Las Vegas EnduroCross Finale
Monster Energy Kawasaki riders Justin Soule and Destry Abbott wrapped up the 2010 AMA EnduroCross season at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas with Soule finishing third in the championship standings and Abbott claiming the 2010 Spirit of EnduroCross award.
Soule was second fastest AMA EnduroCross rider in qualifying and won his heat race before finishing sixth in the main event.
After just missing out on the race win at the last event in Denver, Soule came to Las Vegas ready to get that elusive first win. He started off on the right foot qualifying with second fastest time then battling Mike Brown throughout his six-lap heat race to get the Vegas EnduroCross win and advance to the main event.
Justin Soule says: “I have a lot of fun when I race with Mike,” said Soule. “We were going back and forth for almost the whole heat race and I’m glad I came out on top. I was really excited coming into this event and that is how I wanted to get it started.”
AMA EnduroCross racing is a physical test in the best of circumstances and for the 38-year-old Abbott just having to race the heat, semi and eventually winning the LCQ took its toll.
Abbott overcame trouble in both the heat and semi races charging up to just miss out on advancing to the main event.
In the LCQ he grabbed the holeshot and didn’t look back to secure a spot in the feature race. Abbott started strong from the second row and was in the top-five after the second turn, but a crash in the matrix obstacle took the wind out of his sails as he came home 11th at Vegas AMA EnduroCross.
Destry Abbott says: “Tonight was difficult. The track was one of the toughest we’ve seen, especially the boulder section. It was a long night, but at the start of the main I felt like I was flowing well and riding the best I had all day.”
“All of that went out the window when I crashed in the matrix, once I got up it all hit me and I was really worn out. Coming off of ISDE in Mexico, I haven’t had much seat time in EnduroCross. It is a shame because I really love this type of racing.”
After his strong performance in the heat race for AMA Vegas EnduroCross, Soule was excited for the main event. But by qualifying directly from the heat, he had about two hours of downtime before lining up on the gate for his next race.
The downtime proved to be a downfall as he tightened up and wasn’t able to get warm before the main event.
Justin Soule says: “I was really excited about this race all day. I did what I needed to in qualifying and my heat race but that may have hurt me a little. With all the downtime I wasn’t able to get back warmed up and it showed in my riding. I tightened up early in the main event and I could never get a good flow going.”
All through the night, there was never any question how Abbott was doing on the Vegas EnduroCross track. All you had to do was look up at section 106 in the Orleans Arena and you could see all of the Destry Abbott 2010 ISDE t-shirts waving Kawasaki green foam fingers.
The section served as a fundraiser for Abbott’s ISDE effort and they were treated to a nice surprise as Abbott was given the 2010 Spirit of EnduroCross Award.
Destry Abbott says: “It was really cool how everyone helped out. I sold 100 tickets for the race as a fundraiser and I probably could have sold 100 more. It was great to see everyone up there having a great time and cheering me one.”
2010 Vegas AMA EnduroCross Results:
EnduroCross Pro Results
1. Taddy Blazusiak KTM
2. Geoff Aaron, KTM
3. Cody Webb, Gas Gas
4. Mike Brown, KTM
5. COLTON HAAKER, KAWASAKI
6. JUSTIN SOULE, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI
7. KYLE REDMOND, KAWASAKI
8. JAMIE LANZA, KAWASAKI
11. DESTRY ABBOTT, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI
2010 AMA EnduroCross Final Pro Standings
1. Taddy Blazusiak, KTM
2. Geoff Aaron, KTM
3. JUSTIN SOULE, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI
4. Cory Graffunder, Husqvarna
5. KYLE REDMOND, KAWASAKI
6. GARY SUTHERLIN, KAWASAKI
7. COLTON HAAKER, KAWASAKI
