Defending champ Taddy Blazusiak got off to a fast and furious start in round five of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs at Denver’s National Western Complex this weekend. But when the dust settled, it was 10-time AMA National Trials champion Geoff Aaron of KTM who would cross the finish line, taking his first win of the year and keeping his title hopes alive. Kawasaki riders Justin Soule, Colton Haaker and Kyle Redmond would take second, third and fourth places with Blazusiak taking a hard-fought, but disappointing fifth.
Geoff Aaron, round five winner of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series Presented by E3 Spark Plugs.
Blazusiak and Aaron both hit the tracks hard early in the day, winning their respective heat races. And Blazusiak made an aggressive start to the main event, handily winning the Girardi Wealth Management $750 Holeshot award. But things soon went downhill for the defending champ, as he fought off a quick-starting Redmond who snatched the lead for half a lap. Once Aaron caught up and took the lead, it looked as if he and Blazusiak would battle it out for the win – until a piece of debris lodged in the front brake caliber of Blazusiak’s ride, rending the brake useless and allowing
“I knew as soon as I lost my front brake that I was in trouble, Blazusiak told reporters.
Meanwhile, Aaron kept his eyes on the blocking the battles behind him and his sights on the finish line.
“I knew that Taddy was not directly behind me,” he told media just after the race. “I had a small fall and was able to remount quickly, but I knew that I didn’t have a ton of breathing room. Luckily, I kept charging while Soule and Colton kept Taddy at bay, and I was able to take the win.”
From the Podium, second-place rider Soule revealed a pre-race jab that prove his motivation for a strong round five ride: “My team manager told me that I was riding around like a girl at the last round, I I had to prove him wrong.”
Aaron no doubt will be jacked up on confidence when he revs up at the starting line of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship race set for Nov. 20 in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. But Blazusiak will show up with an intensified resolve to defend his championship title. And with both Soule and Haaker proving legitimate threats themselves, anyone’s guess who the last man standing in AMA GEICO EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs will be.
If you haven’t already, get your tickets for the final race in this year’s EnduroCross season. And if you want to a power and economy boost from your motorcycle, be sure to pick up a set of E3 performance spark plugs.
2010 Denver, CO EnduroCross Expert Class results:
- Geoff Aaron KTM
- Justin Soule Kawasaki
- Colton Haaker Kawasaki
- Kyle Redmond Kawasaki
- Taddy Blazusiak KTM
- Gary Sutherlin Kawasaki
- Cody Webb Gas Gas
- Cory Graffunder Husqvarna
- Kevin Rookstool KTM
- Jamie Lanza Kawasaki
- Ryan Sandoval KTM
