2019 FIM SUPERENDURO & AMA ENDUROCROSS CHAMPION COLTON HAAKER
P124
Interview
Extreme off-road arena racing
is Haaker's specialty, and Endu-
roCross has been the core of his
career. Without it, he faced the
possibility of losing a big chunk of
his livelihood. But the series was
resurrected in the 11th hour for a
three-race championship for 2019,
which Haaker once again claimed.
Despite winning a third world
championship and a third national
championship, totaling six major
titles in four years, 2019 was a
rather tumultuous year for Haaker,
not the way any racer envisions
their season unfolding.
Haaker talked to Cycle News
about the ups and downs of a wild
season. He opens up for the first
time about the infamous SuperEn-
duro finale in Spain, the AMA Endu-
roCross Series, the release of his
movie "Rare Exception" and also
explains why he sold his landmark
"Haaker Hacienda" in Southern
California and is now headed for a
new home in Idaho.
Let's get right into it and talk
about the 2019 SuperEnduro
World Championship. It was
a great series up until the last
round, and the ending that no
one wanted.
Obviously the series itself was
good battles all year. We found
ourselves in the position where the
final moto, I had to finish fourth if
Webb won. I had just won the race
before straight up, in the three-moto
format that night.
It was just a weird thing where,
when my back was against the
wall and I needed to win, I could.
But when I had to finish fourth, it
almost became harder. Because
it was like a mental thing in your
head that said, 'there's no way you
should even finish fourth. You're
good enough, fast enough, strong
enough to win.' So, that mental
(Above) Haaker's
white-hot rivalry
with Cody Webb
has gained a lot
of attention for
the sport, but has
also come with
consequences.
