Cody Webb claimed his first EnduroCross Championship, as did Beta. Photography by Kit Palmer
The dust has officially settled on the 2014 AMA EnduroCross season and, although KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak took the win at the final round of the series, it was Beta USA/Stillwell Performance’s Cody Webb celebrating the championship at the Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. Webb’s second-place finish was more than enough to clinch his career-first AMA EnduroCross Championship, leaving Blazusiak to end the year in second place. Rockstar Energy JCR Honda rider Colton Haaker finished third on the night as well as in the 2014 championship.
Webb came into the final round with a 13-point lead and kept things conservative en route to claiming his first championship. A rather uneventful main event saw him get out to a decent start, and run in a strong third-place for most of the race before taking over second from Haaker in the last few laps.
“The race tonight definitely wasn’t anything special,” Webb confessed. “I did what I had to do and never got wild all night. I was just being patient.”
Although the championship eluded five-time AMA EnduroCross Champion Taddy Blazusiak, the defending champ ended his season on a strong note, taking a near flawless victory in Ontario. The Red Bull KTM rider got out to a great start in the main event and, aside from one hang-up in the rocks, was never headed en route to the checkered flag.
Taddy Blazusiak (1) took the Ontario win but it wasn’t enough to keep the number-one plate.
“I’m happy to win tonight and finish it that way,” Blazusiak said. “I think I rode really good tonight. It’s just crazy how competitive it is. We’re racing a really high level here and if you don’t get the start, you’re done. I won five years in a row and then [this year], two bad starts and that’s what you get.”
Colton Haaker knew his only chance of taking the championship was to let it all hang out, which is exactly what he did. Despite his best efforts, Haaker (who has been dealing with a nagging hand injury the last few rounds), had to settle for third in the main event, and in series points.
KTM’s Taylor Robert ended fourth in the championship with a fourth-place finish at Ontario. Following Robert in the main event was Geoff Aaron, who matched his best finish of the season with fifth place. Bobby Prochnau finished sixth, followed by Mike Brown and Max Gerston who swapped some paint in the main event, ending seventh and eighth, respectively. Cory Graffunder and Ty Tremaine rounded out the top-10.
The Women’s Pro main event was another shocker, as Sherco’s Lexi Pechout won in the same fashion she did the weekend prior: passing her way into the lead in the last turn to take the win. Pechout took advantage of the battle going on between Shelby Turner and Sandra Gomez—the two tangled together in the daunting Matrix section just before the finish line, and while they struggled to upright their bikes, Pechout tip-toed around the outside to take over the lead.
Pechout’s win also gave her the 2014 AMA EnduroCross Women’s Pro Championship. At the final count, Pechout was tied in points with defending champion Chantelle Bykerk, but the nod went to Pechout on account of her win.
Other champions that were crowned at the Ontario EnduroCross finale included Ty Tremaine, who was crowned the MAVtv EnduroCross Junior Champion. Canada’s Stephen Foord was thrilled to earn the Vet 35+ title after a wild main event. Cooper Abbott (son of Destry Abbott) took the Open Amateur class win, while Ty Cullins earned the number one plate in the TrialsCross class.
GEICO EnduroCross Series
November 22, 2014
Ontario, California
RESULTS
EnduroCross Pro Main Event:
1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM)
2. Cody Webb (Bet)
3. Colton Haaker (Hon)
4. Taylor Robert (KTM)
5. Geoff Aaron (KTM)
6. Bobby Prochnau (KTM)
7. Mike Brown (Hus)
8. Max Gerston (Bet)
9. Cory Graffunder
10. Ty Tremaine (KTM)
11. Kevin Rookstool (KTM)
12. Giacomo Redoni (Bet)
13. Nick Thompson (KTM)
2014 AMA EnduroCross Championship Pro Points Standings
1. Cody Webb (214/3 wins)
2. Taddy Blazusiak (202/3 wins)
3. Colton Haaker (198/2 wins)
4. Taylor Robert (176/1 win)
5. Max Gerston (122)
6. Mike Brown (119)
7. Cory Graffunder (113)
8. Bobby Prochnau (105)
9. Geoff Aaron (104)
10. Ty Tremaine (100)
11. Wally Palmer (62)
12. Destry Abbott (61)
Women’s Pro Main Event Results:
1. Lexi Pechout (Shr)
2. Sandra Gomez (Hus)
3. Shelby Turner (KTM)
4. Rachel Gutish (KTM)
5. Morgan Tanke (KTM)
6. Melissa Harten (Gas)
7. Tarah Gieger (KTM)
8. Chantelle Bykerk (KTM)
9. Nicole Bradford (KTM)
10. Veronica Whitesell (Bet)
Women’s Pro AMA EnduroCross Championship Points:
1. Lexi Pechout (145/2 wins)
2. Chantelle Bykerk (145/1 win)
3. Morgan Tanke (143/1 win)
4. Rachel Gutish (139)
5. Melissa Harten (123)
6. Tarah Gieger (120)
7. Sandra Gomez Cantero (114/2 wins)
8. Rily Ellinger (90)
9. Nicole Bradford (64)
10. Veronica Whitesell (61)
