Webb Dethrones Blazusiak for EnduroCross Title

ONTARIO, CA. – Cody Webb finally dethroned Taddy Blazusiak to take his first GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship. The Factory Beta/Stillwell Performance-backed Webb only needed to finish tenth in the main event to take the title but made the math easy by finishing second to Factory Red Bull KTM’s Blazusiak. Rockstar/Lucas Oil/JCR Honda’s Colton Haaker finished third in Ontario and third in the 2014 championship.

With the championship battle so tight, the extra points awarded for the heat races and the fastest evening hot lap became extremely important. FMF KTM’s Taylor Robert took the first pro heat race win over Haaker to steal one of those points. Then GEICO-backed Webb and Blazusiak won their respective heat races to take one more point each. Robert set the fastest time during the evening hot laps to get first gate pick and take the bonus point away from the top three riders that were battling for the title. This gave Webb a little more cushion going into the main. 

Haaker took the $500 Nexen Tire Holeshot to get the main event started but got sideways in the first wood pile section to allow Blazusiak to take the lead. Webb made a few quick passes to end the first lap in third and seemed content to ride a consistent race. Blazusiak held a three-to-five second lead at the finish line for most of the fifteen lap main event but Haaker actually closed to his wheel twice when Blazusiak got stuck but just as quickly had his own problems.

Haaker had a costly mistake on lap 13 that allowed Webb to pass for second but Webb quickly opened the door to stay clear of trouble. Then, Haaker got stuck in the rocks, which allowed Webb to take second for good. Haaker had a few more mistakes but held on to comfortably take the final podium spot.

Blazusiak had a scare when he hit a downed rider and crashed within sight of the finish line but he managed to get going just ahead of Webb who celebrated taking his first title.

Robert, who thrilled the crowed all night by completely jumping over the water hole, worked his way back to fourth in the main despite a first lap crash. Red Bull’s Geoff Aaron took fifth with a very consistent ride on the difficult track.

RPM KTM’s Bobby Prochnau finished sixth. Husqvarna’s Mike Brown was seventh followed by Beta/Stillwell Performance’s Max Gerston in eighth, KTM rider Cory Graffunder in ninth and Ty Tremaine rounded out the top ten on his RPM KTM. 

Cody Webb:

“Consitency wins championships and I found that out this season by ending with a second place tonight and never finishing off the podium. The team was incredible this year. We put a lot of hard work in this year and it showed. I think mentally I knew I was ready to be up here and I think Colton and I pressured Taddy enough to make big moves. Last year I came on strong after breaking my foot but didn’t have the whole season. This year, I came in fresh and strong and kept putting the hard work in and managed my time with going to school—training hard when I needed to and resting when that was right.  I realized in Atlanta this year that I could win the championship and knew that consistency would be the right way to do it.” 

Colton Haaker:

“I got the holeshot and Taddy got around me right after the first straightaway in the firewood pile. I tried to pace it but the track was so tight and small that it was really hard to make up time. We hit lappers so quickly—they really separated the race—I would catch Taddy because of lappers and then I’d hit the same lappers and drop back. It seemed like that for the whole race. Then I lost grip. I lost grip on my right had from water soaking it and then I hurt my left hand worse (from a previous injury). Late in the race, I really couldn’t hold on. Cody and Taddy rode well and we were all up front the whole season. I know what to keep plugging on to build for next year.”

Taddy Blazusiak:

“Finishing up here in Ontario on top means a lot to me. I had some bad luck right away and went down in the first corner and that makes it complicated when we’re racing at this high level. But I got going quickly and I feel like winning the last round proved some people wrong—you win for five years and then you don’t win two and suddenly they think something is wrong. I’m happy to win and happy to win in style as I’m pretty sure Colton was going all-out as he’s fighting for championship points as well. I’m happy to put the last two rounds behind us and now I’m thinking about the Super Enduro series that starts in two weeks.” 

Ontario, California GEICO AMA EnduroCross Expert Main Event results:

1. Taddy Blazusiak      KTM
2. Cody Webb            Beta
3. Colton Haaker         Honda
4. Taylor Robert          KTM
5. Geoff Aaron            KTM
6. Bobby Prochnau     KTM
7. Mike Brown             Husqvarna
8. Max Gerston           Beta
9. Cory Graffunder      KTM
10. Ty Tremaine            KTM
11. Kevin Rookstool     KTM
12. Giacomo Redondi  Beta
13. Nick Thompson       KTM

 2014 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship Final Points

1. Cody Webb            214
2. Taddy Blazusiak      202
3. Colton Haaker         198
4. Taylor Robert          176
5. Max Gerston           122
6. Mike Brown             119
7. Cory Graffunder      113
8. Bobby Prochnau     105
9. Geoff Aaron                        104
10. Ty Tremaine 100