Matt Goerke led wire-to-wire in Moto 2 that helped give him the overall for Round 7 of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross series held on Saturday in Kansas City, MO.
The win combined with a third-place Moto 1 finish and points leader Jacob Hayes having an off-night pulled Goerke to within 1 point of his fellow Team Babbitt rider. Gavin Faith who won Moto 1 and took second place in Moto 2 climbed out of the cellar in the "Race for the Championship" program and is now in eighth place with 163 points, just five ahead of MotoSport rider Gared Steinke.
Bobby Kiniry grabbed the holeshot in Moto 1 followed by Kyle Regal, Faith, Goerke and Hayes. Regal and Kiniry banged bars on Lap 2 forcing Kiniry in the dirt. Faith took over in front with Regal in tow and Hayes in third. Little changed until Lap 10 when Goerke passed Hayes for third. Faith hung on for the win and Regal took second.
In Moto 2, Goerke went unchallenged from the start as Regal, Kiniry and Faith fell in behind. On Lap 12 Faith managed to get around Regal for second where he remained until the checkers. Regal held on to third for third overall. Hayes had a malfunction forcing him out of the race for a time and he ended in 12th place. Goerke won the overall thanks to a win in the Head 2 Head Challenge that gives additional championship points. Goerke and Faith tied in points for the night but Goerke got the overall thanks to his Moto 2 victory.
Steinke took seventh overall for the second straight Round. He took eighth in Moto 1 and seventh in Moto 2, good enough for seventh overall. Just two Rounds remain before the Top 10 riders in points move on to the "Race for the Championship" format. Steinke's 158 points is 31 ahead of Cory Green in 11th.
"Practice went very well, I qualified fourth and felt very smooth and fast," Steinke said. "The first Main I was running sixth then crashed in the sand corner and ended up eighth. The second Main I got in a first turn pile up and raced smooth and fast and rode back up to seventh."
Kansas City marked the return of the West Lites class just the second Round for those riders this year. Daniel Blair, who is teammates with Steinke no the MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX Race team, led the field in points and remains on top despite a seventh place finish.
Daniel Blair remains in first for the West Lites class - All Photos: AMSOIL Arenacross
Blair started in third behind holeshot winner Steve Mages and Scott Zont. Blair lost his podium position to Dave Ginolfi on Lap 4 and eventually finished sixth. Mages held on for the lead, Ginolfi took over second place on Lap 8 and Zont stayed on for third.
Though Mages, Ginolfi and Zont stepped on the podium they compete for points in the East Lites class. Blair remains on top in the West Lites class with 41 points, five ahead of Brandon Glenn who finished in fifth-place. Mages became the first rider to win a Main event in all three classes - Arenacross, East Lites and West Lites.
Round 8 is a two-night event with four Motos, two on Friday and two on Saturday, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA. Buy tickets online or at the box office, One Arena Way in Council Bluffs, IA.
2015 Kansas City Arenacross Results
Arenacross Class Results - Overall
- Matt Goerke (3-1)
- Gavin Faith (1-2)
- Kyle Regal (2-3)
- Bobby Kiniry (6-4)
- Steven Mages (9-5)
- Travis Sewell (7-6)
- Gared Steinke (8-7) - MotoSport rider
- Jacob Hayes (4-12)
- Dave Ginolfi (10-9)
- Chris Blose (5-15)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
- Steven Mages
- Dave Ginolfi
- Scott Zont
- Cody VanBuskirk
- Brandon Glenn
- Daniel Blair - MotoSport rider
- Jake Locks
- Benjamin Nelko
- Tanner Moore
- Clay Elliott
Arenacross Class Points
- Jacob Hayes (259)
- Matt Goerke (258)
- Kyle Regal (250)
- Bobby Kiniry (212)
- Steven Mages (199)
- Travis Sewell (198)
- Chris Blose (190)
- Gavin Faith (163)
- Gared Steinke (158) - MotoSport rider
- Willy Browning (156)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (41) - MotoSport rider
- Brandon Glenn (36)
- Cody VanBuskirk (26)
- Mason Wharton (17)
- Chase Marquier (13) - MotoSport rider
- Jake Locks (13)
- Travis Bannister (12)
- Josh Struebig (12)
- Dalton Oxborrow (11)
- Clay Elliott (11)
