The Maxxis AMA EnduroCross Series moved to the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, for round two of the six-race series, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich (pictured) took the win, topping teammate Damon Huffman in an exciting six-lap final.
Dietrich and Huffman battled intensely for the entire distance, with Huffman leading in the beginning but giving up the lead after a problem in the rocks.
Once in the lead, Dietrich blocked all of Huffmans advances to claim his first win of the year.
With Taddy Blazusiak out for the Guthrie round with an injury, the win moved Dietrich into the series points lead. It also puts Dietrich in contention for the $50,000 prize for winning the Geico Triple Crown, which includes the Guthrie round, in addition to the round in Ohio and the finale at Vegas.
“There is pressure on me now, with that $50,000 on the line,” said Dietrich. “I am definitely going to focus on winning those other two, but this feels great and I am leading two of the premier off-road series in the country now and I think that says a lot.
“It was a tough race. When I got the lead at the end, Damon was on my tail. We were bumping in corners. He wanted it bad, but so did I, but I just had the upper hand and it worked out. If we were on different color bikes we might have taken each other out.”
Huffman, who also finished second at this race last year, behind KTM’s David Knight, looked good all night, except for one mistake.
“I rode great for six laps,” said Huffman. “But one little mistake coming out of the logs “ there was one rock and it spun me sideways and I shot up the log at a weird angle and I didn’t quite make it over. I was spinning on it and I used all my might just to force myself up because if I had gone back I would have been done. I got over but Ricky got by me and from there it was on.
“I was trying everything I could to get by Ricky. There were a couple of places were he would get me and I would reel him back in and I was bumping him from behind, but one little mistake cost me the win.”
Lucas Oils/KTM rider Colton Haaker rode most of the race in third and finished on the podium for the first time in his career. Like Geoff Aaron (who failed to qualify in Guthrie), Haaker is an ex-trials rider and used that experience to manage the rock sections to his advantage.
Zip-Ty Racing/Suzuki’s Nick Brozovich finished fourth and Kyle Redmond, who is fresh off a great showing at the the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria, rounded out the top five overall.
The remaining positions were filled by Eric Rhoten, Ty Davis, Jamie Lanza, Kyle Claderini, and Phil Smage.
