Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/668281
ARENACROSS: RACE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP TIGHTENS A MSOIL Arenacross reached the halfway point of the Race to the Championship on Saturday, April 16 with its sec- ond visit to the Tacoma Dome in Washington. The night of racing saw a shift atop the champion- ship standings as Team Bab- bitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Gavin Faith earned his first overall win of the Race to the Championship and moved into a tie for the points lead. In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class, MX Athletics/Racetech KTM's Car- len Gardner became the fourth straight rider to break through for the first win of his career. When the first Arenacross- class main event left the gate it was Team Babbitt's/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki's Jacob Hayes who grabbed the holeshot, only to lose the lead to his teammate and champion- ship leader Chris Blose before regaining the position before the completion of the opening lap. Faith started third. Hayes ran consistent laps to keep Blose at bay, but there was little distance between the pair throughout the opening laps. On lap four, Hayes' hopes of winning his first main event in the Race to the Championship came to an end after he collided with a downed rider and hit the dirt, ultimately remounting in fifth. Hayes' misfortune proved to be Blose's benefit as the points leader comfortably held onto the top spot throughout the remainder of the race. Behind him, Faith and TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Ben Lamay, the overall winner at the previous round, engaged in an intense battle for second. Blose took his third main event win of the Race to the Championship ahead of Faith, who held off Lamay for second. Sewell was fourth, with Hayes recovering from his crash to finish fifth. The second main event saw TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda's Jace Owen grab the holeshot over Hayes and Faith, with Blose not far behind in fourth. Blose made an early move on Faith to take over third on lap one and put himself in a position to secure the overall. However, everything changed on lap two when Blose crashed in the rhythm section and fell to the tail end of the field in 13th. That gave third back to Faith, with Lamay moving into fourth. The front of the field went unchanged until the late stages of the main when Hayes passed Owen for the lead on lap 13 after patiently waiting for his opportunity to strike. He set a torrid pace on the final lap and went on to take the win by three seconds over Owen, with Faith third, Lamay fourth and Yamaha rider Ryan Breece fifth. Blose made an impressive climb back up to seventh. Faith's pair of podium finishes IN THE WIND P22