The History of EnduroCross - Dirt Rider Magazine

In the grand scheme of things, the AMA EnduroCross Championship is a fairly new form of organized racing. Although off-road motorcycle competition has strong roots in both the United States and Europe that extend back to the days when there technically wasn't such a thing as a "dirt bike," the appearance of indoor off-road racing didn't appear until fairly recently. Yet despite its lack of history, EnduroCross is proving with each and every event why it is the most exciting series on Earth.Looking back, the roots of EnduroCross are generally viewed as buried in Europe, where indoor enduro-style racing first got its start. The courses were regarded as being next to impossible, and the European fans loved every minute of the action. It wasn't until 2004 that indoor enduro racing made its way to the U.S. when promoters Eric Peronnard and Tim Clark pioneered what was to become the first of many EnduroCross races. In the then-new Orleans Arena in fabulous Las Vegas, Peronnard had a vicious track built up and invited the world's best enduro and off-road racers to come roll the dice for a shot at the top spot. In the end, a very determined Ryan Hughes dominated the main event, much to the American crowd's delight. A top motocross racer turned off-road charger, Hughes beat the likes of World Enduro heroes David Knight and Mika Ahola, and the fuse was lit for the EnduroCross series to blow up in popularity.The following year, EnduroCross once again invaded the Orleans Arena in front of a sold-out crowd. Knight put his head down and improved on his previous year's finish by stealing the main event win from motocross legend John Dowd, who was followed closely by young champion-to-be Ricky Dietrich. The fans just couldn't get enough, and it was apparent that the next EnduroCross race would need more classes and an even wilder program to accommodate the growing popularity of the event. And so, 2006 marked the inception of the first-ever indoor night race, where racers were outfitted with Baja Designs lights and NiteRider helmet lights. Justin Soule took the night race win, but the most exciting race of the evening was Dowd's wild main event victory after a tireless battle with Nathan Woods. Fans were also talking about ninth-place finisher Nick Mantzoros, who loaded a trials bike in his mother's hatchback car and drove from Pennsylvania to Las Vegas for his first-ever race. Nick made it all the way to the main event in the night show aboard his trials bike, ushering in a new form of trials racing and another class in EnduroCross.2007 became the first year that the EnduroCross series consisted of more than one event, as the race took to the road in a three-stop, winner-take-all series. Beginning at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado, David Knight asserted himself as the man to beat by winning the main event over trials star Keith Wineland and supercross hero Damon Huffman. Round two of the '07 series saw a huge course in Guthrie, Oklahoma, that was dominated by Knight, who then had plenty of momentum and a solid point lead over second-place finisher Huffman. Going into the final round in Las Vegas, the odds were on Knight to make a clean sweep of the series, but lady luck had other plans.Before the '07 EnduroCross finals, nobody knew who Tadeuz Blazusiak was. But after the race, "Taddy" was considered one of the best indoor enduro riders in the world. A trials competitor by nature, the Polish talent stole the show by running away from his KTM teammate Knight in the main event, thus putting an end to Knighter's win streak and keeping him from earning a cool $50,000 bonus for sweeping all three rounds. Ever the competitor, Knight didn't take the defeat easily and made a hasty retreat from the Arena. He hasn't been back to EnduroCross since.Hungry for some EnduroCross race action? The 2009 season spans six rounds all over the U.S., so there is no reason not to get in on the action! Whether you want to attend as a spectator or as a participant, tickets and entries are available online, along with a wealth of information regarding the series. For more, log on to www.endurocross.com.2009 AMA/ Geico EnduroCross Presented by E3 Spark Plugs Schedule:
Las Vegas, NV - July 25
Guthrie, OK - August 15
Florence, SC - September 12
Columbus, OH - October 3
Denver, CO - October 24
Las Vegas, NV - November 21