross Lites class. Herrlein finished second, and Mages was third.
“I’m just trying to make a name for myself, so I decided to come out here and battle with these guys in AMSOIL Arenacross,” said Breece, who finished third overall in the Arenacross Class last weekend. “I got a great start and I was able to just ride a consistent Main Event. It feels awesome.”
AMSOIL Arenacross Series
South Point Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Results: May 1, 2015
Arenacross Main Event 1
1. Jacob Hayes-Kaw
2. Kyle Regal-Hus
3. Bobby Kiniry-Yam
4. Gared Steinke-KTM
5. Travis Sewell-KTM
6. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
7. Willy Browning-KTM
8. Cory Green-Suz
9. Steven Mages-KTM
10. Matt Goerke-Kaw
Arenacross Main Event 2
1. Gared Steinke-KTM
2. Gavin Faith-Hus
3. Steven Mages-KTM
4. Cory Green-Suz
5. Chris Blose-Kaw
6. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
7. Willy Browning-KTM
8. Travis Sewell-KTM
9. Kyle Regal-Hus
10. Bobby Kiniry-Yam
Arenacross Overall (Main Event Finishes)
1. Gared Steinke-KTM/4-1
2. Kyle Regal-Hus/2-9
3. Steven Mages-KTM/9-3
4. Cory Green-Suz/8-4
5. Gavin Faith-Hus/11-2
6. Daniel Herrlein-Hon/6-6
7. Travis Sewell-KTM/5-8
8. Bobby Kiniry-Yam/3-10
9. Willy Browning-KTM/7-7
10. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1-14
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge
1. Matt Goerke-Kaw/2 points
2. Kyle Regal-Hus/1 point
3. Chris Blose-Kaw/1 point
4. Cory Green-Suz/1 point
5. Gavin Faith-Hus/1 point
6. Ryan Breece-Yam/1 point
7. Jacob Hayes-Kaw/1 point
8. Steven Mages-KTM/1 point
Arenacross Lites Class East/West Shootout
1. Ryan Breece-Yam
2. Daniel Herrlein-Hon
3. Steven Mages-KTM
4. Dave Ginolfi-KTM
5. Daniel Blair-KTM
6. Axell Hodges-Kaw
7. Jake Locks-KTM
8. RJ Wageman-Yam
9. Jonah Locks-Kaw
10. Scott Zont-KTM
2015 AMSOIL Arenacross Race to the Championship Final Standings (After 6 of 6 rounds)
1. Kyle Regal-164/2 main event wins
2. Jacob Hayes-160/3 main event wins
3. Gavin Faith-147
4. Cory Green-146
5. Matt Goerke-145/2 main event wins
6. Chris Blose-140/3 main event wins
7. Travis Sewell-131
8. Bobby Kiniry-119
9. Gared Steinke-118/2 main event wins
10. Steven Mages-102
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