VOL. 52 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 10, 2015 P75
ond. Webb had an arena-length
lead over Brown by the sixth lap.
By lap seven Haaker went
from fourth to second, disposing
of Redmond for good, getting by
Brown and pulling Robert along
with him. Now Brown had his
hands full with Robert for third,
while Haaker set his sights on
Webb.
Soon, a 10-second lead
melted to six. Then, he was on
top of Webb. Then, the firewood
stopped him and sent him back
yet again while Webb pulled
away. Then, he was back again
and got close enough through
the slippery Matrix to make an
aggressive pass right after the
was moving. And he was moving
fast.
By the second lap Haaker had
passed up to fifth place. Then
into fourth on lap three and into
third that same lap—cruising by
Redmond in the firewood pile
like it hadn't troubled him at all
earlier in the evening. Redmond
would stay on him, though,
battling back-and-forth. Once
again, the Firewood pile kept the
racers honest every lap. And as
a smoother line formed through
the rolling stumps, there was
clearly one prime line surround-
ed by terrible ones.
Up front, Webb and Brown
were cruising in first and sec-
Briefly...
True to form, the track was loathed
and loved by many in the pits at En-
duroCross but was mostly very well
received. The key focus point of
much of the loathing was the Fire-
wood pile. While most wood piles
are made up of chopped wood ready
for the fireplace, Idaho does it dif-
ferently and supplies track builders
with round cuts—essentially turning
the pile into a moving, rolling, unpre-
dictable section of track. It provided
more than its share of stuck riders in
all classes and proved to be a major
factor in some efforts on the eve-
ning. By the time the pros put down
their main event laps, a fast line had
developed but even they took a while
to find it. Love it or hate it, it helped
make some great racing.
The next obstacle on the track with
the most attention was the massive
tire double jump. The tractor-tire
takeoff ramp threw riders ultra-high
as they tried to clear a smaller,
rounded dirt landing. Most of the
pro main event was jumping it con-
sistently but traditionally grounded
Geoff Aaron was one that didn't feel
the need. Even so, his Hot Lap was
one of the fastest.
The Matrix became extremely
slippery as water from the corner-
formed pond found its way onto the
logs quickly. Cody Webb and others
commented on how it was throwing
their laps off—and having a signature
obstacle right before the finish cer-
tainly was exciting.
