Indianapolis, IN (August 27, 2010) – Round three of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Sparkplugs made its inaugural visit to Indianapolis Indiana on Friday night to kick off the MotoGP weekend. The vocal contingent of European fans got to witness one of their own take the win as Taddy Blazusiak showed off his amazing talent. The Polish KTM rider battled early with Mike Brown and had pressure from Geoff Aaron but proved to be the only rider to avoid serious mistakes and slowly left the other riders behind. The battle for the final podium spots was amazing as no fewer than six riders battled hard for the positions. In the end, GEICO backed Kyle Redmond took second for his first ever EnduroCross podium. The California rider has been the top American at Extreme Enduro events such as Erzeberg and Romaniacs multiple times and finally made his skills pay off on the intense EnduroCross course. He was joined by another first time podium finisher as RPM KTM backed Kevin Rookstool, a journeyman motocross racer that has made all three main events this season stole the position from some established stars.
Cody Webb, the recently crowned 2010 National Trials champion got the day started by setting the fastest time during the Pioneer Hot Lap that determines the gate picks for the evenings heat races. The Gas Gas rider also earned a $500 bonus from Rekluse clutch by being the fastest rider using their auto clutch. Taddy Blazusiak and Geoff Aaron were the second and third fastest qualifiers.
Brown, Blazusiak and Aaron were the heat race winners and Brown used his first gate pick to take the $750 Girardi Wealth Management holeshot award. Brown struggled through the wood pile on the first lap and dropped back to third, which he held until he yard saled in the same section and ultimately finished 9th. Geoff Aaron, the second place finisher at the last two events held second and then third position for most of the race but bent his shifter and finished 11th. Redmond steadily rode his Kawasaki to second position and held it despite several riders breathing down his neck all the way to the checkered flag. Rookstool had to go through the LCQ to make the main event and then rode a solid race to hold off Gary Sutherlin and Justin Soule. Lucas Oil backed Colton Haaker had a legitimate shot at the podium but threw it away in the same log pile that took Brown down and he finished sixth ahead of Cory Graffunder and Jamie Lanza. Brown, Webb and Aaron rounded out 9th to 11th positions.
In the support classes, Steve Leivan won the Vet class over Off Road legend Jeff Fredette and Rik Smits, the former Indiana Pacers basketball player that now loves riding dirt bikes. Michael Williams won the open Amateur main event and Patrick Smage won the TrialsCross class. The top four in the Amateur classes battled for $500 in the dash for cash and Smage came back again to take the cash for gas money back to Wisconsin.
2010 Indianapolis EnduroCross Expert Class results:
1. Taddy Blazusiak - KTM
2. Kyle Redmond - Kasasaki
3. Kevin Rookstool - KTM
4. Gary Sutherlin - Kawasaki
5. Justin Soule - Kawasaki
6. Colton Haaker - Kawasaki
7. Cory Graffunder - Husqvarna
8. Jamie Lanza - Kawasaki
9. Mike Brown - KTM
10. Cody Webb - Gas Gas
11. Geoff Aaron - Christini KTM
The GEICO AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark plugs now heads to the Pacific Northwest for the first time and will be held in the Comcast Arena in Everett Washington on Saturday, September 11th.
GEICO EnduroCross on the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour on Versus network:
Event / Date / Arena - Air Date / Time - Re-Air Date / Time
Las Vegas, NV 07/17/10 - Orleans Arena: 10/10/10 6:00 PM -- 10/14/10 5:00 PM
Guthrie, OK 08/14/10 - Lazy E Arena: 10/31/10 5:00 PM -- 11/3/10 5:00 PM
Indianapolis, IN 08/27/10 – Pepsi Coliseum: 11/7/10 6:00 PM -- 11/11/10 5:00 PM
Everett, WA 9/11/10 – Comcast Arena: 11/14/10 5:00 PM -- 11/17/10 5:00 PM
Denver, CO 10/30/10 - National Western Complex: 12/12/10 5:00 PM -- 12/15/10 5:00 PM
Las Vegas, NV 11/20/10 - Orleans Arena: 12/19/10 6:00 PM -- 12/23/10 5:00 PM
EnduroCross tracks incorporate various elements of off road racing into a supercross-style setting, including rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, a water-hole… and even a few special obstacles like giant tires thrown in! Known as the “toughest racing on two wheels,” this indoor version of extreme off road racing will certainly keep you on your feet. The GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross series will be captured by the Versus Network, to be aired on the popular grassroots racing program; The Lucas Motorsports Hour. With its excitement and unpredictability, the EnduroCross championship has always down to the wire and this year will be no different as the series starts and finishes at Vegas’ Orleans Arena! Don’t miss your chance to see GEICO Powersports AMA Endurocross “Live” - and be sure to log-on to www.Versus.com for local airing dates/times for the Lucas Motorsports Hour.
ENDUROCROSS is a registered trademark of Source Interlink Magazines, LLC.
Source Interlink Media Motorsports:
Encompassing the highly successful AMA GEICO MiniMotoSX presented by Monster Energy, the AMA GEICO EnduroCross Championship Series, presented by E3 Spark Plugs and the AMA EnduroCross Grand Championships, the Source Interlink Media Motorsports brands reach millions of motorcycle enthusiasts with live events, DVD packages, web sites, television and magazine coverage. Visit www.minimotosx.com or www.endurocross.com.
Check out the ShotMaker Webshow from Indy EnduroCross!
Special Thanks to GPR Stabilizers, Thor MX, and Training Essentials.