Arenacross inntroduces X-Pro Class

[DonCox]

"The X-Pro class will feature a series of two heats leading to a final Kicker Audio Clash event, where the top riders on both ICE and electric bikes will go head-to-head."

Arenacross Introduces X-Pro Class

The 2025 AMA Arenacross Championship will feature the new X-Pro class for battery-powered motorcycles. Plus, a new Kicker Audio Clash race will pit gas-powered motorcycles against electric motorcycles.

www.cyclenews.com

This sounds like a good way to introduce E-bikes into the AMA world

 

[Philip]

I have counted 6 Stark Varys so far!

 

[Theo]

You will agree with me about the fact that in motocross the rider matters a lot: I don't know all those guys: would you say that the Vargs were ridden by riders as fast as the ones who rode ICEs?
If Jett Lawrence and Deegan will ride ICEs -and I think they will- I don't think that anyone with a Varg can beat them.
Here are the results.
The fastest lap of ICEs was 31.836 by Friese in the Pro Day AX-Pro Qualifier 1 and the fastes Varg did 33.634 with Joshua Hill in Pro Day X-Pro Qualifier 1.
In the Clash race, Friese won and the fastest Varg was 3rd with Hill.
It seems like Hicks used both a Yamaha and a Varg and he qualified with 33.994 with the former and 34.006 with the latter: the difference is 0.04%.

I also want to add that, despite the fact that I hope that I will always do motocross with electric dirtbikes and not with ICEs for the rest of my life -barring possible relevant technological breakthroughs- I agree with those guys in the comments section that ICEs sound much cooler. If you don't have to do things like replace pistons or upshift while standing and you only watch others riding, yes, I think it's better to watch ICEs. Maybe you should consider a Varg so that becoming a rider yourself becomes feasible, though.
EDIT: I also think that electrics sounded even less cool because of that background music. I think that watching a downhill race or a ski race or a tennis match with background music would make the competition seeming less serious. It's harder to get excited by an athletic feat with some chilling country music playing.

 

[Beagle]

Nice to see AMA evolving its stance on electrics.

Cool to see riders like Hicks racing both the AX and X Pro classes on a Yam and Varg.

Clash for cash is fun, and that's great to see Justin Bogle smiling again after winning the second cash for clash race

AMA Arenacross Championship on Instagram: "@chiefluc891 won the Kicker Clash after this move on @kylebitterman581 to take the lead. #arenacross @kickeraudio"

536 likes, 5 comments - arenacrossusa on November 17, 2024: "@chiefluc891 won the Kicker Clash after this move on @kylebitterman581 to take the lead. #arenacross @kickeraudio".

www.instagram.com

And here are highlights from the first clash for cash

 

[Philip]

Clash for cash is fun, and that's great to see Justin Bogle smiling again after winning the second cash for clash race

Is there a video of this? I've read some haters cheered for Freezy for the first time ever, hahaha!

 

[Beagle]

Is there a video of this? I've read some haters cheered for Freezy for the first time ever, hahaha!

You can see the overtake for the win in the Instagram above.
I have not seen a video of this race yet.

 

[Philip]

Bogle punted the leader off the track before the whoops section. Else, he had little chance.

I saw two classic electric bike issues. First -- the whoop speed, where the electric bikes fall into the gaps between the whoops instead of skimming the tops. And, what appears to be the Stark Varg issue, the low-speed corner traction issue. Freese could corner much tighter, whereas the Vargs were choosing to go wide.

 

[Beagle]

Josh Hill vid on round 1

 

[Beagle]

Also good comparison in the whoops

Matt Burkeen on Instagram: "Style check - What would you rather take through these chewed up @arenacrossusa whoops? A 450, 250f or a stark varg? This seemed to be the hardest part of the track for the electric bikes, & we all know my track record thr

638 likes, 19 comments - mattburkeen on November 19, 2024: "Style check - What would you rather take through these chewed up @arenacrossusa whoops? A 450, 250f or a stark varg? This seemed to be the hardest part of the track for the electric bikes, & we all know my track record through these...

www.instagram.com

and why Josh thinks Vargs are slower in the whoops

I think it’s because there isn’t as much rotating mass as a gas engine. No transmission, piston, rod, flywheel, just a small electric motor powering the whole bike off of a large battery. It makes the bike extremely agile to turn and flick in the air. But when you want it to tractor smoothly across whoops, it takes a different technique that I havent yet mastered.