Ben Lamay Wins A Wet Salinas Arenacross
Cycle News Staff | April 11, 2016
On a historic afternoon in which AMSOIL Arenacross made its first foray to an open-air venue at Salinas Sports Complex, Mother Nature provided some of the most challenging track conditions in the history of the sport for the second round of the Race to the Championship, April 9.
Ben Lamay gets to take home another first-place trophy. Photography by ShiftOne Photography
A weekend of rain in California’s central coast ultimately condensed each main event to 12 laps, from 15, and in the end produced intense action on the track. When all was said and done, it was TiLUBE/TUF Racing Honda’s Ben Lamay who emerged with his first overall win thanks to a tiebreaker over Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/AMSOIL Kawasaki’s Chris Blose, the championship leader.
Jared Lesher captured his first Arenacross Lites-class victory.
In the Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Championship another new winner prevailed, with DrivenMX/MEPMX KTM’s Jared Lesher capturing the win with his first career podium result.
Gavin Faith had fun in the mud and won one of the mains but it wasn’t enough to claim the overall victory.
On an afternoon when the Race to the Championship standings had the potential for a major shakeup with the weather conditions, Blose stood tough and maintained control of the points. He added one point to his advantage over Faith and now has a three-point lead after two of five rounds in the Race to the Championship. Hayes moved from fourth to third, 15 points back, with Owen fourth (-16) and Lamay fifth (-22).
Chris Blose continues to lead the championship.
Class Results – Main Event 1
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
- Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
- Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
- Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
- Connor Pearson, El Dorado, Calif., Kawasaki
Arenacross Class Results – Main Event 2
- Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki
- Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
- Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM
- Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
Arenacross Class Overall Results (Main Event Results)
- Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (3-1)
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (2-2)
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (1-5)
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (5-3)
- Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (7-4)
- Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna (6-6)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (4-9)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM (8-7)
- Kyle Bitterman, West Pelzer, S.C., Husqvarna (11-8)
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM (9-10)
RMATV/MC Head 2 Head Challenge Results (Bonus Points)
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki (2 points)
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki (1 point)
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki (1 point)
- Austin Politelli, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki (1 point)
- Ryan Breece, Athol, Idaho, Yamaha (1 point)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna (1 point)
- Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda (1 point)
- Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda (1 point)
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Results
- Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM
- Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM
- Devin Harriman, Brush Prairie, Wash., Suzuki
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM
- Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM
- Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM
- Ashton Hayes, Rockford, Mich., Suzuki
- Robbie Wageman, Newhall, Calif., Yamaha
- Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM
- Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda
Race to the Championship Standings
- Chris Blose, Phoenix, Kawasaki – 99 (3 Main Event Wins)
- Gavin Faith, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki – 96 (8 Main Event Wins)
- Jacob Hayes, Liberty, N.C., Kawasaki – 84 (8 Main Event Wins)
- Jace Owen, Matoon, Ill., Honda – 83 (1 Main Event Win)
- Ben Lamay, Forney, Texas, Honda – 77 (3 Main Event Wins)
- Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., KTM – 69 (5 Main Event Wins)
- Gared Steinke, Woodland, Calif., Husqvarna – 67
- Kyle Regal, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna – 58
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 30
- Daniel Herrlein, Bethesda, Ohio, Honda – 1
Western Regional Arenacross Lites Class Standings
- Cody VanBuskirk, Harvard, Ill., KTM – 99 (1 Main Event Win)
- Ben Nelko, Aliquippa, Pa., KTM – 96 (2 Main Event Wins)
- Cheyenne Harmon, Colleyville, Texas, KTM – 89 (1 Main Event Win)
- Jared Lesher, Ball Ground, Ga., KTM – 73 (1 Main Event Win)
- Carlen Gardner, Paso Robles, Calif., KTM – 73
- Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., KTM – 63
- Dylan Rouse, Florence, Ky., KTM – 58
- Dave Ginolfi, Midvale, Utah, Husqvarna – 56
- Brandon Marley, McEwen, Tenn., KTM – 35
- Dillon Cloyed, Papillion, Neb., Honda – 33
Arenacross’ first outdoor venue was a we one–and in California of all places.
