Gavin Faith Captures First Career AMSOIL Arenacross Victory at Second Night in Grand Rapids

Mitchell Harrison Becomes Second Road to Supercross Winner in 2015 in AX Lites

Grand Rapids, Mich. (January 17, 2015) - The second round of the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross, featuring Ricky Carmichael''s Road to Supercross, came to a conclusion on Saturday with a second night of action inside Grand Rapids'' Van Andel Arena. The premier Arenacross Class saw its third different overall winner in as many races as Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing''s Gavin Faith captured the first win of his career. In the Arenacross Lites Class, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green rider and Road to Supercross competitor Mitchell Harrison raced to his first professional victory.

Grand Rapids Night 2 Video Highlights
Grand Rapids Night 1 Photos
Grand Rapids Night 2 Photos


Consistency was the key to Faith''s first career win.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

One night after Zach Ames, who entered Grand Rapids second in points, was forced to sit the weekend out after a practice crash, the Team Babbitt''s Monster Energy Kawasaki team endured more misfortune. Opening round winner and former championship points leader Chris Blose was sidelined on Saturday after a crash last night left him with severe bruising and trauma to his side and back. That left Babbitt''s with two riders on the gate, championship-co leaders Jacob Hayes, who won on Friday, and Matt Goerke.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green''s Darian Sanayei took control of the first Arenacross Class Main Event, ahead of Goerke and Spinechillers KTM rider Willy Browning. Faith, who started fourth, made quick work moving his way to the front and was into third before the completion of Lap 2. That same lap Goerke made the pass on Sanayei for the lead. The top three paced one another for five laps until Sanayei went down in the whoops on Lap 7 and out of competition. With a clear path to Goerke after assuming control of second place, Faith began to close in on the Kawasaki out front. On Lap 11 Faith made his move and held off Goerke through to the checkered flag. Browning rounded out the top three.

Faith then selected the inversion for the second Main Event, opening the box with eight, meaning half the field would be inverted before determining who would walk away victorious.


Goerke now has sole possesion of the Arenacross Class points lead.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Slaka Wear KTM''s Steven Mages took advantage of his improved starting spot in the second Main Event to grab the early lead over Browning and Faith. The top three stayed in line for the majority of the 15-lap Main Event until Faith made his way around Browning on Lap 10, ensuring his position in the overall classification. Mages was relatively unchallenged and went on to win, with Faith second and Browning third. Goerke rode to an impressive fourth-place finish, overcoming an 11th-place start to just miss out on a podium finish.

Faith''s 1-2 finishes secured the overall, while Mages'' victory in the final Main Event vaulted him to the runner-up spot (5-1) in what was ultimately a three-way tie for the position. By virtue of his pair of third-place results, with the second Main Event finish serving as the tiebreaker, Browning (3-3) claimed the final spot on the overall podium ahead of Goerke (2-4).

In the RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge, the Husqvarna TiLUBE TUF Racing tandem of Faith and Kyle Regal faced off in the final. Regal edged out his teammate and earned the additional bonus point towards the Arenacross Class Championship.


Harrison is the second Road to Supercross rider to win in 2015.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Goerke''s strong evening allowed him to take control of the Arenacross Class standings, moving ahead of Hayes, who finished 11th after a pair of tough Main Events. Goerke holds a 16-point lead over Hayes, while Mages and TZR Woodstock KTM''s Travis Sewell sit in a tie for third, 20 points back.

The early advantage in the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Event went to Harrison, who quickly assumed control of the race ahead of GEICO Honda''s Tristan Charboneau and Lakehil Motors Yamaha''s Josh Cartwright. While Harrison worked to open a gap, Charboneau and Cartwright engaged in an intense battle for second. The two riders went bar-to-bar for several laps, bringing the Grand Rapids crowd to its feet, but on Lap 4 the pair came together and both riders fell to the dirt, eliminating them from contention. That allowed A&Y Racing Honda''s Daniel Herrlein to assume second and Spinechillers KTM''s Dave Ginolfi to take over third.

