OFF ROAD
GEICO AMA ENDUROCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4/AUGUST 23, 2014
GWINNETT CENTER ARENA/DELUTH, GEORGIA
P92
"I was really focused on my
start, but I was overly aggressive
and didn't get a good jump and
Taddy out-jumped me," Haaker
said. "I decided to tuck to the in-
side and I hit Cody's rear wheel
and almost went down. I came
out fourth out of the second turn
and then I ran into the back of
[Mike] Brown and went down.
And then something happened in
the next rock turn and I fell back
again."
Haaker's frustrations in the
early laps kept him caught up in
the pack while Webb and Bla-
zusiak got out front. Fortunately,
however, the Rockstar JCR Hon-
da rider was able to regroup be-
fore too much damage had been
done.
"I don't know what position
I was in, but I kept making mis-
takes until I thought, 'Alright, you
have nowhere to go but forward
now.' That's when I started mak-
ing a charge forward and collect-
ed myself," Haaker explained. "I
got by Geoff Aaron and Taylor
Robert and a couple other peo-
ple and got into third."
By the final laps, Colton Haak-
er had recovered remarkably
well and was gaining ground on
Blazusiak and Webb, who were
not only battling each other, but
dealing with a tangle of lappers
on every lap.
Haaker nearly had Webb in
his crosshairs and was poised to
take over the runner-up position
if a mistake allowed it, but Webb
held on to finish ahead of the
Rockstar JCR Honda rider.
"I was close to Cody the last
two, maybe three laps," Haaker
said. "But I probably crashed
three times in the last two laps
trying to do something with it. But
the course was really difficult and
that's what EnduroCross is."
Blazusiak's win puts him into
a tie with Webb, but will take the
red plate away from the American
Beta rider for the next round in
Denver, Colorado, on October 4.
Hot Laps and Cold Cash!
The Hot Laps during the night
program at EnduroCross, which
allows six riders—the top two from
each heat race—the opportunity
to turn one fast lap around the
course prior to the main event.
The quickest time not only earns
the first gate pick for the main,
(Above) Kristie McKinnon took the
Women's main-event win for the
first time.
(Above right) Taylor Robert is still
waiting for that breakthrough ride.
