The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha, in association with Rock River and CycleTrader, team was coming into the fourth round of the 2017 AMSOIL Arenacross series with a head full of steam after slightly underperforming during the third round in Baltimore. The Bridgestone Arena was this weekend’s battleground as a rowdy Nashville crowd gathered to witness the action.
The Yamaha pair set off to a positive start in qualifying as they both put in lap times at the sharp end of the field; Blose clocked the third fastest lap of both sessions and Goerke set the sixth fastest time, providing them with good gate picks for their respective heat races.
The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha, in association with Rock River and CycleTrader, duo was placed into the same heat race for the third weekend in a row as they lined up bar-to-bar. Blose was able to perform the better start between the two of them, rocketing down the start straight and putting himself right in the hunt for the top three. Goerke continued to struggle getting out of the gate, ending up just on the cusp of the top five early on in the race. The two of them were able to make moves over the course of the quickly paced heat race; Goerke made a quick move to put himself in front of the Team Babbit’s / Monster Energy / AMSOIL Kawasaki of Travis Sewell, moving into fourth position. Therefore, giving him an opportunity to follow in the wheel tracks of his teammate towards the front of the field. The Yamaha duo forced their way into second and third, moving past the current series points leader, Jace Owen.
Both riders gave themselves an opportunity to compete in the RMATV MC Head 2 Head Challenge by earning solid finishes in the first heat. Goerke was matched up against Gavin Faith in the first round of the challenge, and unfortunately lost out to the Iowa native. Blose was matched up against the Suzuki rider of Cory Green in his first race of the two rider format; the Arizona native made quick work of the Oklahoman and advanced to the next round relatively uncontested. Subsequently, he was pitted against the Woodstock KTM of Cody Vanbuskirk, repeating his performance from the first race with another smooth victory. Blose graduated to the final and found himself lined up against the defending Champion, but he wasn’t able to best the Team Babbit’s / Monster Energy / AMSOIL Kawasaki to win his first RMATV MC Head 2 Head Challenge of the year.
The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha, in association with Rock River and CycleTrader, team experienced a consistently solid night of main events throughout. Goerke shot out to one of his best starts of the entire 2017 AMSOIL Arenacross series as he found himself in third position behind Ben Lamay and Gavin Faith. He wasn’t able to match the early race intensity of the two leaders, eventually pushing him back into the clutches of Jace Owen. The two of them were involved in a heated battle throughout the midway point of the fifteen laps, but Goerke eventually had to surrender the position and settle for fourth. Meanwhile, Blose had an uncharacteristic start by his standards, settling into fifth position behind Owen. He was minor tenths of the pace of the championship leader ahead of him, but easily had the pace to distance himself from the rest of the pack. Blose had an uneventful race by the action packed standards of Arenacross, finishing where he started in fifth position. In the second main event, Goerke showed that his starts may be dialed in once and for all as he improved upon the first race by putting himself in second right out of the gate. He lost a little bit of time to Jace Owen throughout the opening stages of the race, but the gap leveled out just before the midway point. The two of them exchanged fast lap times, but Goerke wasn’t able to put on a charge in the latter stages of the moto, forcing him to settle for second position. Blose got off to another decent start, slotting into fourth position on the opening lap. He quickly made moves onto the podium as he forced himself past the Kawasaki of Steven Mages, subsequently setting his sights on his teammate in second. Blose clocked consistent lap times throughout the entire fifteen laps, but his steady pace was ultimately not enough to progress any further on the podium. It was an overall solid result for the Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha, in association with Rock River and CycleTrader, team as they finished the night with both riders in the top five overall, keeping them right in the thick of the championship hunt.
AMSOIL Arenacross will head to Louisville, Kentucky this coming weekend for the fifth round of the 2017 season. The Rockstar Energy OTSFF Yamaha, in association with Rock River and CycleTrader, team will be hoping to have both riders stand on the overall podium when the action gets underway at Freedom Hall on February 4th.
