RK Excel America

June 9, 2012

Blazusiak Captures First AMA EnduroCross Victory of the Season

SACRAMENTO, California – Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak claimed his fist win of the 2012 AMA EnduroCross Series at the second round of the circuit held at Power Balance Pavilion. His teammate, Factory FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown, also put in a good ride to secure 5th overall for the night.

In his heat race, from an inside gate, Blazusiak jumped out front quickly to take the holeshot. Blazusiak led all six laps of his heat race to easily transfer to the main event.

Brown also had a great start to his heat taking the early lead after the first corner. Unfortunately, Brown suffered a crash on the second lap but was able to recover without losing the lead. He continued to pull ahead until a small mistake on the next lap cost him the lead. He was able to hang on to 2nd place to take the final transfer spot to the main event.

In the main event, Blazusiak was off to what seemed to be an undesirable start in 8th place before making substantial progress to pass into 3rd by the second corner. Blazusiak battled with Destry Abbott for the next two laps before passing him on lap three to take over the runner-up position. Blazusiak then set to work on the lead ride of Kevin Rookstool. Blazusiak was able to make a smooth pass to takeover the lead on lap four. From there, he began to stretch his lead for the remaining laps. At the conclusion of the race, Blazusiak crossed the finish over 10 seconds ahead of the 2nd place ride to claim his first victory of the season.

Meanwhile, Brown had put together an impressive race to climb from a near last place start to pass into 5th by the halfway point. Brown and Cory Graffunder put together a great battle at the end of the race to get the crowd on their feet. At the end of the race, Brown was able to finish 5th overall.

Now two rounds into the series, Blazusiak holds a 10 point lead in the series standings. “I am very happy to win this race,” commented Blazusiak. “I really liked the track and the racing was fun. I want to extend my thanks to the entire KTM crew. I am looking forward to working with them over the next few weeks to prepare for the Summer X-Games.”

KTM had a great showing in the Women’s class with 8 of the 12 riders on orange. Factory FMF/KTM rider Maria Forsberg got the holeshot in the main to take the early lead. A crash in the rock turn caused her to lose two spots to KTM riders Louise Forsley and Chantelle Bykerk. Forsberg was held up by lappers stuck in the matrix on the final lap and was unable to make a charge back to the lead. Forsley went on to take the win followed by Bykerk and Forsberg.

Next Race: Summer X-Games: Los Angeles, CA – July 1, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2012

Kurt Caselli Injury Update

MURRIETA, California – After recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in May, Factory FMF/KTM rider Kurt Caselli announced he will be taking the rest of the summer off to have minor arthroscopic knee surgery to repair his meniscus.

“My shoulder is getting better, but the summer is the best time to take a few weeks off to fix the tear in my meniscus. I’m bummed to be missing X-Games, but I look forward to getting back to racing after the summer break,” commented Caselli.

Caselli plans to return to his regular racing schedule at the conclusion of the summer break.

Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak proved why he holds the number one plate in the AMA EnduroCross Series when he took the victory at the second round of the series held in Everett, WA.

Fresh off his X-Games Gold medal win two weeks ago, Blazusiak was ready to throw a leg over his KTM 350 XC-F and claim another win. He started the day off great after turning the fastest hot lap time in the afternoon qualifier. He coupled that with a win in the first heat which gave him the first transfer spot to the main event. The second spot was given to FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown who finished 2nd in that same heat.

Blazusiak went on to continue his dominance when he nailed the holeshot in the main event and never looked back to cruise to an easy win. His teammate Brown battled around 3rd place through the majority of the race showing great speed in all sections with the exception of the fire pit. “I struggled in the fire pit and it cost me some time today. I feel like I could have easily been in the top three but every time I got back to that pit I took a bad line and allowed the guys to catch back up to me,” remarked Brown. At the end of the ten lap main event Brown was able to hold on to finish 4th.

Next Event: Indianapolis, IN – August 26, 2011

Florence, SC (September 12, 2009) – Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak claimed his third straight win at round three of the EnduroCross Series in Florence, SC.

Blazusiak easily qualified to the main event setting the fastest lap time in practice. In the main event, the holeshot went to Christini/KTM rider Geoff Aaron while Blazusiak was close behind. It did not take long before the Polish rider moved into the lead. From that point on, Blazusiak lead each lap and cruised to an easy win.

