The history of EnduroCross…as we enter the 2011 season

Irvine, CA (July 14, 2011)The roots of EnduroCross come from a few “Indoor Enduro” events held in Spain. Eric Peronnard, the transplanted Frenchman that created or played a major role in several other events including the US Open of Supercross attended a few of the Spanish events and knew that it would be popular in America. So along with Tim Clark, they created the first event at the then new Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in 2004 and called it EnduroCross. The idea was to bring in all of the exciting obstacles of off road racing and put them inside of an Arena so that fans could see the great race action and the difficult obstacles and great racing immediately made it a big hit. As the 2011 GEICO AMA EnduroCross series presented by Lucas Oil gets ready to take off, we thought this would be a great time to look back at the previous 24 events.

2004
The first EnduroCross event included a lot of top off road racers from around the world but it was Ryan Hughes, a recently converted Motocross racer that won the first event. He was joined on the podium by top World Enduro racers David Knight from the Isle of Man and Mika Ahola from Italy. The crowd loved the action and the buzz was out that EnduroCross was the next big thing.

Las Vegas, NV – November 27, 2004
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Ryan Hughes	Honda
2	David Knight	KTM
3	Mika Ahola	Husqvarna
4	David Pearson	Kawasaki
5	Anders Eriksson	Husqvarna
6	Ty Davis	Yamaha
7	Paul Edmundson	Honda
8	Nathan Kanney	Yamaha
9	Brian Garrahan	Yamaha
10	Homero Diaz	KTM

2005
David Knight learned his lessons from the first year and came back strong in 2005 to win the once a year event that took place in November. The surprise of 2005 was John Dowd, another tough Motocross racer that used his intensity and skills to finish second by passing a then unknown rider named Ricky Dietrich on the last lap. Ryan Hughes had the speed but too many crashes kept him out of contention.

Las Vegas, NV – November 19, 2005
Position	Rider	Bike
1	David Knight	KTM
2	John Dowd	Suzuki
3	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
4	Ty Davis	Yamaha
5	Ivan Cervantes	KTM
6	Ryan Dudek	Kawasaki
7	Kurt Caselli	KTM
8	Mike Lafferty	KTM
9	Ryan Hughes	Suzuki
10	Xavier Galindo	UNK

2006
John Dowd was back for more EnduroCross and battled multi time WORCS champion Nathan Woods all the way to the last turn to take the win. Woods went down trying to make the pass but was the first top rider to begin using a Rekluse auto clutch, which kept his bike from stalling and allowed him to quickly get up and finish second ahead of David Knight.

Las Vegas, NV – November 18, 2006
Position	Rider	Bike
1	John Dowd	Suzuki
2	Nathan Woods	Kawasaki
3	David Knight	KTM
4	Eric Rhoten	Yamaha
5	Matt Karlson	Kawasaki
6	Homero Diaz	KTM
7	Geoff Aaron	KTM
8	Ryan Dudek	Kawasaki
9	Nick Mantzoros	UNK
10	Nick Brozovich	UNK

2007
This would mark the first year for EnduroCross to expand to a multi race series with new events added in Denver Colorado and Guthrie Oklahoma in addition to the traditional Vegas final at the Orleans Arena. Adding some excitement to the title was a $50,000 bonus for any rider that could win all three main events.
A sellout crowd welcomed the first EnduroCross to Denver and David Knight kicked off the series with a win. Keith Wineland, a top Trials rider finished second on a Trials bike. The small, lightweight bikes give up speed and jumping ability but it is easier to consistently make the obstacles so it was a bit of Tortoise and Hare scenario. Damon Huffman, another Motocross racer that was converting to off road racing finished third in his first EnduroCross event.
David Knight won again at round two in Oklahoma City, which made him eligible for the $50,000 bonus for winning all three events in 2007. Damon Huffman proved his Denver podium was not a fluke by finishing second and going into Vegas with a viable chance at winning the title. David Pearson, a top desert racer took the final podium position to prove his skills transferred over to the technical obstacles.
For the Vegas final, Knight just needed to finish ahead of Damon Huffman to win the Championship but he also wanted to take the win and the $50,000 bonus. He quickly took the lead and looked well on his way when Taddy Blazusiak, a then unknown rider from Poland began to pressure Knight. Blazusiak was a top World Trials racer that had just been hired by KTM for “Extreme Enduro” type events after winning the famously tough Erzberg Enduro. Most fans expected he would not challenge Knight for the win since the Championship and bonus were on the line but that is exactly what Blazusiak did when he made the pass with less than two laps to go. Mika Ahola, the multi time World Enduro champion made it a completely international podium at the final. Knight was furious about losing the bonus but he did still win the number one plate ahead of Damon Huffman and Nick Brozovich.

