Kyle Regal took back the points lead after a hard fought overall win on Saturday in Austin for Round 11 of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series.
Regal entered the start of the "Race to the Championship" in first-place two weeks ago but fell two spots after Chris Blose emerged with a sweep in Round 10. Thanks to the "Race to the Championship" format that resets the points for those riders in the Top 10 after Round 9, Blose went from 78 points out from first to just three points back allowing him to easily take the led after his dominating performance last week.
However on Saturday, Regal beat Blose for the holeshot in Moto 1 as the two battled for the lead and put quite a distance between themselves and Bobby Kiniry in third-place. On Lap 12 right before the jump at the finish line, Regal and Steve Mages banged into each other causing Regal to miss the jump and Mages to hit the dirt but not before running into Blose, who was less than a second behind Regal. Blose ended up with a DNF thanks to damage on his bike's header pipe. Regal stayed upright and took the win easily as Kiniry moved to second after the crash and Jacob Hayes finished third. MotoSport rider Gared Steinke out-dueled Travis Sewell for fourth-place.
In Moto 2, Regal crashed on the opening turn and was in 13th by the time he remounted and finished Lap 1. But on Lap 4, with Blose leading and Regal and Hayes, who started in 10th, nearing the Top 5, the red flag came out forcing a staggered, single-file restart. This allowed Hayes and Regal to quickly grab fifth and sixth, respectively.
On Lap 9, with Blose still in the lead, Matt Goerke's and Gavin Faith's battle for second took both riders down as Hayes was about to overtake Kiniry for fourth. The move, just at the right time as Goerke and Faith hit the dirt, jumped Hayes from fifth to second. Two laps later, Regal bested Kiniry for third. Cory Green finished fifth. Blose has won three of the four Motos since the "Race" started but his 14th place after the crash in Moto 1 gave him a sixth overall.
Steinke didn't fare as well in Moto 2 finishing 10th for eighth overall. Goerke's crash landed him in 11th place for ninth overall and Faith bounced back to sixth and took seventh overall. Steinke remains in ninth-place in the standings with 40 points. Regal takes a four point lead over Blose and Hayes is in third just two back from Blose.
Daniel Blair wins for the fifth time this year - All Photos: AMSOIL Arenacross
In the West Lites class, MotoSport rider Daniel Blair won for the second straight week but this time it counted for points as the West class resumed competition. Blair has five wins for the year, three in the all-important West class, which gives him a 35-point lead over Cody Vanbuskirk, who did not race in Austin.
Blair's primary competition on Saturday was Dave Ginolfi who already wrapped up the East Lites class a few weeks ago and doesn't compete for points. Blair led wire-to-wire for the win despite Ginolfi being on his tail for much of the race. The 35-point lead gives Blair a two-race advantage with four rounds remaining so he could wrap up his first career Championship in two weeks in Spokane, WA.
Arenacross takes a week off and resumes April 11 at Spokane Arena in Spokane, WA. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 720 West Mallon Ave. in Spokane WA.
2015 Austin Arenacross Results
Arenacross Class Results - Overall
- Kyle Regal (1-3)
- Jacob Hayes (3-2)
- Bobby Kiniry (2-4)
- Cory Green (7-5)
- Travis Sewell (5-7)
- Chris Blose (14-1)
- Gavin Faith (8-6)
- Gared Steinke (4-10)
- Matt Goerke (6-11) - MotoSport rider
- Steven Mages (10-8)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
- Daniel Blair - MotoSport rider
- Dave Ginolfi
- Scott Zont
- Jake Locks
- Clay Elliott
- Brian Alquist
- Josh Struebig
- Bradley Lionnet
- Jonah Locks
- Steven Lopez
2015 Race to the Championship Standings
- Kyle Regal (61)
- Chris Blose (57)
- Jacob Hayes (55)
- Bobby Kiniry (54)
- Matt Goerke (51)
- Gavin Faith (50)
- Cory Green (48)
- Travis Sewell (46)
- Gared Steinke (40) - MotoSport rider
- Steven Mages (34)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (85) - MotoSport rider
- Cody VanBuskirk (50)
- Brandon Glenn (48)
- Jake Locks (39)
- Clay Elliott (34)
- Josh Struebig (26)
- Mason Wharton (24)
- Jason McConnell (23)
- Jonah Locks (19)
- Dalton Oxborrow (18)
- Benjamin Nelko (18)
