Haaker Wins Prescott Valley EnduroCross Opener -

Graffunder and Blazusiak round out podium

PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ – August 25, 2019 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Rockstar Husqvarna Factory racing backed Colton Haaker took the win at the Law Tigers Prescott Valley EnduroCross, presented by Fox Racing. A near-capacity crowd welcomed EnduroCross back for a second year and was treated to a full evening of exciting racing.

For the first time, the Super EnduroCross class used a three moto format to determine the overall results and Haaker had strong 2-1-1 scores to take the top step of the podium. Cory Graffunder had his best result in a couple of years riding an SRT Yamaha YZ250F to second overall. The Canadian had 1-5-3 moto results. Taddy Blazusiak rounded out the podium with 4-6-2 moto scores.

Blazusiak got the day started by setting the fastest time during the Seat Concepts Hot Lap. Beta’s Ty Tremaine, TM’s Ty Cullins, 3 Bros SRT/ Husqvarna’s Noah Kepple and Graffunder rounded out the top five. Haaker got off to a rough start by getting stuck on a long and finishing twelfth.

Graffunder started race one in third and quickly moved to second when Blazusiak crashed in the rock section on lap one. Tremaine had the lead and held it for several laps before a big crash in the matrix. Graffunder took a comfortable win. Haaker had a second-row start but quickly moved up into the top five before a big crash. He came back through the pack to take second late in the race despite a twisted up bike. Cullins had a strong third while Blazusiak and Beta’s Max Gerston finished fourth and fifth.

In moto two, the gate picks were reversed from the moto one results and Haaker took the Fox holeshot from the second row when most of the riders pushed wide in the first turn. From there, he was unchallenged to the finish. Hart finished second to move himself into contention for the overall podium. Kepple had a strong ride to finish third. Gerston finished fourth. Graffunder was in third on the last lap but a crash in the Matrix dropped him back to fifth.

The final moto became a battle between Blazusiak and Haaker. Blazusiak led most of the race with Haaker pressuring him until just before the while flag. Haaker ended up making an aggressive pass and went on for the win. Blazusiak held on for second in the final moto, which was enough for third overall. Gerson finished fourth and took fourth overall as well with 5-4-4 results. Hart finished fifth in the moto and overall.

Colton Haaker: “After my mistake in the hot-lap, I thought it may be a difficult night but I worked my way up to second in that race. Then the second race was amazing with a holeshot from row two. In the final moto, Taddy was taking my lines everywhere and I felt like I would eventually get past him. I made a pretty aggressive pass near the end to take the win. This three moto format is familiar for me since I have been racing the world championship and that helped me.”

Cory Graffunder: “Honestly, I was surprised that I was this competitive. One year ago, I was here on crutches and then I had another injury earlier this year. I made a big mistake on the last lap in moto two but then rode strong in the last moto. It is great to be back up hon the podium.”

Taddy Blazusiak: “I had some problems in the first two motos but was able to come back in the final with a good finish. I am looking forward to coming back for Denver and Idaho.”

2019 Prescott Valley AMA Super EnduroCross Overall Results

Colton Haaker, 2-1-1, Husqvarna
Cory Graffunder, 1-5-3, Yamaha
Taddy Blazusiak, 4-6-2, KTM
Max Gerston, 5-4-4, Beta
Trystan Hart, 7-2-5, KTM
Noah Kepple, 6-3-6, Husqvarna
Geoff Aaron, 8-7-7, GasGas
Ty Cullins, 3-12-11, TM
Tim Apolle, 9-11-8, Sherco
Nick Thompson, 11-8-10, KTM
Mason Ottersberg, 12-9-9, Beta
Kyle Redmond, 13-10-12, Sherco
Malcolm Hett, 14-15-13, Husqvarna
Spencer Wilton, 16-13-14, KTM
Branden Petrie, 15-14-15, KTM
Ty Tremaine, 10-16-16, Beta

In the Women’s class, two-time champion Shelby Turner took the win over former champion Maria Forsberg. Rachel Gutish had a tough main event with a couple of crashes but managed to get back to the podium.

Utah’s Nick Tolman won the Intermediate class over Anthony Johnson and Wiliam Riordan.

Before taking the Women’s class win, Shelby turner also won the Amateur class. Kimball Whitmer and Jared Prosser rounded out the podium.

Destry Abbott had to make a last-lap pass to win the Vet 35+ class over Nick Mcgowen. Michele De Mas finished third.

Each round includes a local club class and Arizona Motorcycle Riders Association (AMRA) race was won by Nick Saia on a Sherco with Nick Mcgowen and Chad Lamaide rounding out the podium.

The next round will take place in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, October 19th.

You can keep up with the latest updates via the following channels:
www.endurocross.com
www.facebook.com/EnduroCrossSeries
www.instagram.com/enduro_cross

2019 EnduroCross Series Schedule:

August 24th, 2019 | Prescott Valley, Arizona | Findlay Toyota Center
October 19th, 2019 | Denver, Colorado | National Western Center
October 26th, 2019 | Boise, Idaho | Ford Idaho Center

Now is the time to make your plans to compete or come see one of the 2019 EnduroCross events in person.

Tickets for round one in Prescott Valley, Arizona are available here: http://www.findlaytoyotacenter.com/events/endurox-extreme-offroad-racing

Racers can enter here:
https://secure.tracksideprereg.com/endurox/?loc=mainnav&lnk=rider-registration&loc=contentwell&lnk=IMG&dom=section-1

Colton Haaker (center), Cory Graffunder (right) and Taddy Blazusiak earned the top three spots after three exciting motos of racing in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Photo: Jack Jaxon

Colton Haaker had a nearly perfect in route to the opening round win. Photo: Jack Jaxon

Cory Graffunder has had several injuries holding him back over the past two seasons but he was very strong on his SRT Yamaha in Prescott Valley. Photo: Jack Jaxon