Matt Goerke Wins Night Two in Wilkes-Barre

First Career AMSOIL Arenacross Win for Matt Goerke on Night Two in Wilkes-Barre Makes Him Sixth Different Overall Winner of Season

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (February 7, 2015) – The fifth round of the 2015 season of AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross, came to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday inside Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. As has been the trend thus far in the championship, another new named emerged with the overall victory in the Arenacross Class as Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Matt Goerke earned the first win of his AMSOIL Arenacross career, becoming the sixth different winner in eight races. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, points leader Dave Ginolfi took the win aboard his Spinechillers Racing KTM to extend his advantage in the championship.

In his first full season of AMSOIL Arenacross competition, Goerke has been one of the most formidable contenders in the Arenacross Class and in the first Main Event of the evening he put himself in position to earn the overall victory. Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing’s Kyle Regal began the Main Event in the lead, just ahead of Goerke and Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM’s Gared Steinke. Regal and Goerke established themselves out front while Team Babbitt’s Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose moved past Steinke on Lap 3 to take over third. Shortly thereafter, fellow Team Babbitt’s rider Jacob Hayes slotted into fourth, setting his sights on his teammate.

Regal maintained his advantage over Goerke for half of the Main Event, but the gap between the two slowly narrowed in the closing laps. As the battle up front intensified, Hayes was able to make his way around Blose just after the finish line on Lap 10. Out front, Goerke was looking for a way around Regal and after several attempts, made the pass stick after the whoops on Lap 13. Regal attempted a counter move, resulting in contact between the two riders that briefly paused their momentum. Hayes closed in quickly as a result and ultimately made contact with Goerke, causing Hayes to fall to the ground. Both Goerke and Regal resumed out front, with Goerke in the lead, while Hayes ended up losing several positions. Goerke took the win with Regal second and Blose third. It was Goerke’s first Main Event win of the season.

Thanks to his triumph, Goerke had the opportunity to select the inversion of the second Main Event, picking the number eight. As a result, half of the field was inverted heading into the final race of the evening.

Regal seized the opportunity again out of the gate in the second Main Event and took early control of the lead ahead of teammate Gavin Faith and Hayes. Blose wasn’t far behind in fourth, while Goerke settled into fifth. In an effort to run down his teammate for the lead, Faith made a mistake in the rhythm section on Lap 2, allowing both Hayes and Blose to pass. In the ensuing laps, Hayes closed in on Regal for the lead and made an aggressive pass coming out of the whoops on Lap 6 that caused heavy contact between the two riders and forced Regal off the track.

Once out front, Hayes was able to slowly and consistently build a gap over Blose, with Faith in third and Goerke in fourth. The top four remained the same until Lap 11, when Faith made a move on Blose to reclaim the runner-up spot. Hayes cruised to the win with Faith and Blose completing the top three.

Goerke finished fourth and his consistency on the evening (1-4), combined with a win in the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, gave him the overall win ahead of Blose (3-3). Faith’s late pass for second helped him secure third overall (5-2). Regal rebounded from his incident with Hayes to finish sixth in the final Main Event and claim fourth overall (2-6), with Hayes rounding out the top five (8-1).

Goerke took a chunk out of his deficit to Hayes in the Arenacross Class championship standings, and now sits 14 points out of the lead. Regal maintained his hold on third, 22 points back. Blose and Slaka Wear KTM’s Steven Mages round out the top five.

Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 1

1. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
2. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
3. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
4. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
5. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
6. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
7. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
8. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
9. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
10. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki

 

Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2

1. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
3. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
4. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
5. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
6. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
7. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
9. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
10. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki

 

Arenacross Class Results – Overall (Main Event Finishes)

1. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (1-4)
2. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (3-3)
3. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (5-2)
4. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (2-6)
5. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (8-1)
6. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (7-5)
7. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (4-9)
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (6-8)
9. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (9-7)
10. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (10-10)

Arenacross Class Points (Race 8 of 20)

1. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 211 (4 Main Event wins)
2. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki – 197 (1 Main Event win)
3. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna – 189 (3 Main Event wins)
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki – 166 (4 Main Event wins)
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM – 163 (1 Main Event win)
6. Bobby Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha – 159 (1 Main Event win)
7. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 153
8. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM – 132
9. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna – 126 (2 Main Event wins)
10. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., KTM – 115