EnduroCross Finale - Blazusiak and Brown Win Heats - Aaron Earns 2nd Overall

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Courtesy of KTM Racing

EnduroCross Finale - Blazusiak and Brown Win Heats - Aaron Earns 2nd Overall Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak came to the Orleans Arena for the final round of the EnduroCross Series with the Championship wrapped up and the goal of winning the final round and a $50,000 Triple Crown prize. Judging from the afternoon practice laps and first heat, it looked as if it might be his night. Blazusiak had the second fastest hot lap of the afternoon behind his teammate Shock Doctor/KTM rider Mike Brown. Brown and Blazusiak were split up in the first two heat races. Brown started heat number one with a holeshot and an amazing battle with Christini/KTM rider Geoff Aaron. Brown and Aaron switched the lead position multiple times before Brown made the pass stick taking the win and the first qualifying position into the main. Blazusiak was up next in heat number two. Blazusiak had a great jump off the gate but hit a plant in the first corner and went down. Another rider fell on top of him and the two struggled to get back up. Luckily, Blazusiak kept the bike running and once he regained composure he put on an impressive charge through the pack. By the second lap Blazusiak had moved from last to 2nd position and was closing in on lead rider Gary Sutherlin. Another lap down and Blazusiak caught Sutherlin in the rocks and made the pass for the lead. He pulled on the field and finished the race approximately a ½ lap ahead of the next closest rider. The third member of the team, Shock Doctor/KTM WORCS rider Justin Soulè also made an appearance at the final round of EnduroCross. Unfortunately, Soulè crashed in his heat and semi and wasn't able to qualify into the main event. As a consultation he was entered into the highly popular night race, an event where the stadium lights are turned off and the riders have to race only by headlights. Soulè started up front alongside Husaberg rider Joakim Ljunggred. The two rode side by side for the first half lap until Soulè got held up in the rock section. Soulè lost a few positions getting through the rocks and was able to charge back through and finish the race in 4th position. In the main event, Blazusiak had a decent start rounding the first corner in 3rd place while Brown's wheel spun on the gate and caused him to have a last place start. Blazusiak quickly moved into 2nd position at the tire jump and was soon side by side with Ricky Dietrich. As they came to the right hander after the tire straight Dietrich moved over and into Blazusiak. With no where to go Blazusiak hit the ground hard causing injury to his leg. "I knew something was wrong as soon as I crashed but I am a racer and I came to win, so I was not going to retire early," commented Blazusiak. He soon recovered and was back on track in 7th place. Out front, Dietrich had taken the lead followed closely by Aaron. As the race continued, Brown continued to put pressure on the field working as hard as he could to move up in position from his poor start. Brown spent a lot of time trying to get around stuck riders in the treacherous rock section. "The rock section was tough because so many riders got held up there and I would lose time each lap trying to get around them or waiting for them to pick themselves up so I could get by," remarked Brown. At the end of the race, Brown eventually passed up to 9th position where he finished for the night. "I love racing EnduroCross because you never know what will happen. I had great lap times all night but if you don't have luck to go with your speed in the main event you can find yourself in the back of the pack." Blazusiak passed a few riders after his first crash before he had a second encounter with the ground. After the second crash, Blazusiak put forth a remarkable effort to try and catch the top three but fell short of that goal in the eight lap race. Aaron maintained his 2nd place position to end the season with a podium finish while Blazusiak crossed the line in 5th. After the event Blazusiak had his leg examined for what looks like a possible ACL tear on his right knee. "I will go in for further examination when I return home. I am bummed with how the evening turned out but am still happy to have the championship and plan to return to defend my title in 2010." Blazusiak will be joined once again by Mike Brown as the two KTM Factory riders contending the AMA EnduroCross series next season. Results - US Endurocross Rnd 6 ‘09 POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. 1 Ricky Dietrich Kawasaki 2 Geoff Aaron KTM 3 Damon Huffman Kawasaki 4 Colton Haaker Kawasaki 5 111 Tadeusz Blazusiak KTM Final Standings `09 POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS 1 111 Tadeusz Blazusiak KTM 161 2 Geoff Aaron KTM 134 3 Damon Huffman Kawasaki 115 4 Colton Haaker Kawasaki 111 5 Cory Graffunder KTM 96

Mike Brown and Enduro Cross Champion Taddy Blazusiak Enduro Cross Champion 2009 - Taddy Blazusiak, POL

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich Wins Vegas EnduroCross Final Colton Haaker wins E3 Spark Plugs Junior Championship

Courtesy of Endurocross

LAS VEGAS, NV (November 21, 2009) –  After a close second place finish at the opening round, Ricky Dietrich, the defending EnduroCross Champion suffered an injury at round two of the 2009 Geico EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs and was not a factor in the championship.  But tonight, Dietrich played the role of spoiler.  KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak had the $50,000 Geico Triple Crown bonus on the line if he could win the Vegas final.  But Blazusiak did not get a great start and went down hard while trying to make up time on the first lap. 

Muscle Milk KTM’s Mike Brown set the fastest hot lap to get the day started.  Blazusiak had the second fastest time ahead of Sherco mounted Graham Jarvis, a top trials rider from the UK that is proving his ability at EnduroCross type events on both sides of the pond. 

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Destry Abbot competed in the Baja 1000 the day before and made the long drive to Vegas pay off by collecting the $500 Girardi Wealth Management Holeshot award to start the main event.  His lead was short lived however as there was a lot of bumping and banging during the first lap and most of the field got stuck in the in the large rock pile.  Christini KTM mounted Geoff Aaron took the lead and appeared to be on his way to his second main event win of the season but Dietrich pushed hard to close the gap and made a pass for the lead on lap six.  Aaron held onto second while Damon Huffman won a race long battle with Lucas Oil backed Colton Haaker for the final podium position.  Taddy Blazusiak recovered from his first lap crash to finish fifth but has an extremely sore knee. 

