Photos By Chris Green And Drew Ruiz
The 2012 EnduroCross series is in its final stages, and while it’s not quite over yet, anything can happen as we saw on October 20th in Everett, Washington’s Comcast Arena. During practice the track proved to have some difficult sections, the most challenging was an elevated rock garden that consisted of an entry log followed by an uphill section full of rocks the size of bike stands with another log marking the peak, more rocks going downhill followed by a final log. The crowd in Everett was the liveliest bunch we’ve seen all season and a good traffic jam out on the track was sure to stoke their fire.
Taddy took the holeshot from the very inside gate. Taylor Robert rocketed out of the gate and swung around the outside for a surprising first lap position in the top five.
Main Event
The seemingly unbeatable Taddy Blazusiak added yet another EnduroCross win to his collection, but for the first half of the main event, it didn’t look like the Polish rider would continue his streak. After a surprising mishap on the elevated rock section, the pair of KTM riders—Taddy Blazusiak and Mike Brown—got stuck at the top of the rock heap leaving a small gap for Beta’s Cody Webb to ride right between the two, take the lead and open up a small gap. But, true to EnduroCross, any lead is a false sense of security because the obstacles on the course have the ability of stopping you right in your tracks if your calculations are off by the smallest amount. Taddy got going quickly in second and followed Cody for a couple laps without making up any significant ground. At this point the fans were on their feet cheering, clearly stoked to see Webb’s number five up front for a change. A simple tip over from Webb and issues with getting his bike restarted after a separate bobble put Taddy in the number one position and Cody in the back of the pack. Taylor Robert capitalized and moved into second where he put in solid laps for the remainder of the main event. The number nine of Bobby Prochnau worked around Brownie for the final position on the podium. It was his first top three of the year and the Canadian rider had the biggest, most excited smile on his face the rest of the night.
Taddy and Brown attempted to pull away from the pack but some issues on the rock pile quickly turned the night around.
Results
- Taddy Blazusiak KTM
- Taylor Robert Kawasaki
- Bobby Prochnau KTM
- Mike Brown KTM
- Kyle Redmond Husqvarna
- Cory Graffunder Husqvarna
- Justin Soule Kawasaki
- Jamie Lanza Honda
- Geoff Aaron Honda
10. Cody Webb Beta
11. Colton Haaker Kawasaki
Colton Haaker’s night started off great as he rode his Lucas Oil Kawasaki at a blistering fast pace taking the second fastest lap time during the hot laps, but still about a half a second behind Taddy. We talked with a few of the riders after their hot lap run and a common remark was how difficult it is to put together one fast lap without any real warm up. “It’s tough to go out there and throw down your best lap in just one lap, not having a warm up lap and just going for it,” said the number 33 of Justin Soule after setting the seventh fastest time.
Colton struggled during the main but set the second fastest Hot Lap of the night. He'll be back strong in Boise.
Taylor Robert worked hard to catch Taddy but couldn't make up the gap. We know Taylor wants that win so expect hard charges from the #33 in Boise next weekend.
Tough Luck
There is only a limited amount of space in the main event and unfortunately some of the top guys get left out of the main event festivities. Destry Abbott, Kevin Rookstool and Gary Sutherlin all struggled finding their groove as well as the top two transfer spots in their heats, the semis and LCQ. Frustrating as it was, this trio rode well throughout the night but the stars just weren’t lined up. With extra motivation in the tank coming into Boise, Idaho, we’ll see what these EX fast guys can do next weekend at round seven.
Trials Long Haul Update: 2011 Ossa TR280i
Dirt Rider has had the honor to borrow Ossa’s TR280i fuel-injected two-stroke trials bike for some long term testing and it has continued to travel to the EnduroCross rounds and serve as a bike to be raced by the attending DR staffer or test rider. While teaching us experienced motocrossers and off-roaders the ropes of trials, the Ossa has proved its durability and is running strong after six brutal rounds of EnduroCross. The little TR280i hasn’t showed many signs of wear aside from a ripped grip, a couple scuffs here and there and a fender bolt that came loose and fell out. Easily repairable, it’s not uncommon for new bikes to suffer from something loosening up from time to time. Hard starting—especially when cold—is the Ossa’s main downfall. Kicking it can feel like a stubborn 500 two-stroke, and once warmed up, becomes much easier and usually starts on the first kick.
Dirt Rider's Chris Green had an OK night on the Ossa trials bike. Landing a holeshot from the far outside gate, he held the lead for two laps. He got severely stuck in the elevated rocks and made it to seventh.
The fuel-injection offers great low-end response and doesn’t upset when you need a quick hit of torquey power. In true trials this is a great characteristic but down the long straight at the Everett EnduroCross track, the top end ran too lean. Sacrificing a little down low for a smoother pull up top would be nice, but then again it might not be worth giving up the clean hit that EnduroCross calls for. If you don’t make it to Boise, Idaho next weekend, then we’ll see you in Las Vegas for the final round of the 2012 GEICO AMA EnduroCross series. Battle Royal!
Check www.endurocross.com for event schedules, tickets, lodging, press releases and much, much more. Make your reservations now for a fun weekend filled with great racing Las Vegas style!
