Kyle Regal Sweeps Southaven with Fourth Overall Victory of 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross Season, Earns Top Seed in Race to the Championship
. By Bikeland Staff
The ninth round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross, came to a conclusion on Saturday night inside Landers Center, signifying the final race before the season-ending, playoff-inspired Race to the Championship. One night after he earned his fourth Arenacross Class overall victory, Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing's Kyle Regal capped off a dominant weekend by winning again, becoming the first rider this season to sweep two consecutive nights of action. With the win, Regal also earned the top seed in the Race to the Championship. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM's Daniel Blair earned his fourth Main Event win of the season.
Broadcast Alert:
Kansas City round of 2015 season premieres on FOX Sports 1
this Sunday at 8:00 a.m. PT / 11:00 a.m. ET
Southaven Night Two Photos
Southaven Night Two Highlights
Interview with Southaven Night Two Winner Kyle Regal
Regal has earned back-to-back wins heading into the Race to the Championship.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography
Regal's path to victory started in the first Arenacross Class Main Event of the evening, when he grabbed the holeshot. Behind him a pileup collected several of the division's top competitors, including ThermoTec/FMC Racing Yamaha's Bobby Kiniry, Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki teammates Matt Goerke and Jacob Hayes, Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing's Gavin Faith and more. Team Babbitt's Chris Blose was able to escape the fray and slot into second. As a result of the incident, Regal and Blose opened a comfortable gap over the field while TZR Woodstock KTM's Travis Sewell moved into third.
While Regal and Blose gradually established an insurmountable gap out front, all eyes were on Hayes, Goerke and Faith and their march to the front. Hayes emerged from the first lap incident in sixth, while Faith and Goerke sat eighth and ninth, respectively. Hayes broke into the top five on Lap 1 and soon made the pass on Babbitt's Online Suzuki's Cory Green for fourth. On Lap 7 Hayes passed Sewell for third and put on a charge over the remaining eight laps to try and catch the lead duo. Faith and Goerke paced one another in their climb through the field, taking control of fourth and fifth on Lap 9 and then battling one another, with Goerke getting the better of Faith on Lap 12.
Regal and Blose crossed the line just over three seconds ahead of Hayes in third. Goerke followed in fourth with Faith rounding out the top five.
Regal then proceeded to select the inversion for the second Main Event, and with the help of the Landers Center crowd he chose the case with the number eight, meaning half the field would be inverted.
The competition was intense all night in Southaven.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography
Hayes carried the momentum from his impressive run in the first Main Event into the start of the second Main Event, racing to the holeshot. A small mistake in the first turn allowed Blose to take control of the lead, but Hayes responded almost immediately reclaiming the top spot heading into the whoops. Goerke, who started third, followed Hayes past Blose to move into second and then set his sights on his other teammate out front. On Lap 3, Blose came under fire from the TUF Racing duo of Regal and Faith, losing two more spots to drop to fifth. As that happened, Goerke mounted a challenge on Hayes for the lead, making the pass on Lap 4. Hayes didn't lose touch of his teammate and kept him honest throughout the remainder of the race, reclaiming the top spot briefly on Lap 11 but losing it again one lap later.
The battle up front allowed the Husqvarna teammates to close in. Regal used an outside line to his advantage on Lap 13, preventing Hayes from jumping into a rhythm section and taking over the runner-up spot. Hayes' loss of momentum also cost him control of third as Faith followed Regal to grab third. As this unfolded Goerke slipped away to take the win, with Regal second and Faith third. Hayes dropped to fourth and Kiniry was fifth.
Regal's impressive 1-2 effort was more than enough to earn the overall win. Goerke's triumphant effort in the second Main Event allowed him to finish second overall (4-1), while Hayes earned a hard-fought third-place finish (3-4). Faith was fourth (5-3) with Blose rounding out the top five (2-6).
Matt Goerke (36) and Jacob Hayes (2) will enter the Race to the Championship as the 2 and 3 seeds.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography
Earlier in the evening the Southaven crowd was treated to a thrilling final in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge between Sewell and Faith. The two riders went bar-to-bar throughout the two-lap sprint, but an aggressive move by Sewell halted Faith's progress momentarily and gave the KTM rider the advantage. Faith recovered quickly and put the pressure on Sewell, attempting a couple inside moves that ultimately left him just inches short at the checkered flag. Sewell earned his first Head 2 Head win of the season.
Regal entered the night as the points leader and thanks to his triumphant effort, he will now carry the number-one seed and the red number plate into the start of the six-round Race to the Championship. The points have been reset for the top 10 riders in the point standings and just five points separate Regal, in first, from Babbitt's Online Suzuki's Cory Green, the 10th and final rider to qualify.
Cory Green claimed the 10th and final spot in the Race to the Championship.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography
In the Metro PCS Blazing Fast Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event, Sizemore's Garage Honda's Drayke Sizemore grabbed the holeshot with Blair hot on his rear fender. After consistent pressure Blair made what would end up being the winning pass on Lap 3. With Blair out front, Sizemore came under pressure from College Hunks Moving Junk/Spinechillers Racing KTM's Dave Ginolfi, who clinched the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship on Friday, who made the pass for the runner-up spot on Lap 6. On the ensuing lap MMCR Kawasaki's Jacob Williamson took over third. While Ginolfi stayed within striking distance of Blair for the lead, the top three stayed the same through to the finish. Blair took the win by just over a half second on Ginolfi, while Williamson earned the first podium finish of his career in third.
Daniel Blair took the Arenacross Lites Class win.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography
Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Arenacross Class Results - Overall (Main Event Finishes)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (1-2)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (4-1)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (3-4)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (5-3)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (2-6)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (6-8)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (7-7)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (10-5)
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM (9-9)
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM (8-10)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (2 points)
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1 point)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (1 point)
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (1 point)
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (1 point)
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (1 point)
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1 point)
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
Drayke Sizemore, Tamaroa, Ill., Honda
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., KTM
Clay Elliott, Buford, Ga., KTM
Zachary Bishop-Burnett, Holly Springs, Miss., Kawasaki
Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
Josh Struebig, Crown Point, Ind., KTM
Race to the Championship Standings
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna - 6
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki - 5
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 4
Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha - 4
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 3
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki - 3
Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna - 2
Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM - 2
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM - 1
Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki - 1
Arenacross Class Points (Race 14 of 20)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM - 156
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 148
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 110
Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM - 102
Brandon Glenn, Mesquite, Texas, KTM - 76
Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 9 of 11)
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 132 (2 Main Event wins)
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 75
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 65
Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki - 65
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 56
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki - 47 (1 Main Event win)
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 45
Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki - 41
Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki - 35 (2 Main Event wins)
Mitchell Harrison, Cairo, Georgia, Kawasaki - 33 (1 Main Event win)
Tristan Charboneau, Tenino, Wash., Honda - 33 (1 Main Event win)
Josh Cartwright, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha - 33
The 10th round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross and the opening round of the Race to the Championship begins next Saturday, March 21, with the inaugural visit to New Orleans. Racing kicks off at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET.
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