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Morning After: Madison Arenacross

December 8, 2023, @ 11:30 pm
Words: Trey Stire
Main Photo: Matt Henson / @matty.media

After an entertaining double-header to kick off the season, the AMA Arenacross Championship, presented by Kicker, headed to America’s Dairyland. Madison, Wisconsin, played host to the third round of the 2024 Arenacross championship, with 4-time defending champion Kyle Peters looking to extend his one-point lead over Ryan Breece. Here is a brief recap of the main events from Friday night’s bar-banging action.

Main Event #1

Heading into the first main event of the night, each of the four fastest qualifiers took a heat race win to start their nights. Phoenix Racing Honda’s Kyle Peters, I AM A COMEBACK/Tucker Freight Lines/Rock River Powersports Yamaha’s Ryan Breece, Lectron Fuel Systems Yamaha’s Jared Lesher, and Lasting Impression Race Team’s Kyle Bitterman took the heat wins. Crockett Myers took the holeshot aboard his Kawasaki, with Peters and Breece starting in the middle of the field. Peters and Breece moved up quickly as Kyle Bitterman took the lead from Myers on the second lap. Bitterman began to break away from the field as Peters and Breece both made a double pass on Myers and Jared Lesher through the whoops. While Peters started to track down Bitterman, Breece had a crash that bent his handlebars, taking him out of the race. Peters passed Bitterman for the lead nearly halfway through the main event and took the win. Bitterman took second, with Jared Lesher and Crockett Myers behind. Rounding out the top five was Cody Groves on his MotoNation Suzuki.

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Death, taxes, and Kyle Peters winning an Arenacross main event: three things that are inevitable in life. (Photo: Matty Media)

Main Event #2

With the inverted start, EBR Performance/Ajax Motorsports Husqvarna teammates Chandler Baker and Tyler Mollet took the top two positions at the start of the race. The duo was passed by Ryan Breece, who turned his first main event misfortunes into a great gate pick and start for the second main. Breece cruised in the lead as Kyle Peters fought through the pack. While it looked like Breece would take an easy victory, Peters put on a charge while Breece began to deal with lap traffic. On the last lap, Breece got caught behind a lapped rider, and Peters made a cut inside the final corner, stealing the win at the last moment. After the stellar start, Baker took third ahead of Kyle Bitterman and Jared Lesher.

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Lasting Impression Race Team’s Kyle Bitterman took a big step forward on Friday night, finishing second overall aboard his Honda. (Photo: Matt Henson)

Two main event wins gave Kyle Peters the overall win on the evening and an extended points lead. Kyle Bitterman took second overall with 2-4 scores, a much-needed rebound after crashes and food poisoning plagued the South Carolinian during the Boise races. Jared Lesher took the final podium spot with 3-5 finishes. After the DNF in the first moto, Ryan Breece took 7th overall with 12-2 scores.

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After a rough first two rounds last weekend, the two-stroke rider, Jared Lesher, bounced back for third place overall on the night. (Photo: Matt Henson)

Overall Results

  1. Kyle Peters (1-1)

  2. Kyle Bitterman (2-4)

  3. Jared Lesher (3-5)

  4. Chandler Baker (7-3)

  5. Blake Gardner (6-6)

  6. Crockett Myers (4-8)

  7. Ryan Breece (12-2)

  8. Izaih Clark (8-7)

  9. Cody Groves (5-11)

  10. Mason Kerr (9-9)

  11. Tyler Mollet (10-10)

  12. Bryton Carroll (11-12)

Kyle Peters now holds a 13-point lead over Ryan Breece heading into the fourth round of the season in Loveland, Colorado. With nearly a month in between the third and fourth rounds, the main story will be whether Ryan Breece chooses to continue his Arenacross season or venture into the Monster Energy AMA Supercross ranks again. Despite being early in the season, the 1-1 victory for Kyle Peters could prove to be a major factor in his push for five Arenacross titles.

AMA Arenacross Point Standings (Top 10)

  1. Kyle Peters-93

  2. Ryan Breece-80

  3. Kyle Bitterman-71

  4. Chandler Baker-55

  5. Robbie Wageman-54

  6. Crockett Myers-46

  7. Izaih Clark-41

  8. Austin Politelli-34

  9. Anthony Rodriguez-34

  10. Blake Gardner-30

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