Taddy Blazusiak Wins Ontario EnduroCross
[caption id="attachment_15407" align="alignright"
width="300"] Taddy Blazusiak returned to his winning ways and claimed the
win at the fourth round of the AMA EnduroCross Series - Photo: Drew
Ruiz[/caption]
Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy
Blazusiak returned to his winning ways and claimed the win at
the fourth round of the AMA EnduroCross Series held at the Citizens
Business Bank Arena.
The afternoon started out well for both Red Bull KTM's Blazusiak as
well as Factory FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown.
Blazusiak turned the fastest time in the qualifying hot laps while
Brown was 2nd fastest. The quick times gave each rider first gate
pick in their respective heats later in the evening.
Brown was up first in the second Pro heat. He jumped off the line
to a 3rd place start. Unfortunately, he suffered a crash in the
matrix early on which cost him a few positions. He was able to
recover and finish in 3rd place but was one shy spot of qualifying
and had to regroup to return for the semi race.
Blazusiak was placed in the third heat where he launched off to a
2nd place start. He quickly passed into the lead and began to gap
the field. He collected the win in heat three to easily transfer
into the main event.
[caption id="attachment_15408" align="alignleft"
width="300"] Four rounds into the series, Mike Brown sits 3rd
overall in the point standings - Photo: Drew Ruiz[/caption]
In the semi race, Brown grabbed the holeshot but suffered a small
tip over early in the race. He was able to quickly recover and
fight his way back into 2nd position, but again, fell one position
short of qualifying. Luckily for Brown, he was able to try again in
the LCQ. Brown got off to a great start and led the entire LCQ to
transfer to the main event.
In the main event, it was Blazusiak with the holeshot while Brown
started around mid-pack.
Blazusiak led the first few laps before a mistake in the woodpile
allowed the 2nd place ride of Cody Webb to
pass for the lead. Blazusiak was able to stay close and catch back
up to Webb. Blazusiak applied heavy pressure to the rear wheel of
Webb for the next lap and was able to pass back into the lead when
they returned to the woodpile on the following lap. Once back in
the lead, Blazusiak was able to pull a small gap on Webb and went
on to take the win. His KTM teammate, Brown, who struggled on the
start of the race was able to eventually climb back to a 7th place
finish.
"We are very happy to see Taddy get back to the top podium spot,"
remarked Factory FMF/KTM Team Manager Antti Kallonen. "Taddy rode a
fast and smart race today to put his KTM out front. Unfortunately,
Brown struggled today but was able to still gain some points in the
series."
Four rounds into the series, Blazusiak retains the points lead
while Brown sits 3rd overall in the point standings.
Next Event: Denver, CO - October 6, 2012
Source: KTM North America
Ontario Overview And Point Standings
2012 GEICO EnduroCross Ontario Image Gallery (Click for full size images)
Overall Results
- Taddy Blazusiak
- Cody Webb
- Justin Soule
- Taylor Robert
- Kyle Redmond
- Colton Haaker
- Mike Brown
- Destry Abbott
- Ryan Rodgers
- Gary Sutherlin
- Jamie Lanza
Overall Point Standings
- Taddy Blazusiak - 99
- Cody Webb - 82
- Mike Brown - 75
- Taylor Robert - 73
- Colton Haaker - 66