EnduroCross Press Release:
Cody Webb finally dethroned Taddy Blazusiak to take his first GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship. The Factory Beta / Stillwell Performance-backed Webb only needed to finish tenth in the main event to take the title but made the math easy by finishing second to Factory Red Bull KTM’s Blazusiak. Colton Haaker finished third in Ontario and third in the 2014 championship.
With the championship battle so tight, the extra points awarded for the heat races and the fastest evening hot lap became extremely important. FMF KTM’s Taylor Robert took the first pro heat race win over Haaker to steal one of those points. Then GEICO-backed Webb and Blazusiak won their respective heat races to take one more point each. Robert set the fastest time during the evening hot laps to get first gate pick and take the bonus point away from the top three riders that were battling for the title. This gave Webb a little more cushion going into the main.
Haaker took the $500 hole-shot to get the main event started but got sideways in the first wood pile section to allow Blazusiak to take the lead. Webb made a few quick passes to end the first lap in third and seemed content to ride a consistent race. Blazusiak held a three-to-five second lead at the finish line for most of the fifteen lap main event but Haaker actually closed to his wheel twice when Blazusiak got stuck but just as quickly had his own problems.
Haaker had a costly mistake on lap 13 that allowed Webb to pass for second but Webb quickly opened the door to stay clear of trouble. Then, Haaker got stuck in the rocks, which allowed Webb to take second for good. Haaker had a few more mistakes but held on to comfortably take the final podium spot.
Blazusiak had a scare when he hit a downed rider and crashed within sight of the finish line but he managed to get going just ahead of Webb who celebrated taking his first title.
Robert, who thrilled the crowed all night by completely jumping over the water hole, worked his way back to fourth in the main despite a first lap crash. Red Bull’s Geoff Aaron took fifth with a very consistent ride on the difficult track.
Bobby Prochnau finished sixth. Mike Brown was seventh followed by Max Gerston in eighth, Cory Graffunder in ninth and Ty Tremaine rounded out the top ten.
Cody Webb:
“Consistency wins championships and I found that out this season by ending with a second place tonight and never finishing off the podium. The team was incredible this year. We put a lot of hard work in this year and it showed. I think mentally I knew I was ready to be up here and I think Colton and I pressured Taddy enough to make big moves. Last year I came on strong after breaking my foot but didn’t have the whole season. This year, I came in fresh and strong and kept putting the hard work in and managed my time with going to school—training hard when I needed to and resting when that was right. I realized in Atlanta this year that I could win the championship and knew that consistency would be the right way to do it.”
Colton Haaker:
“I got the hole-shot and Taddy got around me right after the first straightaway in the firewood pile. I tried to pace it but the track was so tight and small that it was really hard to make up time. We hit lappers so quickly—they really separated the race—I would catch Taddy because of lappers and then I’d hit the same lappers and drop back. It seemed like that for the whole race. Then I lost grip. I lost grip on my right had from water soaking it and then I hurt my left hand worse (from a previous injury). Late in the race, I really couldn’t hold on. Cody and Taddy rode well and we were all up front the whole season. I know what to keep plugging on to build for next year.”
Taddy Blazusiak:
“Finishing up here in Ontario on top means a lot to me. I had some bad luck right away and went down in the first corner and that makes it complicated when we’re racing at this high level. But I got going quickly and I feel like winning the last round proved some people wrong—you win for five years and then you don’t win two and suddenly they think something is wrong. I’m happy to win and happy to win in style as I’m pretty sure Colton was going all-out as he’s fighting for championship points as well. I’m happy to put the last two rounds behind us and now I’m thinking about the Super Enduro series that starts in two weeks.”
GEICO AMA EnduroCross Expert Main Event Results:
Taddy Blazusiak KTM
Cody Webb Beta
Colton Haaker Honda
Taylor Robert KTM
Geoff Aaron KTM
Bobby Prochnau KTM
Mike Brown Husqvarna
Max Gerston Beta
Cory Graffunder KTM
Ty Tremaine KTM
Kevin Rookstool KTM
Giacomo Redondi Beta
Nick Thompson KTM
2014 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship Final Points:
Cody Webb 214
Taddy Blazusiak 202
Colton Haaker 198
Taylor Robert 176
Max Gerston 122
Mike Brown 119
Cory Graffunder 113
Bobby Prochnau 105
Geoff Aaron 104
Ty Tremaine 100
2015 GEICO AMA EnduroCoss Championship Schedule:
March 6, 2015 – Daytona Beach, Florida. Ocean Center
March 21, 2015 – Salt Lake City, Utah. Energy Solutions Arena
April 25, 2015 – Sacramento, California. Sleep Train Arena
May 1, 2015 – Las Vegas, Nevada. Orleans Arena
May 30, 2015 – Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 5, 2015 To Be Confirmed – Austin, Texas. Circuit of the Americas
August 22, 2015 – Atlanta, Georgia. Gwinnett Center
October 3, 2015 – Denver, Colorado. National Western Complex
October 17, 2015 – Everett, Washington. XFINITY Arena
November 7, 2015 – Boise, Idaho. Ford Idaho Center
November 20/21, 2015 – Ontario, California. Citizens Business Bank Arena
For more information, please visit www.endurocross.com
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