“I am very excited to win this race. I was really looking forward to this season and winning this championship and am glad that I am leading the points halfway into the series,” commented Blazusiak.

Shock Doctor/KTM rider Mike Brown also transferred to the main event. Unfortunately, Brown’s night consisted of more than one crash which dropped him to 8th overall when the checkered flag flew.

Next Round: Columbus, OH – October 3, 2009

AMA Endurocross

Guthrie, Oklahoma

August 15, 2009

Qualifying:

The track in Oklahoma had a bigger layout then all the other EX races. It looked like it was going to be an easier track, but once we got out there and started to ride it really wasn’t. Right after practice we had our hot lap for gate pick (one rider goes out on the track at a time). I made a couple small mistakes, but still was able to put in the 7th fastest time.

In my first heat, I always seem to get a lot of great riders. I had a pretty good start and was in 4th after the first corner. Not far into the first lap, Josh Demuth made a mistake in the rock section and I was able to get by. Just ahead of me was Mike Brown and Damon Huffman was in the lead. The three of us built up a pretty good gap on everyone by the finish, but they only took the top two (I was about 5-seconds back from Mike in 3rd).

Now I had to race the semi and I knew it was going to be tough, because they only take the winner to the main. I got and ok start, but was able to get into the lead before the first lap was over. I built up a small lead and then the bike just stalled on me. I got it started, but lost my lead on the next lap when it stalled going up a log and put me on the ground. Things weren’t looking good at this point. I barely hung on to finish 5th and was off to the LCQ. Right after the race, the Kawasaki guys drained the carb and realized I had water in it (there was a big water section on the course).

I really wasn’t excited to be racing the LCQ and the humidity here was really starting to catch up to me. I had a pretty good start again and was in 4th. After the first lap, I was able to get by Demuth and was right on Patrick Smage. With two laps to go, I made the pass on Patrick and took the lead. I was able to take the win when the checkered flag came out (Patrick was right behind me for second).

Main Event:

I was super happy to make the main event again, but I truly was beat before the gate even dropped. It was less than 10-minutes since my LCQ and my heart rate was still pretty high. Considering I didn’t have a great gate pick, I was excited when I found myself in fifth after the first corner. My goal was to just ride a good pace and stay up. I knew I was lacking enough energy to really try and ride hard. Then the next couple laps I found myself in 3rd or 4th after some riders had issues with the matrix section and went down. I was pumped and just kept doing what I was doing. A couple riders got by me since they were really pushing it. There was actually a pretty big pack of riders that I was in (from 2nd to 7th place) and we were all pretty close together. Taddy was putting in a great ride up front, and checked out from all of us. I really wanted to get a top 5, and it was looking good with two laps to go. Then in the matrix section I stalled it and lost a few spots. I was so beat trying to get it started and when I finally did I just tried to stay where I was. I ended up finishing 9th ,but was really hoping to be higher up in the main event.

Overall Summary:

Once again I was really happy with my speed and excited to make it into the main event, but I was lacking some energy once I got there. I had to spend a lot of time on the track and finally made it through after the LCQ win.

Main Event Results:

1. Taddy Blazusiak KTM
2. Damon Huffman Monster Energy Kawasaki
3. Cory Graffunder Husqvarna
4. Geoff Aaron Christini/KTM
5. Colton Haaker Kawasaki
6. Mike Brown KTM
7. Kyle Redmund Yamaha
8. Nick Brozovich Honda
9. Destry Abbott Monster Energy Kawasaki
10. Patrick Smage KTM
11. Jamie Lanza Kawasaki

Other Notes:
The big news this weekend was when Ricky Dietrich (last years champion) messed up his foot on his hot lap. He went to the hospital right afterwards (thought it was broke) but luckily it wasn’t. He wasn’t able to race but should be good in a couple weeks.

This was the last Endurocross race I get to do until the final in Vegas (November 21st). I have a couple AMA H&H’s that have conflicting dates.

It was really cool seeing some of Oklahoma’s top riders checking out the race (Guy Cooper, Kenny Bartram, and Trey Canard). I talked to Trey for a little bit and he’s really a great kid (and an awesome rider).

I didn’t make it to Oklahoma last year, but I did the year before. This year’s attendance was almost sold out and was way better then the last time I was here. It’s really cool to see the EX races filling up the stadium!

