AMARILLO, Texas – The Amarillo National Center hosted round two of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series Saturday and Colton Haaker took the overall win, his second in a row.
The Rockstar Husqvarna rider had 1-2-1 scores in the three motos. RPM KTM backed Cooper Abbott finished second overall with 3-1-3 moto finishes and FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart rounded out the overall podium with 2-5-2 moto finishes.
For the first time, the top fourteen pro riders ran their hot-laps during the opening of the evening program rather than during the afternoon. The hot-lap results set the gate picks for the first of the three motos and Haaker set the fastest time of 46.299. Hart was second with a 47.939 lap. SRT Off-road backed Cory Graffunder finished third with a 50.168 time to round out the top three. Pennsylvania’s Ryder LeBlond finished fourth with a 50.562 and Max Gerston rounded out the top five on his GasGas with a 51.192 lap time.
Noah Kepple took the first Moose Racing Holeshot of the night in moto one with Hart, Nick Thompson, Gerston and Haaker in tow. Hart took over the lead and Haaker worked his way into second quickly with Gerston hanging close in third. Haaker managed to pass Hart about halfway through the moto and opened gap. Hart hung on for second and Gerston crashed near the end of the race to allow Abbott and TM rider Ty Cullins through for third and fourth. Gerston recovered for fifth in the moto.
The second moto inverts the finish positions from race one for gate picks, so the top eight riders start on row two. LeBlond took advantage of a front-row start to take the holeshot and was followed by Thompson and fellow Utah rider Anthony Johnson. Abbott was the first of the top riders to work his way through the field and took the lead on the second lap. Hart was fifth with Haaker behind him until a mistake pushed Hart further back into the field. Haaker moved into second, but several mistakes kept him from closing on Abbott. Abbott held on for the moto win, the second of his career with Haaker second. Cullins put in a great ride for third in the moto and Germany’s Tim Apolle finished fifth on a Beta.
In the final moto, Gerston blasted to the front ahead of Hart, Haaker and Abbott. Haaker worked his way into the lead before the end of the first lap. Hart and Abbott moved past Gerston for second and third early in the race and held those positions to the finish. Gerston finished fourth in the moto and Apolle had another strong ride for fifth.
Haaker was the clear overall winner with his 1-2-1 moto finishes and Abbott edged out Hart for second with his 3-1-3 scores. Hart was third. Cullins finished fourth overall with 4-3-6 moto finishes. Gerston rounded out the top five overall with 5-6-4 scores.
Apolle finished sixth with 6-4-5 finishes. Will Riordan was seventh overall with 7-7-8 moto finishes and was again the top junior rider (21 and under). Graffunder struggled to back up his third-place hot lap and finished eighth overall with 15-8-7 finishes. LeBlond was ninth overall with 9-12-9 moto results and Johnson rounded out the top ten with 11-10-11 scores.
Haaker was happy to get his second win in a row.
“My first time here in Amarillo and the dirt looked amazing but it ended up being unpredictable and I had so many sketchy moments,” Haaker said. “I landed on a rider once and almost landed on another rider in the second moto. So it was kind of a sketchy night for me but it was a fun night and I happy to take another win.”
Abbott had a crash during the hot laps and started two of the three motos on the second row but still finished second overall.
“I am pretty pumped on my 3-1-3 moto scores and I really earned that second moto win by getting to the front quicker than Colton and Trystan,” Abbott said. “So that felt great. I am looking forward to doing it again next weekend in Reno.”
Hart had a tough second moto that contributed to a third overall.
“The moto two’s will be the death of me,” Hart said. I have been struggling to get through the pack and I don’t think I have managed to beat Colton in the second motos since we started that three-moto format. So I will keep working and try to improve on that so I can have a shot at the overall.”
Shelby Turner took her second win in a row in the Women’s class. The KTM rider had to work her way past Morgan Tanke on a Beta. Tanke held on for second and Sherco rider Louise Forsley rounded out the podium.
Agustin Pascal took the Intermediate class win riding a TM after a race-long battle with Shelby Turner, who had two podium finishes for the evening. Travis Griffiths rounded out the podium on a KTM.
Texas rider Zach Polley won the amateur main event with a last-lap pass to get the local crowd on their feet. Fifteen-year-old Ruffin Dodson finished second and Roggan Frick rounded out the podium.
Craig Thompson, the owner of SRT Offroad dominated the Vet 35+ class on his Husqvarna. David Stirm finished second on his Yamaha and Dan Hayakawa rounded out the podium on his KTM.
Fifteen-year-old Jack Williford took his second Junior Trials class win in a row on his GasGas. Riley Bender finished second on an Electric Motion E Trials bike and Ruffin Dodson rounded out the podium on a Sherco.