The GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship Series visited Nampa Idaho for the penultimate round of the 2022 series. Jonny Walker took the overall win in another weekend of action-packed EX Pro battles. The Beta rider had a score of 1-1-2 across the three motos. Rockstar Husqvarna rider, Colton Haaker finished second overall with 2-3-1 moto finishes. Rounding out the overall podium was Ryder Leblond, with 6-4-4 finishes in the motos.
Report by AMA EnduroCross – Images courtesy of Jack Jaxson
To kickstart round five, Walker set the fastest hot-lap time to set the starting order for the first of three motos with a time of 44.717 seconds. The defending champion, Haaker, had the second-fastest time of 45.062 seconds. FactoryONE Sherco rider Cody Webb had the third fastest hot lap with a time of 46.639 seconds. The fourth fastest hot lap belonged to LeBlond at 47.736 seconds. Red Bull KTM rider Trystan Hart rounded out the top five fastest hot-lap times with a time of 47.794.
Haaker started off moto one strong with the Moose Racing Holeshot and an early lead, ahead of Walker. The round five track proved very challenging as the first moto saw a lot of top pro racers crash throughout its duration. Hart would go down on the first turn of the first lap. GASGAS Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak would go down over a log after a collision with Webb. Haaker got tripped up midway through the race and Walker would capitalize and take the lead which he would maintain through the checkered flag to secure his moto one victory. Haaker would finish second ahead of Cooper Abbott in third. Rounding out the top five was Max Gerston in fourth and Hart in fifth. Blazusiak would finish in 16th place after multiple crashes.
The second moto inverts the sixteen riders’ finish positions from race one for gate picks, so the top eight riders start on the second row. Blazusiak took the holeshot and had a great start as he led for much of the race. Walker, who started in 10th place, continued his dominant riding, and moved into second place behind Blazusiak midway through the race. In the eighth lap Walker passed Blazusiak for the lead and won his second moto in a row. Blazusiak would stay and finish in the second-place spot. Hart had another rough start in the second moto working his way to finish sixth after starting in 12th place. Haaker, who started in 8th place, would make his way to finish in third. LeBlond came in fourth place ahead of Webb in fifth.
In the final moto Webb took the holeshot just barely over Blazusiak. He maintained the early lead for the first few laps, ahead of Blazusiak, Haaker and Walker. Haaker would pass Blazusiak quickly in the first lap to move into second place with Walker not too far behind, continuing his quick and smooth riding throughout the evening. Haaker would pass Webb to take the lead in the third lap of the race and his skilled racing would keep him in the top spot through the checkered flag, also securing his first overall podium finish of the 2022 series. Webb and Walker would battle the next 3 laps before Walker passed Webb for the P2 spot in the 6th lap. Walker would finish in the second spot ahead of Webb in third. LeBlond would come in fourth place ahead of Blazusiak in fifth.
For the night’s overall results, Cooper Abbott finished fourth with 3-8-6 moto finishes. Hart came in fifth overall with 5-6-8 moto finishes. Webb finished sixth overall ahead of Blazusiak who took seventh. Tim Apolle came in eighth overall ahead Max Gerston in ninth. Will Riordan came in tenth overall.
2022 AMA Super EnduroCross- Round 5: Overall Results (Top 10)
1. Jonny Walker, 1-1-2, Beta
2. Colton Haaker, 2-3-1, Husqvarna
3. Ryder LeBlond, 6-4-4, Husqvarna
4. Cooper Abbott, 3-8-6, Sherco
5. Trystan Hart, 5-6-8, KTM
6. Cody Webb, 13-5- 3, Sherco
7. Taddy Blazusiak, 16-2-5 GASGAS
8. Tim Apolle, 7-7-9, Beta
9. Max Gerston, 4-10-11, GASGAS
10. Will Riordan, 10-10-7, KTM
Round 5 Race Results can be found by clicking here.
With one round left, the series comes down to the wire as Trystan Hart leads at 113 points, ahead of Jonny Walker at 112 points. Taddy Blazusiak is third overall with 96 points followed by Cody Webb in fourth at 95 points and Colton Haaker in fifth at 90 points.
In the Women’s Pro class, four-time Women’s EnduroCross champion Shelby Turner took the win ahead of Rachel Gutish who finished P2 and Hallie Marks (P3).
James Flynn won the Expert class main event ahead of Nick Tolman in second and Dustin Hedwall in third.
The Intermediate class main event was won by Jack Williford ahead of Hayden Vonolnhausen in second and Braxton Hintze in third.
David Kamo won the Veterans class with Tyler Kinkade in second and Ryan Gouveia in third.
The Novice class was won by Austin Daniels. Justin Webb came in second and Fernando Pascal in third.
Braxton Hintze won the Junior class, which is limited to riders that are 12 to 17 years of age. Jack Williford came in second place ahead of Seth Steiner in third.
The championship round of the 2022 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship Series will take place on Saturday, November 19, in Reno, Nevada.
