SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Cody Webb broke through for his first GEICO AMA EnduroCross overall win of the season on Monday at Glen Helen Raceway.
The FactoryOne Sherco rider had 3-1-2 moto scores versus Colton Haaker’s 1-6-1 moto finishes on his Rockstar Husqvarna. Trystan Hart gutted out a third-place finish despite a painful hand injury suffered at round four (2-3-4 moto finishes).
With one round remaining on Tuesday, Haaker leads Webb in the championship by 10 points and Hart is another four points back in third. So Haaker will need a sixth-place or better finish to lock up his fourth AMA EnduroCross championship.
Haaker managed to top Webb in the hot laps to earn the first gate pick for the first moto. Webb was just .3 of a second slower in second and Hart was third fastest. Noah Kepple and Cory Graffunder rounded out the top five.
Hart blasted to the Fox Holeshot in moto one with Haaker, Kepple and Max Gerston and Ty Cullins in close pursuit. Webb was buried at the back of the pack. Haaker took over the lead at the end of lap two and opened a small gap on Hart. Webb worked his way up to third by the midway point. Haaker made a few small mistakes near the end that allowed both Hart and Webb to close in but they finished in that order. Beta’s Gerston had a strong ride for fourth in the first moto and Kepple held onto fifth despite getting stuck in the first k-rail section in the middle of the moto.
With the inverted moto start putting the top riders on row two, Canadian Spencer Wilton took the holeshot to lead the riders into the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC rock garden. Cooper Abbott took over the lead with Gerston and Haaker chasing. Haaker tried to make a pass on Abbott at the start of lap two but went down and something lodged into his front brake lever causing two more small crashes. A quick stop at the mechanic area put him well behind the field. Webb pushed through the pack and took over the lead from Abbott halfway through the moto and slowly pulled away for the win. Abbott held on for second with Hart third. Gerston was fourth and Kepple had another top five.
Going into the final moto, Webb held the lead over Hart and Haaker needed a win to get himself back onto the overall podium. Haaker came away with the final moto Fox Holeshot with Webb on his heels. Webb passed Haaker in the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC rock garden on lap two and led a few laps. When Haaker pressured Webb, the Sherco rider backed off and allowed Haaker past to avoid jeopardizing his overall win. Haaker took the moto win while Webb finished second to earn the overall win.
Hart finished fourth in the final moto for third overall while Abbott finished third for fourth overall. Gerston was fifth in the final moto to earn fifth overall.
Webb was happy to get his first EnduroCross win of the season and Sherco’s first EnduroCross win.
“It was really special for me to get an overall win,” said Webb. “It has been since 2018 since I won an EnduroCross because I missed last year due to injury. The tracks have gotten a little harder each round and that is helping me since I am better on the tougher tracks. The Sherco team has also worked hard with me to keep dialing in the bike. Today was the first time I have had my son at the races so it was also special to get a win with him here.”
Haaker had two moto wins but the second moto took him out of contention for the overall.
“I set the fastest hot lap time, won the first moto despite almost crashing at the end,” Haaker said. Then that second moto, I was riding at about 120 percent trying to make a pass and crashed. My front brake lever got stuck in and I crashed two more times before getting to my mechanic. So that ruined it for me. And in the final moto, Cody didn’t need to beat me for the overall so I was able to get another win and work back to second overall. So I’m not happy about that but I am still in a good position for the championship.”
In the Women’s class, Shelby Turner raced to her fifth win in a row on her KTM. Louise Forsley (Sherco) and Morgan Tanke (Beta) battled again for second with Forsley coming out on top.
Shelby Turner took another win in the Amateur/Intermediate main event, her second of the season so far. Ryan Gouveia finished second on his TM and Tyler Smith rounded out the podium on a Husqvarna.
Craig Thompson won the Vet 35+ class on a Husqvarna and Ryan Gouveia was a close second on a TM. Dan Hayakawa rounded out the podium.