Regal and Blair Win at Night 2 of Colorado Springs AX

The second and final night of action for the debut of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, inside Broadmoor World Arena was highlighted by a sold out crowd celebrating the first ever Military Appreciation Race. In another compelling night of competition in which a tiebreaker was needed to determine a winner for the second straight evening, Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Kyle Regal broke through for his first overall victory of the season in the Arenacross Class, edging out ThermoTec Yamaha’s Bobby Kiniry. In the conclusion of the opening round of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship, Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Daniel Blair extended his points lead with his first win of the season.

Post Race Video Interview with Kyle Regal:

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After enduring several instances of hard luck recently, Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chris Blose took control of the first Arenacross Class Main Event by grabbing the holeshot ahead of Kiniry and Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Matt Goerke, the championship points leader. Regal positioned himself in fifth, while his teammate Gavin Faith started in seventh and Team Babbitt’s Jacob Hayes in ninth just one night after they tied for the overall win.

ThermoTec Yamaha’s Michael McDade made his presence felt on Lap 1 by passing Goerke for third, and the two continued their battle until Goerke reclaimed the position on Lap 6. The following lap, Regal moved into fifth and started to put pressure on both McDade and Goerke for the final podium spot. While this battle continued to take shape, Faith experienced misfortune in his efforts to move forward, making a mistake in the whoops while battling with Hayes for sixth. Faith’s crash ultimately forced him out of action for the remainder of the first Main Event and also kept him sidelined for the second Main Event.

While Blose opened a comfortable margin out front, Goerke and Regal were closing in on Kiniry. Regal made the move to take away third from Goerke on Lap 12, but on the following lap the two made contact as they continued their fight for the position, forcing Goerke to the ground. Blose held on to take his second Main Event win of the season, while Kiniry fended off a hard charging Regal for second. McDade finished fourth, with Hayes rounding out the top five. Goerke made a quick recovery from his misfortune to finish sixth.

For the third consecutive night, the number eight was revealed when Blose chose the inversion heading into the second Main Event, meaning half the field would invert.

Regal overcame his sixth gate pick start in the second Main Event with the holeshot, with both Kiniry and Hayes right on his rear fender. Blose fought his way into fourth, to keep his hopes of victory in sight, while Goerke slotted into sixth just behind TZR Woodstock KTM’s Travis Sewell. The opening lap was loaded with excitement as Regal and Kiniry traded the top spot in a heated early clash that allowed Hayes to put pressure on the lead as well, creating a three-rider battle for the lead that brought the sold out crowd to its feet. On Lap 3 Blose’s hopes for victory were dashed when he crashed on the landing after the finish line, falling to the tail end of the field. That allowed Goerke to move into fourth and put pressure on Kiniry and Hayes, who continued to battle for second after losing ground to Regal.

Hayes made his way past Kiniry for the runner-up spot at the tail end of Lap 10. Goerke followed suit on the following lap with a pass that would ultimately loom large when the final points were tallied. In the end Regal cruised to a comfortable win to put a stamp of his overall triumph. The Babbitt’s duo of Hayes and Goerke rounded out the podium. Kiniry followed in fourth, with Sewell and Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages rounding out the top five.

Regal’s 3-1 efforts tied him with Kiniry (2-4), who benefitted from taking the win in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge to earn two additional championship bonus points over Regal, who did not qualify for the challenge. By virtue of his win in the second Main Event, Regal’s first-place finish outweighed Kiniry’s fourth to award him the tiebreaker. Hayes followed up his victory on Friday night with a third-place effort (5-2). Goerke continued his consistent start to the season in fourth (6-3).

Goerke maintains control of the red number plate as the championship points leader, but Hayes has trimmed his lead to 12 points. Regal’s win vaulted him from fifth to third in the points, 31 points out of the lead.

The second race of the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class offered late drama in the battle for the win. Blair grabbed the early advantage in the Metro PCS Blazing Fast Arenacross Lites Main Event with the holeshot, but A&Y Racing Honda’s Daniel Herrlein, who dominated en route to victory on Friday, put the pressure on immediately. Blair and Herrlein laid down a torrid pace out front and stayed mere bike lengths apart for nearly half of the race. On Lap 6 Herrlein took advantage of an inside move to overtake Blair and appeared to be on his way to a second straight win. However, as he navigated his way through lappers, which were more prevalent as a result of the leaders lapping half of the 16-rider field, Herrlein made contact with another rider, which broke off his shift lever. The incident left Herrlein stuck in fourth gear and ultimately allowed Blair to retake the top spot on Lap 12 of 15. Blair went on to take the win while Herrlein had to rely on defensive maneuvers to maintain hold of second over TZR Woodstock KTM’s Scott Zont.

Blair, who entered the night with a slim one-point lead in the Western Regional standings, extended his advantage to six points over Team DirtBikeMike KTM’s Brandon Glenn. Motosport.com/GPI Honda’s Chase Maquier and TZR Woodstock KTM’s Cody VanBuskirk sit tied for third, 17 points behind Blair.