Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 (Left) Leader Brown was momentarily held up by a lapper and Blazusiak moved in for the kill. (Bottom) Cody Webb worked his way up to his first podium of the series. to hit it. That track was one of the gnarliest ones, for sure, not because it was supertechnical, but I think a mistake here would cost a lot." True to form, mistakes ended up costing plenty of riders. Colton Haaker was one who came away from Ontario rather disappointed, despite his fifth-place finish. The JCR Honda rider found the quickest way around the track in both hot-lap sessions (one in the afternoon and one during the night program), but he was not able to avoid the mistakes, which cost him a shot at the podium. "I'm faster when no one else is on the track. But with other people on the track, I seem to… not be," Haaker lamented. "I'd say that pretty much sums it up. I wasn't good enough when it counted. It's a bit discouraging when you have what it takes to be there and it's just not happening. It's frustrating; I definitely had the speed and the skill to win three or four races this year. I was fastest guy in L.A., here, and Sacramento, all of which I got fifth and fourth." Fortunately for Haaker, with his newfound consistency, a bad day means fifth place – not a DNF (or DNQ) like we might have seen last season. Haaker credits his improved stability to his JCR Honda team and the backing of sponsors like Pro Circuit. While round three might have unraveled, Haaker has demonstrated that he has the speed, and could still take some wins this season. CN MITCH PAYTON – NEW EX FAN! What do you do when you have no riders in the MXoN? You go to your first AMA EnduroCross race! Or at least that's what Pro Circuit's Mitch Payton decided to do on September 21. "I've never been to one so I'm pretty amazed," Payton said during the evening program. "It's a lot harder than it looks like on TV, to watch it in real life. It's a lot more difficult than I thought it was. It's a really good show and I've been really surprised. There's some really, really talented guys and there is like six or eight guys that are awesome." Might this mean more involvement for Pro Circuit in the AMA EnduroCross series? "I don't see a problem with it," Payton replied. "I think it's really good. We have Kawasaki a little bit this year and we worked with Johnny Campbell and the Honda team and I like it. I P37 Briefly... Kelsey, got in on the program as well, assisting Dave Brosius with live announcing during the day. "Cooper got to race this morning so I was the mechanic all morning for Cooper in his Amateur class and Expert class. He just missed his qualifying. And then having Kelsey announce with Dave Brosius, that's such an awesome thing to be here and do that. And then tonight Cooper was my mechanic so it's a cool family sport, for sure. That's how we are and I love that." It was also a family occasion of sorts for Jamie Lanza. The Husqvarna racer and employee was busy trying to bust his way into the main event while his wife, who is ninemonths pregnant, was on the sidelines having contractions. "They're not close enough together, yet," Erin Lanza casually explained of her condition. "We'll probably go to the hospital tomorrow." EnduroCross announcer Laurette Nicoll isn't letting a little thing like cancer stop her from doing what she loves. Nicoll was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in August, and has since begun chemotherapy, but she has no plans to miss out on rocking the mic at an AMA EnduroCross race this season! think it's really neat. I can see this is a lot different than Supercross. Obviously there's a blend between Supercross and trials, it looks like. I think suspension is really, really important here and the rider has to have really good balance." After getting his first live impression, Payton broke down what he thinks is needed in an EnduroCross machine. "I really think it's more suspension than engine. I would have to say you would want a lot of bottom but it's gotta be pretty smooth because if it's real aggressive, you got wet spots on the rocks and the logs and you don't now when something's going to hit really hard and then for sure you don't want something that's high horsepower, high RPM or anything."

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