Monster Energy Kawasaki News Release
Irvine, Calif. (August 15, 2011) - Monster Energy Kawasaki's EnduroCross team wrapped up the second point scoring round of the 2011 AMA EnduroCross Championship series in Everett, Wash. After the team arrived at Comcast Arena they surveyed the course, and their first impression was that the course did not appear too difficult. However, once they started racing they found it to be much more difficult than expected. Justin Soule' fought hard all night, but never found his groove and finished in eighth place. Taylor Robert got off to a good start in both of his heat races, but a few crashes prevented him from advancing into the main event.
Rolling With the Punches
Soule' came to Comcast Arena feeling confident after grabbing a bronze medal in Round 1 of the EnduroCross series at the X Games. Although he came prepared, the course in Everett proved more challenging than he had anticipated. Soule' finished the event in eighth place which left him in fifth place overall in the points standings.
"Every rider has an off weekend, and this was mine," said Soule'. "My KX(tm)250F was running great, but I was never able to find my groove. There was a lot of moisture on the track, everything was slippery, which made it really difficult. The track was also more compact than the last round at the X Games, which made it harder to get around people. By the second lap of the main event I was hitting lappers stuck in the rocks and fire wood sections. I felt the toughest feature was the long firewood section. Once you got in that firewood it was impossible to get through without walking your bike. I am happy I made it out of this round healthy, so I'm just going to clear my head and focus on to the next round."
Good Starts
Robert got great starts all night. Although he was one of the fastest off the line, he got hung up in the obstacles which cost him valuable time. Robert grabbed the holeshot in the semi final, but the challenging rock piles prevented him from qualifying for the main event.
"The night started off good, but I just ran into some bad luck," said Robert. "When we first walked the track it didn't look too bad. Once we started riding everything got really slick and rutted. I got a good start in my heat race, and came around the first turn in second. I was putting in some good laps, but Mike Brown got inside me on a turn and punted me out. I ended up finishing third in the first heat race. I grabbed the holeshot in the semi final, and was trying to pull away, but got jammed up in a rock turn. The rock piles were really slick and had a lot of holes that made it easy to get stuck and hard to get out. Once I recovered I was able to work my way back up to second, and was pushing for first, but crashed in another rock pile which ended my night. I'm going to put this race behind me and am looking forward to the upcoming WORCS race in Washougal."
Double Booked
This weekend the Monster Energy Kawasaki off-road team switches gears, going from EnduroCross back to the World Off Road Championship Series (WORCS). Since the team just finished racing in Everett, Wash., they won't have to travel far for Round 7 of the WORCS series in Washougal, Wash. Back in the U.S. after earning a gold medal from the International Six Days Enduro, Destry Abbott will be reconvening with the team in Washington for the WORCS series.
Results
AMA Geico Powersports EnduroCross Series - Round 2
Comcast Arena - Everett, Wash.
August 13, 2011
EX Pro Race Results
1. Taddy Blazusiak, KTM
2. Geoff Aaron, Honda
3. Cody Webb, Beta
4. Mike Brown, KTM
5. Graham Jarvis, Husaberg
6. Colton Haaker, KTM
7. Kevin Rookstool, KTM
8. JUSTIN SOULE', MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI
9. GARY SUTHERLIN, KAWASAKI
10. Wallace Palmer, KTM
EX Pro Points Standings
1. Taddy Blazusiak, KTM, 60
2. Mike Brown, KTM, 43
3. Geoff Aaron, Honda, 41
4. Cody Webb, Beta, 34
5. JUSTIN SOULE', MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 34
6. Kevin Rookstool, KTM, 25
7. Colton Haaker, KTM, 22
8. Joachim Lundgren, Husaberg, 18
9. GARY SUTHERLIN, KAWASAKI, 18
10. Graham Jarvis, Husaberg, 16
11. DESTRY ABBOTT, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 15
14. TAYLOR ROBERT, MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 12
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