COLTON HAAKER
VOL. 53 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 20, 2016 P121
Marching to the beat of his own
drum has led Colton Haaker to
an extraordinary 2016
e t t e r
T
here's a lot more to being Colton Haaker than
having skill on a motorcycle. True, he is the
reigning FIM SuperEnduro World Champion,
and the newly crowned AMA EnduroCross Cham-
pion, but these accomplishments in his career are
only the beginning of his vision. Setting his sights
on a goal, challenging himself to find his own way
to get there and constantly broadening his hori-
zons have led the trials rider turned off-roader to
extraordinary heights in 2016, a year that will be
hard to top in his life. But Haaker (pronounced
hay-ker—don't call him hacker!) hopes this is only
the beginning of his titles, his family and his new
company Plaeco.
For Colton, 2016 started off on the right foot—
with an FIM World Championship in March after
an epic showdown with his archrival Cody Webb
at the season finale.
"[2016] was incredible from the start," Haaker
said. "Superenduro, getting that championship,
the way it went down, it was just so dramatic.
It was a pressure-cooker of a situation. It was
a two-point difference [between him and Webb
for the championship] going into the final race
and I knew that Cody and I had to step up to the
plate. We both pretty much left everybody with
a 35-second gap by the end of an eight-minute
race. We both pushed each other to the very
limit. I just had a little bit more when it came down
to it. There was a lot riding on that one last lap!
[laughs] I was really proud of the fact that I was
able to achieve that."
Taking the final step onto the top of the podium
was a logical progression for Haaker, who pointed
out that he was fourth in AMA EnduroCross in
2013, third in 2014, second in 2015 and therefore
due for his championship this year.
His sheer speed and talent have always been
evident; but the consistency is what famously
eluded him. Haaker explained the key to that was
good old fashion practice.
"Just a lot of laps were logged, that's for sure.
When I bought my house that I currently live in, I
invested in my career as an endurocross racer. I
By Jean Turner
Photography by Husqvarna Motorcycles
Way
