Austin, TX – Red Bull KTM Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak earned his fourth gold medal at the 2014 X-Games and second round of the AMA EnduroCross Series held at the Circuit of the Americas Grand Prix facility in Austin, TX. His teammate Factory FMF/KTM rider Taylor Robert finished 6th.
Robert was placed in the first heat race and rounded out the first turn in 3rd. He quickly moved into 2nd after making a pass on Cody Webb in the matrix. Unfortunately, he made a mistake on the last lap in the rock section that allowed Webb by. Robert held on to 3rd through the checkers to qualify for the main event.
In the second heat race Blazusiak slid-out in the first corner, but was able to pick up his bike without losing much time, exiting the turn in 8th place. He then made up substantial ground to finish the first lap in 3rd. On lap 2 he was able to pass both Mike Brown and Geoff Aaron in the rock section to take over the lead. Blazusiak led the remaining 4 laps to transfer into the main.
At the start of the main event Blazusiak came out of the first turn in 2nd place behind Mike Brown. He made an impressive pass on Brown by doubling through the water obstacle to take over the lead on lap 1. Without pressure from the rest of the field Blazusiak continued to lead until the mid-point when he went down in the rock section, allowing Colton Haaker to jump in right behind him. The two riders battled wheel to wheel for a few laps before lapped traffic allowed Blazusiak to put time on Haaker. With two laps to go Blazusiak continued to stretch out his lead and cross the finish, earning his fourth X-Games gold medal.
“It feels great to win another X-Games gold,” stated Blazusiak. “I struggled a little! this morning with some of the jumps in practice, but the main is where it counts.” Blazusiak has now taken over the points lead in the AMA EnduroCross Series.
Meanwhile, Robert was off to a mid-pack start in the main. He was consistently staying with the lead pack and was in 5th place through the half-way mark. Unfortunately, he made a mistake that allowed Max Gerston by and was unable to get back around him. Robert finished the race in 6th.
The Women’s Enduro X was equally exciting with Factory FMF/KTM rider Kacy Martinez earning her first-ever X-Games gold medal. Martinez launched her KTM off the start to grab the holeshot and never looked back. She led every lap of the 6 lap race to take home the 2014 X-Games gold.
Next event: Round 3 of the AMA EnduroCross Series in Sacramento, CA on June 21, 2014.
Overall Results Men’s Enduro X:
- Taddy Blazusiak (KTM)
- Cody Webb
- Alfredo Gomez
- Colton Haaker
- Max Gerston
- Taylor Robert (KTM)
- Cory Graffunder (KTM)
- Ty Tremaine (KTM)
- Geoff Aaron (KTM)
- Kyle Redmond (KTM)
- Chris Hollis
- Mike Brown
Overall Point Standings Men’s AMA EnduroCross Series:
- Taddy Blazusiak - 47
- Cody Webb - 46
- Colton Haaker – 43
Overall Results Women’s Enduro X:
- Kacy Martinez (KTM)
- Sandra Gomez Cantero
- Rachel Gutish (KTM)
- Chantelle Bykerk (KTM)
- Shelby Turner
- Emma Bristow
- Tarah Gieger (KTM)
- Kristie McKinnon
- Lexi Pechout
- Morgan Tanke
- Rily Ellinger (KTM)
- Meilssa Harten
