Matt Goerke still hasn't won a Moto.
It makes no difference though as Goerke added three more podiums to his 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross season during the two-day Round 3 event in Colorado Springs, CO and keeps his lead in the Championship points race.
Goerke's fellow Team Babbitt rider Jacob Hayes took the overall on Friday but not before a closely contested dual with Gavin Faith, who won his first ever Arenacross race in Round 2 and is making his presence known this year. Hayes grabbed the lead in Moto 1 with Faith behind him but a crash on the opening Lap littered the field with riders who were still trying to get back into action when the leaders came back around. As a result, Chris Blose lost his hold on third place and Faith lost ground to Hayes who opened a seven second lead over Goerke who slipped into second-place. But Faith eventually worked his way back to the front making an aggressive move on the final lap for the win.
In Moto 2 on Friday Hayes passed teammate Blose after he went down and managed to get around Goerke and Faith to take the win. Goerke held on to second and Faith got third. Hayes took the overall for Friday night thanks to his win in Moto 2. Faith took second overall and Goerke's (3-2) night gave him third as Hayes closed the Championship points gap.
On Saturday Kyle Regal got his first overall of the year after a (3-1) night. Blose who took first in Moto 1 crashed on lap 3 in Moto 2 and ended in 12th. Faith also didn't fare as well on the second night of racing as he crashed in the whoops battling Hayes for sixth which ended not only Moto 1 but kept him out of Moto 2. Hayes tightened the points lead further with Goerke after a (5-2) night earned him third overall compared to Goerke's (6-3) night and fourth overall.
Gared Steinke ran into some bad luck for Arenacross Round 3 - All Photos By: Mike Vizer
MotoSport rider Gared Steinke took fourth in Moto 1 on Friday but fell to 12th in Moto 2 for an eighth overall. On Saturday, Steinke took ninth in Moto 1 but 13th in Moto 2 for 12th overall. Despite the so-so weekend, Steinke holds on to 10th place in the standings. After Round 10, the Top 10 riders move on to compete in the Race to the Championship for the Arenacross Championship crown.
"Gared had horrible luck both nights," said Kirk Lauerman, MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX team manager. "In Main Event 2 (Friday) he was running 4th, making a pass on Steven Mages and Matt Goerke took him out. It wasn't on purpose, just bad luck because Mages was holding him up so bad."
On Saturday, Steinke battled it out with Michael McDade in Moto 2 but when McDade crashed he brought Steinke with him.
Arenacross Round 3 was also the opening round for the West Lites class and MotoSport rider Daniel Blair, Steinke's teammate on the MotoSport.com/Lauerman MX team, jumped out to an early lead in points thanks to two great nights of racing.
On Friday, it was MotoSport rider Chase Marquier who took the holeshot in front of Daniel Herrlen and Dave Ginolfi. Herrlen, Ginolfi and Blair eventually passed Marquier as Herrlein took control of the race and left Blair and Ginolfi to ride for the runner-up spot. Blair and Ginolfi battled for second throughout the race like it was a battle for the lead. Blair almost rode away with the runner-up position after Ginolfi nearly lost it on Lap 7 in the whoops. Ultimately, Ginolfi beat Blair by inches.
Though Blair settled for third, Herrlein and Ginolfi compete for points in the East Lites class so Blair jumped to the early lead on the season for points.
"This weekend showed a glimpse of what's to come," Lauerman said. "Daniel figured out a few things on the starts and made a few simple changes to his bike that made a hug difference.
Daniel Blair all smiles with his victory on night two
Blair followed up Friday's third-place showing with a stellar first-place ride on Saturday. He grabbed the holeshot and battled Herrlein for six laps before losing the lead. Blair retook the lead on Lap 12 for good after Herrlein hit a lapper and broke his shift lever. Herrlein held on to second and Scott Zont took third. Marquier who is expected to race in the 250SX East class for Supercross did not race on Saturday.
"The best part, he's now leading the West in points and doesn't plan on looking back," Lauerman said.
Arenacross Round 4 is in Nashville, TN for one night of racing (two Motos). The East Lites class resumes for the next three Rounds. Gates drop for the Main event at 7 p.m. (EST) on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. Buy tickets online or at the box office, 501 Broadway in Nashville, TN.
2015 Colorado Springs Arenacross Results
Arenacross Class Results - Overall Night One
- Jacob Hayes (2-1)
- Gavin Faith (1-3)
- Matt Goerke (3-2)
- Michael McDade (10-5)
- Steven Mages (5-10)
- Kyle Regal (12-4)
- Daniel Herrlein (6-9)
- Gared Steinke (4-12) - MotoSport rider
- Cory Green (8-8)
- Willy Browning (11-6)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results Night One
- Daniel Herrlein
- Dave Ginolfi
- Daniel Blair - MotoSport rider
- Chase Marquier - MotoSport rider
- Cody VanBuskirk
- Brandon Glenn
- Dylan Rouse
- Axell Hodges
- Dylan Merriam
- Josh Struebig
Arenacross Class Results - Overall Night Two
- Kyle Regal (3-1)
- Bobby Kiniry (2-4)
- Jacob Hayes (5-2)
- Matt Goerke (6-3)
- Travis Sewell (7-5)
- Chris Blose (1-12)
- Steven Mages (8-6)
- Willy Browning (10-7)
- Michael McDade (4-14)
- Daniel Herrlein (11-8)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results Night One
- Daniel Blair - MotoSport rider
- Daniel Herrlein
- Scott Zont
- Brandon Glenn
- Dave Ginolfi
- Dalton Oxborrow
- Tanner Sisson
- Travis Bannister
- Mason Wharton
- Alex Frye
Arenacross Class Points
- Matt Goerke (140)
- Jacob Hayes (128)
- Kyle Regal (109)
- Steven Mages (105)
- Travis Sewell (99)
- Willy Browning (97)
- Chris Blose (85)
- Bobby Kiniry (85)
- Daniel Herrlein (85)
- Gared Steinke (75) - MotoSport rider
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points
- Daniel Blair (30) - MotoSport rider
- Brandon Glenn (24)
- Chase Marquier (13) - MotoSport rider
- Cody VanBuskirk (13)
- Travis Bannister (12)
- Mason Wharton (12)
- Josh Struebig (12)
- Dalton Oxborrow (11)
- Tanner Sisson (10)
- Axell Hodges (9)