Blazusiak had already clinched the 2009 Geico Powersports EnduroCross championship and Geoff Aaron finished second ahead of Huffman.  By finishing fourth overall in the series, Colton Haaker won the inaugural E3 Spark Plugs’ EnduroCross Pro Junior Championship, the series within a series that allows riders aged 16-21 to compete for an AMA number one plate.  Husqvarna’s Cory Graffunder finished fifth overall and second in the chase for the Junior Championship. 

The Las Vegas EnduroCross final also played host to three classes of Amateur Grand Championships.  Riders qualified by finishing in the top two at the previous five rounds to earn a place in the Amateur finals in Las Vegas.  Geico backed Eric Rodgers won the Open Amateur title.  Sixteen year old Ryan Sandoval won the TrialsCross title and Joe Kopp, the former Grand National Dirt Track champion won the Vet Grand Championship. 

Las Vegas, NV, Geico Powersports AMA EnduroCross Expert Main Event Results

1. Ricky Dietrich            Kawasaki
2. Geoff Aaron               Christini KTM
3. Damon Huffman        Kawasaki
4. Colton Haaker           Kawasaki
5. Taddy Blazusiak        KTM
6. Cody Webb               KTM
7. Bobby Prochnau       KTM
8. Cory Graffunder         Husqvarna
9. Mike Brown                KTM
10. Graham Jarvis           Sherco
11. Destry Abbott            Kawasaki

All six rounds of the 2009 Geico AMA EnduroCross will air on the Lucas Motosports Hour on the Versus Network starting in October.  For more information and air times, check www.motorsportshour.com. 

EnduroCross tracks incorporate various elements of off road racing into a supercross-style setting, including rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, a water-hole… and even a few special obstacles like giant tires thrown in!  Known as the “toughest racing on two wheels,” this indoor version of extreme off road racing will certainly keep you on your feet. The GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross series, presented by E3 Spark Plugs, will be captured by the Versus Network, to be aired on the popular grassroots racing program; The Lucas Motorsports Hour. With its excitement and unpredictability, the EnduroCross championship has always down to the wire and this year will be no different as the series starts and finishes at Vegas’ Orleans Arena! Don’t miss your chance to see GEICO Powersports AMA Endurocross “Live” - and be sure to log-on to www.Versus.com for local airing dates/times for the Lucas Motorsports Hour.

Courtesy of AMA Endurocross
By EnduroCross standards, Red Bull KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak dominated the main event tonight in Guthrie Oklahoma . But the battle for second was anything but boring as the large crowd cheered on a five rider battle over second that finally went to Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Damon Huffman. The final spot on the podium went to Zip Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Cory Graffunder, a top Canadian off road racer that has been steadily improving his EnduroCross skills over the past year.

Christini KTM mounted Geoff Aaron took forth position ahead of Lucas Oil, Kawasaki backed Colton Haaker and Mike Brown who all held podium positions at one time during the main event. AmPro FMF Yamaha’s Kyle Redmund battled Mike Brown to the finish but settled for the seventh position ahead of Nick Brozovich, Destry Abbot and Patrick Smage, the current U.S. Trials champion and Jamie Lanza.

Kawasaki's Damon Huffman picked up a well earned second place after a battle with third place Cory Graffunder.

Northland Kawasaki ’s Jamie Lanza earned the $500 Girardi Wealth management holeshot in the main event but finished eleventh due to a severely twisted brake lever. Blazusiaki quickly took over the lead and rode a mostly mistake free race until he hit the ground on lap six but still maintained a relatively safe lead. The battle for the podium was intense with Damon Huffman holding the position early before giving it up to Mike Brown who in turn fell and handed it to Colton Haaker. It was then Husqvarna’s Graffunder that held the position before giving it up to Huffman who charged back towards the front after crashing twice and falling as far back as fifth.

Taddy Blazusiak takes first place, followed by Kawasaki's Damon Huffman and Husqvarna rider Cory Graffunder in third.

Ricky Dietrich, the defending EnduroCross champion suffered a foot injury during his qualifying “hot lap” that forced him to the hospital for x-rays during the time that he should have taking part in his heat race. The x-ray fortunately showed no broken bones but he was unable to compete on this night. Another notable rider that did not qualify for the main was multi time ArenaCross Champion Josh Demuth, who came up one position short by finishing third in the Last Chance Qualifier but it was an impressive first attempt at EnduroCross.

Guthrie, OK Geico AMA EnduroCross Expert Main Event Results
1. Taddy Blazusiak - KTM
2. Damon Huffman - Kawasaki
3. Cory Graffunder - Husqvarna
4. Geoff Aaron - Christini/KTM
5. Colton Haaker - Kawasaki
6. Mike Brown - KTM
7. Kyle Redmund - Yamaha
8. Nick Brozovich - Honda
9. Destry Abbott - Kawasaki
10. Patrick Smage - KTM
11. Jamie Lanza - Kawasaki

Florence South Carolina will host round three of the 2009 GEICO EnduroCross series on Saturday, September 12th. Tickets are available at 843-679-4525 or www.ticketmaster.com/venue/114999

All six rounds of the 2009 Geico AMA EnduroCross will air on the Lucas Motosports Hour on the Versus Network starting in October. For more information and air times, check www.motorsportshour.com