IN
THE
WIND
P32
FAITH WINS PORTLAND ARENACROSS
T
he battle for the 2017 title
officially got underway on
Saturday night, March 18, as
Amsoil Arenacross' Race to the
Ricky Carmichael Cup kicked off
inside the Moda Center in Port-
land, Oregon. Team Babbitt's
Monster Energy Amsoil Kawa-
saki's Gavin Faith made the first
statement of the playoff-style title
fight by taking a crucial overall
victory in the opening round.
In the Western Regional AX
Lites class DrivenMX Racing
KTM's Jared Lesher took his first
win of the season in an eventful
main event that helped vault him
to the top of the championship
standings.
The fight to earn every
championship point available
kicked off with the RMATV/MC
Head 2 Head Challenge prior to
the 250AX-class main events.
Faith edged out championship
rival Jace Owen and his TiLube
Jack Link's Tuf Racing Honda
for a crucial extra bonus point.
The win would prove to pay big
dividends for Faith at the end of
the night.
Owen put his Honda into the
early lead in the first main ahead
of Faith and Rockstar Energy
OTSFF Yamaha Team rider
Chris Blose. The lead trio settled
into their respective positions
and began laying down similar
lap times, ultimately pulling away
from the rest of the field.
Owen and Faith traded
quicker lap times, keeping the
distance between them right
around one second for virtually
the entire 15-lap race. Blose
kept pace as well, keeping both
Owen and Faith in his sights
throughout.
The Race to the Ricky Car-
michael Cup's top seed, Owen,
controlled the main until the
Gavin Faith struck
first in the Race
to the Ricky
Carmichael Cup
in Oregon. The
championship is
now tied.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SHIFTONE
PHOTOGRAPHY