While Harrison maintained his advantage out front, Harrison asserted himself into second, but Ginofli soon came under fire from Motosport.com/Haeseker Racing KTM''s Daniel Blair. The KTM riders raced side by side before Blair was able to make the pass stick. From there on the out the front of the field remained unchanged with Harrison earning the win ahead of Herrlein and Blair. Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green remains undefeated through three Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Main Events.

As a result of an unfortunate crash by points leader Sanayei, Herrlein took control of the Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship points lead. Ginofli took over second and sits three points out of the top spot, while Sanayei dropped to third and faces an 11-point deficit.


The Arenacross Class field launches out of the gate inside Van Andel Arena.
Photo Credit: Josh Rud / ShiftOne Photography

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 1
1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
2. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
3. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
4. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
5. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
6. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
7. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
8. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
9. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
10. Michael McDade, McDonald, Ohio, Yamaha

Arenacross Class Results - Main Event 2
1. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM
2. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna
3. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM
4. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
5. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna
6. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
8. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
9. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
10. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM

Arenacross Class Results - Overall (Main Event Finishes)
1. Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Husqvarna (1-2)
2. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, KTM (5-1)
3. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM (3-3)
4. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (2-4)
5. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki (4-6)
6. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (7-8)
7. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki (6-9)
8. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna (14-5)
9. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM (9-10)
10. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda (8-11)

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
1. Mitchell Harrison, Cairo, Georgia, Kawasaki
2. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda
3. Daniel Blair, Lodi, Calif., KTM
4. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM
5. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki
6. Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
7. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM
8. Christian Telker, Brownsville, Ind., Yamaha
9. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
10. Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki

Arenacross Class Points (Race 3 of 20)
1. Matt Goerke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki - 84
2. Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki - 68 (2 Main Event wins)
3. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki - 64 (1 Main Event win)
4. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM - 64
5. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, KTM - 63
6. Kyle Regal, Grand Prairie, Texas, Husqvarna - 60 (1 Main Event win)
7. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 50
8. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki - 49 (1 Main Event win)
9. Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Yamaha - 49
10. Gared Steinke, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki - 44

Eastern Regional Arenacross Lites Class Points (After Race 3 of 10)
1. Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda - 44
2. Dave Ginolfi, Boston, N.J., KTM - 41
3. Darian Sanayei, Orting, Wash., Kawasaki - 33 (2 Main Event wins)
4. Steven Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasak - 29
5. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM - 26
6. Steve Roman, Apollo, Pa., Suzuki - 24
7. Dave Blanchet, Quebec, Canada, Kawasaki - 20
8. Mitchell Harrison, Cairo, Georgia, Kawasaki - 18 (1 Main Event win)
9. Josh Cartwright, Tallahassee, Fla., Yamaha - 18
10. Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM - 18
AMSOIL Arenacross continues next weekend with the third round of the 2015 season. The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will host two nights of action on Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24. Both nights kick off at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET.

Tickets for each round of AMSOIL Arenacross are on sale now!

The entire AMSOIL Arenacross season will air on FOX Sports 1, including re-airs on Fox Sports 2.

Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMSOIL Arenacross season returns for the 2014 season! To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.

For more information on the 2015 AMSOIL Arenacross season, and to purchase tickets, log on to www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.

Never miss out on the latest news! For more information on AMSOIL Arenacross, please log on to www.Arenacross.com. To follow AMSOIL Arenacross on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, long on to www.facebook/com/AMAarenacross, www.twitter.com/Arenacross and www.instagram.com/Arenacross. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/ArenacrossLive.

About Feld Motor Sports®
Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports productions include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross and Nuclear Cowboyz®. Feld Motor Sports is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world''s largest producer of live family entertainment. Official Monster Truck Series only at Monster Jam. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

###

Tweet