Cycle News Staff | January 6, 2025
Rounds five and six of the 2024-25 AMA Arenacross Championship played out in Loveland, Colorado, January 3-4, 2025. After all was said and done over the doubleheader weekend, the points tightened up between the two championship contenders, Vince Friese and Michael Hicks.
Vince Friese won round five but finished third at round six. He still leads the series by 16 points.
Friday night’s round five was all about Friese, as the MotoConcepts Honda rider made light work of the 23-second course. He set the fastest qualifying time, won his heat race, and won the night’s overall. A third in main one set him up for success, as Friese went on to win the all-important final main of the night. Late in the race, with pressure from Hicks, a lapper cross-jumped into Friese, nearly taking down the top two leaders. Despite the close call, Friese’s 3-1 finishes earned him the overall win.
“I know the guy that hit me didn’t do it on purpose,” Friese said. “There was a slick spot, and he hit it and came into me. There are a lot of guys on the track for being such a small track. Still, winning feels good, but it was a bit squirrely tonight.”
Hicks, who is racing the AX Pro (gas) and X-Pro (electric) divisions, was Friese’s closest competition on Friday night. The Yamaha rider also won his heat race before finishing with a pair of seconds in the main events. Hicks stayed close to Friese in the final main but played it safe and did not risk a pass late in the race. Austin Politelli continued his hot streak with a win in the opening main event, followed by another podium in third to finish the night. These consistent results landed him third overall.
Michael Hicks topped night two after a thrilling final main event.
Hicks rebounded for the overall win on Saturday night’s round six. He took third in the first main while Friese got out front and claimed the opening win. The final main of the night proved to be the most exciting, as the two rivals banged bars for the entire race. Friese controlled the early parts of the main and at one point sent Hicks off the track in the opening laps. Hicks then charged back to the front while Friese got caught up with lapped traffic. On the final lap, Hicks tripled to Friese’s inside and put the Honda rider on the ground with only two turns left. This aggressive pass allowed Hicks to take the win, going 3-1 for the overall win.
“I caught Vince and passed him, but I knew he was coming inside, so I ended up going off the track,” Hicks said. “He had some lappers get in his way, and I just put in some laps and caught him again. Two turns to go to the finish, you’ve got to send it. He doubled and I tripled and just pulled my shoulders in and threaded the needle. He washed the front, and I was happy to see him fall because that last turn would’ve been gnarly.”
Friese remounted but crossed the line in fourth and dropped to third overall for round six. Austin Politelli landed on the podium for the second night in a row, and his 2-3 results earned him second overall on Saturday in round six. CN
ROUND 5 (Friday)
- Vince Friese (Hon) 3-1
- Michael Hicks (Yam) 2-2
- Austin Politelli (Yam) 1-3
- Ryan Breece (Hon) 4-4
- Chandler Baker (Hus) 5-6
ROUND 6 (Saturday)
- Michael Hicks (Yam) 3-1
- Austin Politelli (Yam) 2-3
- Vince Friese (Hon) 1-4
- Ryan Breece (Yam) 4-2
- Kyle Bitterman (Hon) 5-5
