Text by Mark Morrow, photos by Jacob Souder
The AMA Arenacross series has wrapped up and they once again crowned Kyle Peters champion. Mark Morrow was there for all of the bar banging action and reports on the final two rounds in case you missed it.
Little Rock AK
With the pressure of the championship no longer an issue, many wondered if Kyle Peters might back down and take it easy in Little Rock. Unfortunately for the competition, that was not in his plan, and he had another dominant weekend, winning his heat race and both main events, despite great rides by Kyle Bitterman, Jared Lesher, Izaih Clark and newcomers Josiah Natzke and Spencer Winter.
The heats bore no surprises with all 4 heats being won by the fastest timed qualifier in that heat. There was a bit more action in the semis and lcq’s as riders became a bit more desperate to make it in and had to bang some handlebars in a few spots to get into the big show.
Kyle Peters made it look pretty easy in the first main, getting the holeshot and leading every lap. Things were not as easy as they looked though, as Kyle Bitterman put in an inspired ride, spending 2/3 of the race with barely more than a second in between them. Their pace was high enough that the always smooth Izaih Clark, who was right with the lead duo for the first few laps, could not hang on and slowly fell back to finish a comfortable 3rd, but 10 seconds behind. Jared Lesher and Josiah Natzke both had to overcome mediocre starts but worked their way through the pack to finish 4th and 5th.
Pro main 2, in contrast, was an absolute BARN BURNER! Most of the back row struggled on the start, except for Kyle Bitterman who had an amazing start. He went into turn one behind fast starters Winter and Mason, made quick work of both and took over the lead on lap 2 setting off to open up some breathing room.
Behind him, it was an uphill battle for the rest of the back row as Clark and Lesher were buried in the middle of the pack and Peters was very close to last! Peters pushed hard early, and leap frogged right past Clark, latching on to Leshers back wheel. They stayed in formation for several laps, picking off other riders one at a time, moving closer and closer to the front. Every time Peters got close enough to attack, Lesher would make a pass on another rider and get a small gap again. All the while, Bitterman was 4-6 seconds out front, clicking off consistent laps and staying out of trouble with the lappers.
Around lap 8, the battle heated up even more when Peters and Lesher caught Winters, who showed no sign that he wanted to let either of them by. The 3-way battle raged for a few laps before Lesher finally found an opening and went by. Peters followed suit the next lap and the chase resumed again.
On lap 14, the battle became even more intense when Peters finally got close enough to go side by side with Lesher and after battling for a few corners, made the pass stick. Lesher stayed close but was never able to get back on terms with Peters and finished a few seconds back in 3rd.
Time seemed to stretch on forever as the lap counter clicked lap after lap and Bittermans hard earned gap got smaller and smaller. The “Kyle’s” made contact on lap 20 and despite two well played counterattacks by Bitterman, Kyle Peters made the pass stick and took over the lead with two laps to go. Natzke and Winter rounded out the top five.
Congrats to the Champ, Kyle Peters on yet another dominant performance! It was nice to see he still has a good amount of competition not only from series regulars like Bitterman and Clark, part timers like Lesher and from newer arrivals like, Winters and Natzke. As good as the competition is, they all came up short this time as Peters showed everyone why he wears the big #1 on his bike and will continue to do so next year too.
Lexington KY
The final round of the 22-23 AMA Arenacross featured a stacked field of talented riders, all with the same goal: Beat Kyle Peters. Topping the list was Michael Hicks, the only rider to successfully go 1-1 against Peters previously this year. Hicks was confident going into the race and was not the only one motivated to beat the newly crowned Champ, with Jared Lesher, Kyle Bitterman,
Izaih Clark and several others all looking to take advantage of this final opportunity to score a win.
Unfortunately for the competition, Peters had a different idea and ended up with another “Kyle Peters weekend”, winning both mains and his heat race, making it look easy along the way.
Hicks, Peters, Clark and Lesher all won their respective heat races without too much challenge, with Hicks and Clark earning top marks from the commentators for original tricks while taking the checkers. The semis and LCQs saw some tough battles as riders got more desperate for their chance to race in the final main events of the year.
With all of the qualifying complete, the stage was set for a big showdown in the first main. Peters, Hicks, Lesher and Clark all got off the line well and came out of turn one in 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Clark right behind them in 4th. Hicks pressured Peters hard for the first lap and made a pass on the champ at the beginning of lap two. Peters took a different line through the long rhythm section, passing Hicks back in midair and then put the block on him in the next turn. Hicks didn’t back down and the two riders made contact, with Hicks getting his front wheel hooked on Peters’ foot peg, putting Hicks on the ground and breaking several spokes in the process.
Peters checked out and was never challenged again for the lead. Behind him, Lesher and Clark battled over 2nd for a few laps until Clark had first one and then another small crash that sent him to the back of the pack to eventually finish 9th. Lesher finished a comfortable 2nd while Hicks fought hard to hold off a hard charging Kyle Bitterman, who had a horrible start, for 4th.
Pro main 2 was the most exciting race of the night, with LCQ winner Christopher Blackburn taking the holeshot. Clark and Hicks were right behind him while Peters did not have a good start and ended up mired in traffic for the first lap.
Clark passed Blackburn in turn three while Hicks railed the outside around both of them and took over the lead. Hicks opened a nice gap over Clark fairly quickly, but any hopes of running away were dashed when Peters basically passed the entire field except for Hicks by the end of lap three!
For several laps, the gap between the two remained constant with both riders clicking off similar lap times, but once they started hitting lappers, Peters started closing the gap a little with every lap. Both riders were clearly giving it 100% and were easily the fastest riders on the track, but Peters seemed to just get around the lapped traffic better and continued to close as the laps wound down.
The chase concluded when Peters caught Hicks on lap 16. On the following lap, Peters gave Hicks a little love tap as the two exited a corner side by side. Hicks responded with an attempt to brake check Peters in the next corner, but the Champ was ready for it and turned the tables, parking Hicks on the exit while he sprinted off in the lead. Hicks attempted to counterattack but lost momentum when he cased the final jump in the long rhythm section, leaving Peters to take the white flag and checkers with no further challenge. Josiah Natzke worked his way through the pack to finish 3rd while Lesher and Taylor rounded out the top 5.
The season is over, the champion has been crowned and the final checkered flag has been thrown. Regardless of the sport, whenever there is a dominant racer in any championship, there is a tendency to root against him and pull for the underdogs. This season has been no exception and in spite of how fast, professional and gosh darned NICE Kyle Peters is, it has been very easy to root against him at times, just because he wins so much, and it would be great to see others share in the glory. He doesn’t really deserve that though, as it is obvious he puts in the work, respects his competitors and 100% deserves every single win. The challenge from his competitors this year has been fierce and his ability to rise to nearly every challenge and come out on top time after time has been amazing. Who knows what or who will rise up to challenge him next year? For now, everyone gets to take a well-deserved rest, spend some time with their families and come up with a plan to beat one of the fastest, most consistent riders ever in AMA Arenacross history.
Congratulations to the Champ and to everyone that lined up in the gates this season. See you all again in December!
