VOL. 50 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 29, 2013
P73
Briefly...
event via the three heat races and
two LCQs, run another evening hot
lap to determine the main event gate
picks. It puts extreme pressure on
the riders and for the first time all
year, Cody Webb set the fastest
evening hot lap with a time of 51:686
to take the first pick ahead of Taylor
Robert (52.188) and Taddy Blazusiak (52.224). Mike Brown was the
big loser in the session, as he set
only the ninth fastest time after over
jumping into the pond and coming
to a complete stop. But Brown is an
experienced racer and pulled off a
second-place start from the outside,
something that had not been accomplished all day.
(Above) Arm-pump hampered Mike
Brown's efforts.
(Left) Colton Haaker made a run on
Brown but had to settle for third.
couldn't jump it," Haaker said.
Blazusiak rode to an impressive
fourth place. Impressive in that
he had gone down in the second
turn and then crashed again as he
tried to work his way through the
field. Blazusiak was lucky to be
riding at all after going down hard
over a tricky step-up double jump
during the first practice session.
"That was a big crash in the first
practice and I took a hard hit to my
head," he said. "My wrist is sore,
but I don't think I broke anything. I
am probably not going to be able
to ride these next two weeks be-
The depth of talent in the GEICO
AMA EnduroCross Series has increased dramatically over the past
few years. Just two years ago,
Taddy Blazusiak lapped up to third
place at this event, this year, the top
nine riders finished on the lead lap.
"For sure, everybody else is getting
much better," Blazusiak said. "I have
to be in the top five on the start to be
able to have a chance to win." Further evidence of the parity can been
seen in the hot laps where Blazusiak
set the fastest time for the first time
all season.
Several top riders missed qualifying
for the main event in Everett. Destry
Abbott was involved in an amazing
three-rider battle with Jamie Lanza
and Kevin Rookstool for the second and final qualifying spot in the
second LCQ. Abbott held the position going into the last lap but got
hung up in the rock turn, so Lanza
worked his way around the outside
of him. Abbott's bike caught traction
and launched into Lanza as he went
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