VOL. 54 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 7, 2017 P43
Webb's loss came on the
heels of a severe crash by
his teammate, Taylor Robert,
amounting to a thoroughly
disappointing weekend for the
FMF/KTM team.
Robert's weekend started
out well with a win in Saturday's
night race. Webb nabbed the
holeshot and the teammates
swapped the lead throughout
much of the race, ending in an
all-out charge to the checkered
flag.
"Taylor and I battled pretty
much to the finish," Webb de-
scribed. "We couldn't get away
from each other. It ended up be-
ing a game of cat and mouse the
whole time and we're trading off
on who's the cat."
The final descent was a sprint
to the finish. "We were literally
fourth or fifth gear wide open
down this sand hill in the dark.
It was just the sketchiest thing
ever," said Webb. "We finished
within five feet of each other."
Robert edged out Webb for
the win, meanwhile Haaker was
recovering from a navigation er-
ror, and working his way back up
to a third-place finish. Webb and
Robert were ready to square off
again in the morning, and as be-
fore, Webb grabbed the holeshot
closely followed by his teammate.
"The second race had a really
nasty start and I got up there
really quick," Webb recalled. "I
looked back and I saw Taylor
right behind me. It was a guy I
didn't want behind me since he
was in the night race and he beat
me."
After clearing the bottleneck,
they headed into the des-
ert—Robert's specialty. Webb
attempted to make a run for it,
knowing his teammate wouldn't
be far off.
"We were pretty much side
by side and I was just wide
open and I was able to pass
him," said Webb. "I came over
the next ridge and I got hung
up and turned around and Tay-
lor wasn't there. My stomach
just dropped. I knew something
was wrong. Taylor should have
been there. I know how good a
rider he is and I expected him to
be all on me."
Robert had, indeed, gone
down hard. Haaker was first to
arrive at the scene, and stopped
to tend to Robert. The rest of
the pack followed suit, bringing
almost the whole race to a halt
while Robert was airlifted out.
(see Wind page 52)
The pack resumed the race,
agreeing to head out in the order
they arrived to complete the
second race.
In the final, Webb, once again,
took the early lead, and went on
to dominate the entire one-hour
final, only to miss the final check.
Haaker was next in, taking the
overall with his 3-3-1 score. It
marked Haaker's second King of
the Motos win in three years.
"It was definitely a team effort
to make it to the finish today,"
Haaker said. "I aimed at stay-
ing on two wheels, catching all
the checks and having fun. Big
thanks to the whole team!"
Jean Turner
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
DREW
RUIZ
Colton Haaker was named the winner
of this year's King of the Motos.