Jonny Weisman (my normal mechanic) wasn’t able to make the trip since this event wasn’t on our schedule. I had Craig Adams and Matt Leach wrench for me at the race and they were both a huge help. Thanks guys!

Last week Jacob Argubright and I spent some time training here in Arizona. Jacob is really picking it up and if he keeps riding like he is, he’s going to look out for (H&H’s and Endurocross’s).

I have the next few weeks off and then I have my ISDE fundraiser here in Arizona. I’m also going to be posting my new t-shirts up on my site this week. Be sure to check them out J

I attached some photos from Ryan Sanders. Thanks Ryan!

Best Wishes,
Destry
www.destryabbott.com
2009 Sponsors: Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing, Thor, Dunlop, GPR stabilizers, Shoei, Pro Circuit, Stephen Gall Training, SIDI, IMS, Zip-Ty, HoyFox.com, Motion Pro, BRP, Braking, Works Connection, Concept2, CTI2, Maxima, Kicker, OGIO, Dragonfireracing.com, Steahly, RK/Excel, Renthal, Bent, Hinson, Jonre Multimedia, Steahly, Scott, Cyto Sport, N-Style, UNI, Parkway Chiropractic, Acerbis, Tire-Balls, and ZLT.

Guthrie, OK – Red Bull/KTM rider Taddy “Sugar Taddy” Blazusiak won his second consecutive race in a row at the second round of the AMA EnduroCross Series.

Blazusiak easily won his heat to advance to the main event. Shock Doctor/KTM rider Mike Brown had the fastest qualifying practice time and went on to finish 2nd in his heat to qualify to the main.

In the main event, Blazusiak started 2nd and had the lead by the second lap. Blazusiak suffered two crashes throughout the race but still managed to pull a large gap over the remainder of the field by the end of the moto.

Brown had 2nd place in the bag until the mid-way point where a crash put him back in 4th place. Brown worked back up into the top three but was slowed once more when another rider crashed in front of him and he lost time trying to get around him. Brown eventually finished in 6th position.

Taddy continues to lead the EnduroCross Series Championship points chase with 60 points.

Overall Results:
1) Taddy Blazusiak – KTM
2) Damon Huffman
3) Cory Graffunder
4) Geoff Aaron – KTM
5) Colton Haaker – KTM
6) Mike Brown – KTM

Marquette, MI – Shock Doctor/KTM rider Russell Bobbitt strengthened his points lead over teammate Mike Lafferty with his fifth win of the season at the ninth round of the AMA National Enduro Series.

It was another great battle and close race for the KTM pair as both riders exchanged special test wins throughout the day. “I felt great in the first test and won by a couple seconds over Mike. Then he got me by a few seconds in the second test and so on,” commented Bobbitt.

Bobbitt reported that the track was quite technical from the first test through the final test. “It started with a couple fast tests that incorporated a lot of sand. By the final three tests we had worked our way up the mountain into the slippery rocks for a more demanding challenge.”

Although Bobbitt walked away with the win he claimed it wasn’t easy. “I slid out in the third test section twice because it was so slick. Then in the 4th session I had an even bigger get off that I took a few moments to recover from. I actually don’t remember it that well. I thought my day was over after that crash.”

Going into the final test section, Lafferty had a decent lead on Bobbitt. Unfortunately, Lafferty crashed hard in the final second losing a lot of time to Bobbitt. The time he lost worked to Bobbitt’s benefit as he was able to finish one minute ahead of his teammate.

In the end, Bobbitt’s three test wins were solid enough to take the overall for the day allowing his points lead to stretch to 6 points over Lafferty. With only one round left in the series – the finale will again be another nail bitter for the two teammates that are now accustomed to battling closely for championship wins.

Overall Results –
1) Russell Bobbitt – 37:17
2) Mike Lafferty – 38:23
3) Nick Fahringer – 42:35
4) Brad Bakken – 45:39
5) Andrew Delong 48:10
6) Jeff Melik – 49:09
7) Rich Lafferty – 52:17
Fred Hoess – 54:20
9) Rory Sullivan – 56:45
10) Chris Gallt – 58:14

Overall Points –
1) Russell Bobbitt – 242
2) Mike Lafferty – 236
3) Brad Bakken – 157
4) Nick Fahringer – 145
5) Cole Kirkpatrick – 116