two. LeBlond took advantage
of a front-row start to take the
holeshot and was followed by
Thompson and fellow Utah rider
Anthony Johnson.
Abbott was the first of the top
riders to work his way through
the field and took the lead on the
second lap.
Hart was fifth with Haaker be-
hind him until a mistake pushed
Hart further back into the field.
Haaker moved into second,
but several mistakes kept him
from closing on Abbott.
Abbott held on for the moto
win, the second of his career
with Haaker second.
Cullins put in a great ride for
third in the moto, and Germany's
Tim Apolle finished fifth on a Beta.
In the final moto, Gerston
blasted to the front ahead of
Hart, Haaker and Abbott.
Haaker worked his way into the
lead before the end of the first lap.
Hart and Abbott moved past
Gerston for second and third
early in the race and held those
positions to the finish.
Gerston finished fourth in the
moto and Apolle had another
strong ride for fifth.
Haaker was the clear overall
winner with his 1-2-1 moto finishes,
and Abbott edged out Hart for
runner-up honors in Texas with his
3-1-3 scores; Hart was third.
Cullins finished fourth overall
with 4-3-6 moto finishes, and
Gerston rounded out the top five
overall with 5-6-4 scores.
Apolle was sixth with 6-4-5 fol-
lowed by Will Riordan, who was
seventh overall with 7-7-8 moto
finishes and again the top Junior
rider (21 and under).
Haaker was happy to get his
second win in a row. "My first
time here in Amarillo and the dirt
looked amazing, but it ended
up being unpredictable, and I
had so many sketchy moments.
I landed on a rider once and
almost landed on another rider in
the second moto. So it was kind
of a sketchy night for me, but it
was a fun night, and I'm happy to
take another win."
Abbott had a crash during the
hot laps and started two of the
three motos on the second row
but still finished second overall.
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 5, 2021 P37
Cooper Abbott was runner-up and
nabbed his second-career EnduroCross
race win along the way.
