AMA Arenacross Changes | News 1

The AMA Arenacross Championship is back for the 2024-2025 season and it all starts in Reno, Nevada tonight, November 15th. For the new season, all the excitement, explosive action, and great racing fans are accustom to will be amplified with more riders, new formatting, and the all new X-Pro class. 

The AMA Arenacross Championship returns in '24-'25 with a twelve-round series starting this weekend in Reno, Nevada, and ending at Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 28. Phoenix Honda's Kyle Peters will attempt to cement himself into history by winning his sixth consecutive championship, while last year's runner-up, Ryan Breece, has other plans. Breece, now riding for MotoConcepts Racing, finished just five points behind Peters last season. The two of them accounted for twelve of fourteen wins, and they both are ready to do battle, but there is a new threat to their title hopes with MCR's Vince Friese committing to racing the full season of AMA Arenacross. When asked how they felt about Friese joining the series, Kyle Peters said, "Nothing changes for me. I have to go out, execute my starts and laps, and ride my own race." Ryan Breece exclaimed, "I gotta step it up. The big fella's coming. It's time to eat, and we're ready to battle." With Friese's incredible ability to start and aggressive riding, he is sure to play a major factor and add to the intensity of the racing. 

Kyle Peters will be on a 450 for the entire season, whereas previously, he has ridden the 250 almost exclusively. When asked why the change, he told us, "Last year, there were things I wanted to do that I couldn't do on the 250. That's another new element to this upcoming season, along with Robbie Wageman, Austin Politelli, Brandon Ray, and others, ensuring the upcoming season will be one you don't want to miss. 

New Class

The exhilaration of the AX Pro class will be accompanied by the addition of the X-Pro class, which is the AMA's first electric bike national championship. Discussions about whether or not electric bikes should be allowed to compete at AMA pro events have been going on for a few years. Mike Burkeen of the AMA said, "We've always been 'pro' electric bikes. The issue has been safety-related because they are difficult to hear, and awareness is a struggle. We weren't going to go full bore and let them race together. We wanted to see what it would be like."

The X-Pro class will be limited to electric bikes that meet the Class B requirement, which has been added to the AMA rule book. Currently, the Stark Varg is the only bike that meets that requirement, but other bikes will be allowed in if they meet the requirements. Riders, including Josh Hill, Justin Bogle, Kelana Humphrey, and Joshua Varize, are set to race the Starks and show what the future may hold. 

The class will also allow riders such as Kelana Humphrey who have been riding electric bikes for fun and free riding to showcase their racing abilities. During Thursday's press conference Kelana stated, " My mindset is to go and have as much fun as I can, but take it seriously. I have an image that I'm just a freestyle kid. There's a bit of a chip on my shoulder. It motivates me to prove I am a racer."

"We're on the ground floor with electric bikes. We're here to put it in a race environment and figure out what it needs." - Justin Bogle

Format Changes

Shawn Smith with AX Promotions announced format changes were implemented for the new season, which they believe will improve racing. The number of racers in the main event has increased from 12 to 15. They feel the number of entries with a higher ability level has increased enough to add more riders to the main. There will no longer be inverted starts, which could be seen as positive or negative, depending on who you are. Also, they have done away with the semis and now will take three riders from each of the three heats. Then the top three from each of two LCQs will go to the main. 

In the past, there was a 1vs1vs1 race where the entrants had been fan-driven. That has been updated for the new season to the three fastest riders on internal combustion engines versus the three fastest on an electric bike in a Kicker Clash for Cash race. If a racer is concerned about the safety issues of gas and electric bikes racing simultaneously, they can choose not to race the Clash, and the next rider will be given the opportunity. We asked the riders at the press conference if anyone would choose to sit out, and they all said, "No way."

Schedule

Round 1 Reno, Nevada, on November 15

Round 2 Reno, Nevada, on November 16

Round 3 Boise, Idaho, on December 6

Round 4 Boise, Idaho, on December 7

Round 5 Loveland, Colorado, on January 3

Round 6 Loveland, Colorado, on January 4

Round 7 Guthrie, Oklahoma, on January 24

Round 8 Reno, Nevada, on January 31

Round 9 Reno, Nevada, on February 1

Round 10 Prescott Valley, Arizona, on February 7

Round 11 Prescott Valley, Arizona, on February 8

Round 12 Daytona Beach, Florida, on February 28

You can find the full schedule details and ticket options here.

How to Watch

The AMA Arenacross Championship will once again be available on MavTV and with the Arenacross Live All Access package.