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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1543402
Politelli Perfect at Guthrie; Breece Takes Title T he ninth and final round of the 2025-26 FIM AMA Arenacross Championship took to the Lazy E Arena in Guth- rie, Oklahoma, for an exciting season finale. Guthrie saw the largest layout of the year and played host to some close racing to end the season, as the original season-ender planned for Febru- ary 27 in Daytona was recently canceled. Points leader Ryan Breece had the title all but wrapped up go- ing into the night show and just needed to stay upright in order to clinch it. His MotoConcepts Honda teammate, Austin Politelli, capitalized on the situation and swept the night with 1-1 scores. In the first main event, Breece's main rival, Cole Thomp- son, struck first with the early lead over Austin Politelli. Both Thompson and Politelli won their heat races earlier in the night and placed themselves as the favorites for the race win. Politelli stalked in second until a mistake saw Thompson case the big rhythm section and drop back to second. Once Politelli took over the lead, he held the top spot through to the check- ers. Thompson still finished second, with his Yamaha team- mate, Robbie Wageman, in third. Breece fought through soreness after a big crash last weekend and salvaged a sixth at the line. This finish earned him enough points to clinch the 2026 AX Pro Championship. "It was a long, thoughtful sea- son," Breece said. "It definitely took some strategy with the whole team and myself. It just feels really good to get this thing done." Race two saw the riders re-rack on the start gate, with Breece opting out of the final moto. Politelli grabbed the hole- shot and led all 13 laps without contest. He took the checkered flag first and swept the night with 1-1 scores to finish out the season. Another win put him third overall for the AX Pro Championship. "I just wanted to win," Politelli said. "It was kind of a bummer how last weekend went with my back [injury]. Congrats to my teammate; we both had some bad nights, but that's racing. We'll just come back stronger next year." Thompson finished second in race two and earned second overall with a pair of twos on the night. He took second in the championship, three points down from Breece. Jeremy Fappani finished third in the final main event after Wageman crashed in the whoops. His 4-3 scores put him third on the night, marking his best finish of the season. CN OVERALL (Top 5) 1. Austin Politelli (Hon) 1-1 2. Cole Thompson (Yam) 2-2 3. Jeremy Fappani (KTM) 4-3 4. Robbie Wageman (Yam) 3-5 5. Jesson Turner Jr (Yam) 7-4 WIND IN THE P54 Ryan Breece clinched the AX Pro title at the final round of the AMA Arenacross Championship.