Cycle News Staff | November 19, 2024
The first two rounds of the 2024-25 AMA Arenacross series kicked off in Reno, Nevada, November 15-16.
Vince Friese began his run for the 2024-2025 AMA Arenacross Championship with a win on Friday night in Reno.
Defending champion Kyle Peters is looking to make history as the winningest Arenacross racer in history, but plenty of other big names rolled out for their chance at glory. Peters however did not find victory lane, as it was two MotoConcepts Honda riders, Vince Friese and Ryan Breece, who claimed the overall wins. The series also debuted the new X-Pro class that has ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and electric bikes racing head-to-head in two heats and a Clash final. Josh Hill and Justin Bogle each took wins.
Friese kicked things off on Friday with a heat-race win. The veteran Supercross racer is new to the Arenacross scene and his experience paid off on this night. After starting third in the main event, Friese battled his way to the back wheel of the reigning number-one Peters before executing a textbook pass to take the lead on lap six.
Peters stayed close for second, but Freise controlled the race from the front and crossed the line first. Yamaha-mounted Michael Hicks was third. Breece crashed out of contention and was credited with 15th.
Friese and Peters again found themselves up front in race two, which spelled trouble for the rest of the field. The two Honda riders traded spots early in the race, with Friese taking over the lead on lap three. Peters remained in the hunt and never let the lead grow to more than two seconds. Despite having the defending champ hot on his heels, Friese remained cool and took the win with Peters and Breece in tow.
Friese went undefeated at round one, taking wins in his heat race, the Clash race and both main events. Peters was second overall with a 2-2 and Hicks was third overall with a 3-4. Honda rider Kyle Betterman was fourth overall and Robbie Wageman rounded out the top five.
“Winning is fun,” Friese said. “And to win all of them all night is cool. I know I’m going to have some adversity; it’s a long series and there are a lot of battles to come. But man, they’re fun when they’re easy like that.”
Breece turned the tables on Friese in round two on Saturday night. His 1-4 was enough to take the overall win over Friese’s 5-1. Third overall was Yamaha rider Austin Politelli who went 4-2 on the night. Yamaha-mounted Michael Hicks was fourth overall (3-5).
Peters had an off night with crashes and was fifth overall, going 6-3 on the night.
In the X-Pro class, Friese, Politelli, Josh Hill, Justin Bogle and Hicks made up the top five overall on Friday night. Bogle won the overall on Saturday evening ahead of Breece, Friese, Hill and Bitterman.CN
OVERALL
Round 1
- Vince Friese (Hon)
- Kyle Peters (Hon)
- Michael Hicks (Yam)
- Kyle Bitterman (Hon)
- Robbie Wageman (Yam)
Round 2
- Ryan Breece (Hon)
- Vince Friese (Hon)
- Austin Politelli (Yam)
- Michael Hicks (Yam)
- Kyle Peters (Hon)
