The stands were packed this weekend for the final round of the 2010 GEICO AMA EnduroCross presented by E3 Spark Plugs – and the audience was on its feet when KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak crossed the finish line for both the race win and another year as the championship title holder. But it wasn’t easy. Blazusiak barely edged out Monster Kawasaki’s Justin Soule to set the fastest time during the Pioneer hot laps, a feature that puts riders on the track one-by-one for a single lap against the clock. Blazusiak, Soule and Geoff Aaron, respectively, won the first picks for the heat races, then each won their heats for a quick trip to the main event.
Taddy Blazusiak (with team manager Antti Kallonen, right) wins the 2010 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series championship presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Image by KTM Racing.
On the main event track, Aaron proved particularly aggressive, pushing past Blazusiak to claim the Girardi Wealth Management $750 Holeshot Award. That got Blazusiak fired up and the two were neck-and-neck for much of the race. At the finish line, however, it was Blazusiak who dominated, with Aaron running a close second. Cody Webb fought hard for third place and almost lost it to Colton Haaker, who successfully defended his title as the E3 Spark Plugs EnduroCross Pro Junior champion during round five of the series, raced at the National Western Complex in Denver, CO. An ugly trip over the handlebars pushed Haaker back to fifth behind KTM’s Mike Brown instead. Soule, Kyle Redmond, Jamie Lanza, Cory Graffunder, Kevin Rookstool and Destry Abbot rounded out seventh to 11th place finishes.
Also taking home coveted prizes were Ty Davis, Luke Reynolds and Patrick Smage. Each landed an AMA No. 1 plate, up for grabs by the top finishers from the five previous rounds and the Vegas daytime qualifiers. Davis took the 35+ vet class win; Reynolds won the Open Amateur class plate despite a last-lap crash in the rock pile; and multi-time AMA Trials champ Smage added another when he won this year’s TrialsCross championship.
If you couldn’t make it to Vegas for the EX finals action, catch the replay on the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hours on the Versus network December 19 at 6 p.m. and Dec. 23rd at 5 p.m. The Denver round also airs December 12th and 15th at 5 p.m. (All times Eastern.)
E3 Spark Plugs racing congratulates all the winners and finishers and looks forward to another action-packed year of EnduroCross.
2010 Las Vegas, NV GEICO EnduroCross Expert Class results:
- Taddy Blazusiak, KTM
- Geoff Aaron, Christini KTM
- Cody Webb, Gas Gas
- Mike Brown, KTM
- Colton Haaker, Kawasaki
- Justin Soule, Kawasaki
- Kyle Redmond, Kawasaki
- Jamie Lanza, Kawasaki
- Cory Graffunder, Husqvarna
- Kevin Rookstool, KTM
- Destry Abbott, Kawasaki
2010 GEICO EnduroCross Expert Class final points:
- Taddy Blazusiak, KTM
- Geoff Aaron, Christini KTM
- Justin Soule, Kawasaki
- Cory Graffunder, Husqvarna
- Kyle Redmond, Kawasaki
- Gary Sutherlin, Kawasaki
- Colton Haaker, Kawasaki
- Kevin Rookstool, KTM
- Cody Webb, Gas Gas
- Mike Brown, KTM
