AMA Endurocross
A near full house filled the National Western Complex in Denver Colorado for round five of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Sparkplugs.
Taddy Blazusiak proved to have the quickest throttle hand in the main event once again as he immediately took the Girardi Wealth Management $750 Holeshot award, but things started to unravel for the defending EnduroCross champ after that.
Ten-time AMA National Trials champion Geoff Aaron rode the race of his life in Denver, not only taking his first win of the year but keeping his title hopes alive and forcing the GEICO EnduroCross Championship to the final race in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 20.
Monster Kawasaki’s Justin Soule finished a personal best second place with Lucas Oil backed Colton Haaker stepping up his game to nail down a well-deserved third.
Blazusiak started the day by throwing down a 1:03.185 second Pioneer Hot Lap, which puts the riders on the track one at a time to determine gate picks for the evening’s heat races.
Zip Ty Husqvarna backed Cory Graffunder followed in second with a 1:05:183, while Lucas Oil backed Haaker filled out the final podium spot with a 1:05:739. Graffunder earned a $500 bonus from Rekluse clutch by being the fastest rider using their auto clutch.
After winning their respective AMA Endurocross heat races, Blazusiak and Aaron faced off in the GEICO main event. After grabbing the Holeshot, Blazusiak had to fight off a quick-starting Kyle Redmond, who stole the lead for half a lap before handing off first to Blazusiak. But Aaron was on a mission, and it wasn’t long before the likable trials star pulled his KTM into the lead.
Behind Aaron, Blazusiak was looking solid until a piece of debris lodged in his front brake caliber, effectively rendering the brake useless and leaving the KTM racer to salvage a decent finish. “I knew as soon as I lost my front brake that I was in trouble.” said Blazusiak, who fell victim to aggressive passes from Soule and Haaker.
Out front, Aaron was riding smoothly and deliberately, trying to block out the battles taking place behind him.
Geoff Aaron says: “I knew that Taddy was not directly behind me. I had a small fall and was able to remount quickly, but I knew that I didn’t have a ton of breathing room. Luckily, I kept charging while Soule and Colton kept Taddy at bay, and I was able to take the win.”
In only his second EnduroCross main event win, Aaron took the checkered flag in front of a roaring home-town crowd that including a gigantic Geoff Aaron cheering section and all the local Kawasaki motorcycle dealerships that helped to fill the stands; Sun Enterprises, Fay Myers Motorcycle World, Moto Adventure, Rocky Mountain Kawasaki and Grand Prix Motorsports.
Soule crossed the line in second place, looking stronger than ever aboard his KX250F.
Justin Soule says: “I worried about only one thing tonight: Hitting my lines. I just wanted to ride smart, keep it together and pull out a good finish. I’ve been extremely close before and it seems like something always happens, so I was pumped to make it happen tonight. Plus, my team manager told me that I was just riding around like a girl at the last round, so I had to prove him wrong!”
As the series heads into the final round at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the championship is still up for grabs. Blazusiak is clearly focused on defending his crown, but he’ll have to get around Aaron, who will no doubt bring a boatload of confidence to Vegas following his victory in Denver.
Soule and Haaker have also proven to be legitimate threats in the Pro class, and when you factor in Redmond, Mike Brown and the rest of the major challengers, the Vegas fans are certainly in for a treat.
2010 Denver AMA EnduroCross Expert Class results:
- Geoff Aaron KTM
- Justin Soule Kawasaki
- Colton Haaker Kawasaki
- Kyle Redmond Kawasaki
- Taddy Blazusiak KTM
- Gary Sutherlin Kawasaki
- Cody Webb Gas Gas
- Cory Graffunder Husqvarna
- Kevin Rookstool KTM
- Jamie Lanza Kawasaki
- Ryan Sandoval KTM
The GEICO AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark plugs finals now heads to Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Nov. 20.
This will be round six of the six rounds series and has sold out in the past so if you want to see EnduroCross finals in person, please go to EnduroCross.com to get your tickets.
GEICO AMA EnduroCross on the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour on Versus network:
Event / Date / Arena Air Date / Time Re-Air Date / Time
- Las Vegas, NV 07/17/10 – Orleans Arena: 10/10/10 6:00 PM 10/14/10 5:00 PM
- Guthrie, OK 08/14/10 – Lazy E Arena: 10/31/10 5:00 PM 11/3/10 5:00 PM
- Indianapolis, IN 08/27/10 – Pepsi Coliseum: 11/7/10 6:00 PM 11/11/10 5:00 PM
- Everett, WA 9/11/10 – Comcast Arena : 11/14/10 5:00 PM 11/17/10 5:00 PM
- Denver, CO 10/30/10 – National Western Complex: 12/12/10 5:00 PM 12/15/10 5:00 PM
- Las Vegas, NV 11/20/10 – Orleans Arena: 12/19/10 6:00 PM 12/23/10 5:00 PM
