There was a little something for everyone at the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship finale in Ontario.
Story and Photos By Jean Turner
At the close of the 2015 AMA EnduroCross Championship in Ontario, California, after successfully defending his number one plate, 2015 champion Cody Webb confirmed the old adage that yes, it is in fact harder to keep it than it is to earn it. As with last year, Webb came into the final round with a bit of a points cushion – enough to be confident, but not enough to relax. Webb and Colton Haaker had the same number of wins in the championship, and if you only counted main event points, they were square there as well. Where Webb built his 10-point lead coming into the final round was in collecting the heat race wins (one extra championship point awarded) and topping the evening Hot Laps sessions (another point awarded).
But things were different for Haaker at the finale, as he was the one who rode flawlessly through practice and claimed the extra points in the heat race and evening Hot Laps. It seemed the Lucas Oil Rockstar Husqvarna rider had finally ironed out the kinks in his program, but it simply came too late in the season for him to close the gap to the reigning champion.
Webb needed only to finish on the podium to claim the title, which he did handily on the fast and jumpy track at the Citizens Bank Arena. Webb got out to an early lead in the main event and avoided any major scuffles with other front runners, which included Haaker and eventual race winner Taylor Robert, and carded a second-place finish to wrap up the title.
“This year was way tougher than last year,” said Webb. “Last year, I feel like I almost didn’t have pressure because I hadn’t won before and I was really hungry and fighting for it. Tonight I was a little skeptical. Colton’s been riding really good all year and this year was way tougher. Target’s on my back and everyone’s hunting me down and it was tough.”
At the Ontario track in particular, Webb admitted he “wasn’t the fastest guy,” but as experience has taught him, being cautious and consistent can (and did) pay off. With a little bit of luck off the start, Webb was able to steer clear of a pile-up in the first turn that held up several of the top riders, including Haaker, and find himself with the advantage.
“The main wasn’t perfect but I stayed out of trouble and did what I had to do,” Webb explained. “I thought I had a really good line around the outside [in the first turn]. I had a good jump, and Ty [Tremaine] just didn’t let off, came in with way too much speed. I actually would have been on the ground if Ty wasn’t there. He took my position of getting hit and I backed off and everyone just kind of accordioned into each other. I snuck by and quickly got into second and just rode solid from there.”
Kyle Redmond led the early laps aboard his Beta USA factory machine followed by Webb while Haaker was left to make his way forward after finding himself on the business end of the first-turn pile-up.
“I thought I almost had it and then everyone toppled on top of me so then I was dead last—again. Second race in a row,” Haaker lamented. But like the second race in a row, Haaker put in a tremendous performance in the main and put down the quickest lap times en route to catching the leaders.
“I was the fastest in both hot laps and in my heat race so it felt good that I was riding super well,” Haaker continued. “There was a bit of pressure for the night coming in with the championship. I knew I had to be perfect and I almost was.”
In the meantime, Factory FMF KTM’s Taylor Robert had chased down Webb and moved into the lead. Robert flexed his advantage over Webb by jumping some of the big gaps on the course.
“I just plugged away and caught up to Cody and passed him clean and just rode my own race,” Robert said. “I was definitely happy to end the season on a win because I really wanted to win this whole time. I’ve been on the podium every single race I’ve done this year but it felt good and I’m happy with it.”
Behind him, Haaker finally made his way up to Webb, and the duo mixed it up a little in the final laps of the race. Just after receiving the white flag, Haaker went to the inside of Webb in a flat sweeping turn in a move that sent a jolt through the Ontario crowd.
“I was just going to let him go,” explained Webb. “I thought for sure I checked up and I even turned around to look at him and he just swooped in on me.”
“I had the chance and I could’ve just straight cleaned his clock,” Haaker admitted. “But I knew it wasn’t going to make the difference. I was super nice about it. At that point I knew there was one more lap left. There’s always next year.”
Immediately after making the pass, Haaker got hung up, which allowed Webb right back by. Webb couldn’t resist making a slight gesture as he throttled away…
“Everyone thought I gave him the finger, but I gave him a thumbs-up as I rode away like, ‘Nice try, buddy,’” Webb said. “It was a hard-fought battle between us, a lot of tension all year but it’s a competitive sport and we’re out here to do what we gotta do. I kinda regret giving him a thumbs up. It wasn’t the right gesture to do but in the heat of the moment, I had the last laugh and got the championship tonight.”
Haaker finished third on the night, and didn’t leave empty handed, as he pocketed the $2000 cash purse for the evening Hot Laps, put forward by Mike Girardi of Girardi Wealth Management.
Haaker came away with runner-up honors in the championship followed by Mike Brown. Many thought the fast jumpy course in Ontario would suit Brown’s style, and perhaps give him the opportunity to claim his third win of the season, but the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider suffered a crash in his heat race that ended his night.
After making a pass on Jamie Lanza for the lead, Brown attempted to double across two single log jumps—a move that very few riders were attempting. But without a clean run at it, Brown came up perilously short and cased the landing, appearing to have broken his wrist on impact. Brown walked off the course holding his wrist and reportedly headed straight to the hospital. Despite a DNS at the finale, Brown still secured third in the championship.
Beta USA’s Max Gerston finished fourth in the main event followed by Cory Graffunder. The top-five allowed Graffunder to claim fourth overall in the championship, a distinction that would have been Kyle Redmond’s, but due to a mechanical issue in the main event, Redmond did not score a finish at the finale, and plummeted to seventh in points.
In the Women’s Pro competition, Sandra Gomez captured the championship with a big win. It was an emotional victory for the Spaniard, who struggled through the season with a broken foot. Gomez came into the final round with a slim one-point lead over Rachel Gutish, but Gomez made smooth work of the Ontario course while Gutish had trouble in the rock sections, allowing Gomez to ride unheaded to the checkered flag.
“I have no words to explain,” Gomez said. “It was a crazy year. I had two victories and then I broke my foot. I had two bones broken. I had some podiums and it was very hard because I had all the pain. For three months it was very, very bad. I was on crutches, I couldn’t get on the bike [by myself], I couldn’t start it, I couldn’t put my foot down. But I always thought I could do it and today was the day. It was my day. I cannot say thank you enough to everybody who helped me.”
Webb’s RPM KTM teammate Ty Tremaine wrapped up the AMA EnduroCross Junior championship—his second consecutive—giving two number-one plates to the satellite KTM team.
2015 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Series
Citizens Bank Arena
Results: November 21, 2015 (Round 9 of 9)
Pro Main
1. Taylor Robert-KTM
2. Cody Webb-KTM
3. Colton Haaker-Hus
4. Max Gerston-Bet
5. Cory Graffunder-KTM
6. Geoff Aaron-Gas
7. Ty Tremaine-KTM
8. Wyatt Hart-Hus
9. Jamie Lanza-KTM
10. Ty Cullins-Bet
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