Endurocross News
Ten-time Trials world champion rider Geoff Aaron made a strong statement when he rode his GEICO Powersports Kawasaki back to a podium finish in the GEICO Powersports AMA Endurocross race at Comcast Arena after struggling at the last stop on tour in Indianapolis.
Aaron, who maintained his second-place position in points, seemed to forget his struggles from the previous event when he came out and ran flawlessly early in the day.
Geoff Aaron says: "I had a decent run today. I set the hot lap in practice, then won my heat race."
Aaron’s luck seemed to continue in the first half of the main event but on-track rival Taddy Blazusiak ran him down and overtook the lead.
Geoff Aaron says: "I led there for a while but Taddy got me when I got caught up with some of the lappers. I rode as hard as I could, but second was the best I could do today."
The podium is somewhere Aaron is happy to back on after his Indy problems, but he is still aiming for that first place-finish. Aaron is hoping that his first win of the season will come at his home track in Denver.
Geoff Aaron says: "A lot of my friends and family will be there, and hopefully we can finish it and finally pull out the win in Denver."
Teammate and up-and-coming star Kyle Redmond rode his GEICO Powersports Kawasaki well enough to qualify for the main event but struggled once he got there.
Kyle Redmond says: "Today wasn’t what we were hoping for but it was alright. I made the main but finished eighth because I had some troubles. I got landed on and I was battling wrist pain the whole time."
Redmond, who rode to a runner-up finish at the last stop on the tour in Indy, was hoping to ride the wave of momentum coming in to Everett. He managed to make up a few spots during the race but got held up by some other riders.
Kyle Redmond says: "I was eighth then battled my way up to fifth, but I got caught up with some guys that weren’t getting out of the way when I was about to lap them. That was really frustrating."
Teammate "Wild" Wally Palmer is trying to tame his wild ways and focus on getting his GEICO Powersports bike in to the main event. Palmer started off the day riding well and even set the quickest hot lap of the day for a short period of time.
Wally Palmer says: "I rode well in the hot lap, I even had the quickest lap for a minute. I was really looking forward to the heat races and making it into the main."
The results of Palmer’s heat races were not exactly what he or team owner JT Bennett were expecting. Palmer was not able to capitalize on his hot lap success and unfortunately did not qualify for the main event.
Wally Palmer says: "In the semi the two guys in front of my crashed in the logs then I tried to go around them and I fell on my right leg. Then the bike fell on top of me and it hyperextended my knee, that was pretty much the end for me."
Teammate Ryan Rodgers also had a troubled day and did not make it to the main event but he knows that as unfortunate as it is, sometimes that’s just the way it goes.
Ryan Rodgers says: "Today wasn’t too bad of a day. I had a good first heat but during the semi I lost the chain twice and I wasn’t able to make it to The Last Chance Qualifier. It’s frustrating but it’s part of the game, we signed up for it."
Matt Crouch decided to run in both the Open Amateur class and the professional class to get more lap time on his bike. Although it was good for practice, it made for a tough and long race day for the GEICO Powersports rider.
Matt Crouch says: "It was an interesting night. I won the Open Amateur class and the Dash for Cash but didn’t ride well in the night show and didn’t make it in the Last Chance Qualifier."
The next stop for GEICO Powersports AMA Endurocross Series is Oct. 30 at National Western Complex in Denver.
