Chris Blose Wins Arenacross Opener

January 11, 2015, 8:10am

Cincinnati, OH - The highly anticipated 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael's Road to Supercross, kicked off on Saturday night from Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena. With a wide open field of competitors ready to do battle for the vacant Arenacross Class title this season it was any rider's race to win, but in the end Team Babbitt's Monster Energy Kawasaki's Chris Blose emerged victorious in his first career start in full-time AMSOIL Arenacross competition. Blose led the way for a dominant night for the Babbitt's squad, claiming the top four spots overall. In the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rider and Road to Supercross competitor Darian Sanayei broke through for his first win of his professional career.

Chris Blose's full-time AMSOIL Arenacross debut was a memorable one. Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

The night started off with adversity for Team Babbitt's most experienced riders as both Zach Ames and Jacob Hayes were forced to qualify for the Arenacross Class Main Event via the DC Shoes Defy Convention Last Chance Qualifier. In the first 15-lap Main Event for the premier class, Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing's Kyle Regal grabbed the holeshot and held on to the early lead with Blose and ThermoTec Yamaha's Bobby Kiniry close behind. Regal soon encountered trouble and crashed out of the lead, allowing Blose to assume control of the race. The Arizona native went relatively unchallenged the rest of the way, with Kiniry in second and Team Babbitt's Monster Energy Kawasaki's Matt Goerke in third.

Heading into the second Main Event Blose chose how many riders would be inverted - 0, 8 or 16 - ultimately selecting the full field of 16.

Zach Ames narrowly missed out on the overall victory, just one point behind Blose. Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

As the gate dropped on Main Event 2, Slakawear KTM rider Steven Mages came away with the holeshot to the delight of the hometown crowd. Hayes, who finished 10^th in the first Main Event, followed in second with Hillview Motorsports Suzuki's Steve Roman in third. Blose slotted into seventh, with Ames eighth, Kiniry 10^th and Goerke 13^th. Hayes wasted little time in taking control of the race, passing Mages on Lap 1 for the lead, and was soon followed by Road to Supercross competitor Jordon Smith, who put his GEICO Honda into second one lap later. The rider to watch in the charge to the front was Ames, who passed Blose and then marched his way into podium position on Lap 4 in third. Several laps later, Ames took second away from Smith, bringing Blose with him. The move by Blose to take over third is what assured him the overall victory. Out front Hayes cruised to the Main Event win, with teammates Ames and Blose rounding out the podium.

Blose's 1-3 finishes were enough to edge out Ames' 3-2 effort overall. Goerke finished third (2-7) with Hayes completed the Babbitt's sweep in fourth (10-1). Kiniry rounded out the top five (6-5).

Team Babbitt's was the class of the field, finishing 1-2-3-4. Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

In the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, Regal edged out Goerke for the win to earn the extra championship bonus point and a $250 dollar bonus, compliments of RMATV/MC.

Blose carries a slim one-point lead over Ames in the Arenacross Class standings, with Goerke five points behind in third.

In the opening Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event of the season, Sanayei made it look easy, grabbing the top spot off the start and leading all 15 laps. In his second season of AMSOIL Arenacross competition, Sanayei knows he has the speed to win and he made a statement with his performance. Sanayei's Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green teammate Mitchell Harrison started right behind him in second to start the Main Event, with Mages running third. Mages made the pass for second on the opening lap, but Spinechillers Racing KTM's Dave Ginolfi was on a charge, starting sixth and eventually taking over second on Lap 10 and finishing in the runner-up spot. A&Y Racing's Daniel Herrlein rounded out the podium following a pass for third late in the race.

Sanayei became the latest Road to Supercross rider to win an Arenacross Lites Class Main Event. Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Ginolfi leads the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship standings by one point over Herrlein, with Mages in third, just two points out of the lead.

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1

Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2

Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki
Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda
Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha
Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., KTM
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda

Arenacross Class Results - Overall (Main Event Finishes)

Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki (1-3)
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki (3-2)
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (2-7)
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (10-1)
Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha (6-5)
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (5-10)
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki (9-8)
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (8-9)
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda (14-4)
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (4-16)

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results

Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki
Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
Mitchell Harrison, Cairo, Ga., Kawasaki
Randy Woodring, Spring Lake, Mich., Kawasaki

Arenacross Class Points (Race 1 of 20)

Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki - 30
Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Kawasaki - 29
Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki - 25
Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 23
Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha - 23
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 19
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki - 17
Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 17
Jordon Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda - 16
Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM - 14

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 1 of 10)

Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 15
Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 14
Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasak - 13
Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 12
Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 11
Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 10
Randy Woodring, Spring Lake, Mich., Kawasaki - 7
Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki - 3
Josh Cartwright, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha - 2
Tyler McSwain, Shelby, N.C., Kawasaki - 1