Courtesy of Feld Entertainment
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 28,
2017) – The fourth round of the 2017 AMSOIL Arenacross season featured
arguably the most competitive battle for victory in the championship
thus far inside
Bridgestone Arena. For the first time this season, the
250AX Class featured two different Main Event winners, but the rider who
emerged with the overall victory was a familiar one, with TiLUBE/Jack
Link’s/TUF Racing Honda’s Jace Owen claiming his fourth win of the
season to extend his points lead. In the Eastern Regional AX Lites
Class, Babbitt’s/GPF/Monster Energy Kawasaki/MMCR’s Jacob Williamson
became the third different winner in that championship.
Before the Main Events got underway, defending AMSOIL
Arenacross Champion and Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki,
presented by AP Design, rider Gavin Faith earned his third RMATV/MC Head
2 Head Challenge win of the season, defeating Rockstar
Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha, in association with Cycle Trader and Rock River,
rider Chris Blose. The triumphant effort gave Faith two championship
bonus points.
Faith was able to carry that momentum into the first 250AX
Class Main Event, securing the holeshot ahead of TiLUBE/Jack Link’s/TUF
Racing Honda’s Ben Lamay and Rockstar Energy/OTSFF/Yamaha’s Matt Goerke,
while Owen slotted into fourth. Almost immediately Faith and Lamay set a
torrid pace out front, which allowed them to open a gap over Goerke in
third. The lead group settled in through the mid portion of the 15-lap
Main Event. Faith and Lamay remained separated by mere tenths of a
second, but Goerke continued to lose ground to Owen and on Lap 9 the duo
engaged in a battle for third, with Owen ultimately taking over the
position.
Keeping Faith within striking distance allowed Lamay to
mount a challenge for the lead in the closing laps. He successfully made
the pass on Lap 13 and held on for his first Main Event win the season.
Faith followed with a close second, with Owen finishing third. Goerke
was fourth, with Blose in fifth.
The start of the second 250AX Class Main Event saw Owen put his Honda
into the lead, edging out Goerke and Custom
Powersports/Spinechillers/TiLUBE Racing Kawasaki’s Steven Mages. Blose
and Faith weren’t far behind. After a seventh-place start Lamay was able
to move into sixth on Lap 1.
Owen was able to open a comfortable gap in the opening laps,
while Goerke settled solidly into second. The battle for third
intensified, as Blose made the pass on Mages on Lap 2. On the following
lap Faith passed Mages for fourth. The leaders continued to spread out
through the remainder of the race, holding on to their positions. Owen
went on to take his seventh Main Event win of the season, finishing
nearly two seconds ahead of Goerke. Blose followed in third, with Faith
fourth and Motosport Hillsboro Kawasaki’s Gared Steinke fifth, just
ahead of Lamay.
When the overall results were tallied Owen’s (3-1) finishes
were enough to give him the edge over Faith (2-4) by just a single
point. Goerke rounded out the overall podium in third (4-2). Lamay
finished fourth (1-6), with Blose fifth (5-3).
Owen was able to add one point to his lead in the 250AX
Class championship standings, which now sits at 21 points over Faith in
second. Goerke sits third, 25 points out of the lead.
The 15-lap Eastern Regional AX Lites Class Main Event saw
Williamson get out to an early lead over Powerband Racing &
Suspension Suzuki’s Broc Gourley and Yamaha rider Keith Tucker. Title
contender Justin Cooper rounded the first lap in last place, 16th,
aboard his Yamaha. The clear track allowed Williamson to open a slight
gap, leaving Gourley and Tucker to battle for second, from which Tucker
took over second on Lap 3. As the battle up front was unfolding,
Powerband Racing & Suspension KTM’s Brandon Gourley was on a hard
charge to the front after starting sixth. He progressively made his way
into fourth, and was then able to pass his brother for third on Lap 5.
He didn’t stop there, passing Tucker for second on Lap 7.
As Williamson pulled away out front, Brandon Gourley and
Tucker continued their fight for second, with both riders suffering
their own bouts of misfortune on Lap 12. Gourley lost several spots and
remounted in fifth, while Tucker found himself in eighth. That allowed
Team Babbitt’s/AMSOIL/KTM’s Isaac Teasdale to take over second, and
Yamaha Rock River bLU cRU rider Justin Cooper to move into third.
Williamson led every lap to take an easy win, with Teasdale second and Cooper third.
Cooper’s third-place finish allowed him to maintain control
of the Eastern Regional Championship. He now sits just four points ahead
of Williamson, who moved into second. KTM rider Heath Harrison is
third, 16 points out of the lead.
AMSOIL Arenacross continues next weekend with its fifth
round of the 2017 season from Louisville, Kentucky’s Freedom Hall. The
action kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 4.
250AX Class Results – Main Event 1
1. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
3. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
4. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
5. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha
6. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
8. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
10. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki
250AX Class Results – Main Event 2
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
2. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha
3. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha
4. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
5. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki
6. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
7. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM
8. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
9. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
10. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki
250AX Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (3-1)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (2-4)
3. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (4-2)
4. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1-6)
5. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (5-3)
6. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki (6-5)
7. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (7-8)
8. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (9-9)
9. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (8-11)
10. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM (12-7)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (Bonus Points)
1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (2 points)
2. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha (1 point)
3. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)
4. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (1 point)
5. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha (1 point)
6. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
7. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (1 point)
8. Josh Osby, Valparaiso, Ind., Kawasaki (1 point)
Eastern Regional AX Lites Class Results
1. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki
2. Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, N.C., KTM
3. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha
4. Broc Gourley, Boonville, Ind., Suzuki
5. Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
6. Dylan Greer, Summerfield, Fla., Yamaha
7. Josiah Hempen, Argyle, Iowa, Yamaha
8. Keith Tucker, Fuquay Varina, N.C., Yamaha
9. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
10. Jerry Robin, Corcoran, Minn., Yamaha
250AX Class Championship Standings
1. Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda – 161 (7 Main Event Wins)
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki – 140 (2 Main Event Wins)
3. Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Florida, Yamaha – 136
4. Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Kawasaki – 119
5. Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda – 111 (1 Main Event Win)
6. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Yamaha – 106
7. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, KTM – 95
8. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 74
9. Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala., KTM – 69
10. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 69
Eastern Regional AX Lites Class Championship Standings
1. Justin Cooper, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., Yamaha – 74 (2 Main Event Wins)
2. Jacob Williamson, Swartz Creek, Mich., Kawasaki – 70 (1 Main Event Win)
3. Heath Harrison, Silverhill, Ala., KTM – 58 (2 Main Event Wins)
4. Isaac Teasdale, Robbinsville, N.C., KTM – 56
5. Brandon Gourley, Boonville, Ind., KTM – 40
6. Josiah Hempen, Argyle, Iowa, Yamaha – 31
7. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., Kawasaki – 30
8. Broc Gourley, Boonville, Ind., Suzuki – 27
9. Dylan Greer, Summerfield, Fla., Yamaha – 26
10. Cody Williams, Barneveld, Wis., Kawasaki – 24
Read more at http://motocross.transworld.net/news/owens-wins-williamson-breaks/#BGeO90EeEyBLzPBX.99
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