Round 1 Denver, CO September 29, 2007
Position	Rider	Bike
1	David Knight	KTM
2	Keith Wineland	Unk
3	Damon Huffman	Suzuki
4	Nick Brozovich	Yamaha
5	Dave Pearson	KTM
6	Phil Smage	Unk
7	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
8	Mike Lafferty	KTM
9	Nick Mantzoros	UNK
10	Kyle Redmond	KTM

Round 2 Guthrie, OK October 6, 2007
Position	Rider	Bike
1	David Knight	KTM
2	Damon Huffman	Suzuki
3	Dave Pearson	KTM
4	Keith Wineland	Unk
5	Nick Brozovich	Yamaha
6	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
7	John Dowd	Suzuki
8	Matt Karlson	Kawasaki
9	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
10	Ty Davis	Yamaha

Round 3 Las Vegas, NV November 17, 2007
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	David Knight	KTM
3	Mika Ahola	Honda
4	Colton Haaker	Unk
5	Nick Brozovich	Yamaha
6	Geoff Aaron	KTM
7	Destry Abbott	Kawasaki
8	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
9	Mike Lafferty	KTM
10	Nate Kanney	KTM

Overall
Position	Rider	Points	wins
1	David Knight	KTM	2
2	Damon Huffman	KTM
3	Nick Brozovich	Honda
4	Taddy Blazusiak	Unk	2
5	Mika Ahola	Yamaha
6	Keith Wineland	KTM
7	Mike Lafferty	Kawasaki
8	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
9	Dave Pearson	KTM
10	Geoff Aaron	KTM

2008
The EnduroCross series quickly ramped up to 6 events for 2008 with the opening and closing round scheduled for Las Vegas. Blazusiak was back for the full season and opened the season with a win over Geoff Aaron and Ricky Dietrich.
Before the second round in Guthrie Oklahoma, Blazusiak seriously injured himself in a practice crash and missed two rounds. That opened the door for Ricky Dietrich to get his first EnduroCross win ahead of his Monster Kawasaki teammate, Damon Huffman. Colton Haaker, a young rider that grew up racing Motocross before switching over to Trials got his first ever podium finish in third.
Florence South Carolina was a new stop on the tour and it was Damon Huffman’s turn to get his first ever win. Bobby Prochnau, a Canadian that is an actual Lumberjack and top off road motorcycle racer finished second ahead of Dietrich.
Denver hosted round four and Huffman again took the win and looked like the favorite for the championship. Geoff Aaron, the ten time AMA Trials Champion got a second place finish ahead of Taddy Blazusiak.
Columbus Ohio hosted its first ever EnduroCross event on the OSU campus inside a beautiful arena. Blazusiak was back to the top of the podium and was joined by Geoff Aaron and Ricky Dietrich. Huffman, the points leader coming in did not make the main event after a small crash dislocated a finger and this would prove costly to his Championship hopes.
Damon Huffman came back to win the Las Vegas final over Ricky Dietrich and Geoff Aaron. Dietrich ended up being the only rider to make all six main events and won the 2008 EnduroCross Championship over Huffman and Blazusiak.

Round 1 las Vegas, NV July 5, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
4	Nick Brozovich	Suzuki
5	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
6	Colton Haaker	KTM
7	Ty Davis	Yamaha
8	Janie Lanza	Kawasaki
9	Kendal Norman	Honda
10	Bobby Prochnau	KTM

Round 2 Guthrie, OK August 17, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
2	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
3	Colton Haaker	KTM
4	Nick Brozovich	Suzuki
5	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
6	Eric Rhoten	Yamaha
7	Ty Davis	Yamaha
8	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
9	Kyle Calderini	Honda
10	Phil Smage	KTM

Round 3 Florence, SC September 13, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
2	Bobby Prochnau	Kawasaki
3	Ricky Dietrich	KTM
4	Colton Haaker	Suzuki
5	Ty Davis	Kawasaki
6	Jamie Lanza	Yamaha
7	Nick Brozovich	Yamaha
8	Stephen Edmondson	Kawasaki
9	Mike Brown	Honda
10	Wally Palmer	KTM

Round 4 Denver, CO September 27, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
4	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
5	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
6	Ty Davis	Yamaha
7	Nick Brozovich	Suzuki
8	Bobby Prochnau	Kawasaki
9	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
10	Eric Rhoten	Yamaha

Round 5 Columbus, OH October 4, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
4	Mike Brown	KTM
5	Colton Haaker	KTM
6	Cory Grafunder	KTM
7	Kyle Calderini	Honda
8	Patrick Smage	Sherco
9	Nick Brozovich	Suzuki
10	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki

Round 6 Las Vegas, NV November 23, 2008
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
2	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
3	Geoff Aaron	KTM
4	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
5	Bobby Prochnau	KTM
6	Mika Ahola	Honda
7	Patrick Smage	Sherco
8	Destry Abbott	Kawasaki
9	Kyle Calderini	Honda
10	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki

Overall
Position	Rider	Points	Wins
1	Ricky Dietrich	136	1
2	Damon Huffman	131	3
3	Taddy Blazusiak	99	2
4	Geoff Aaron	96
5	Colton Haaker	86
6	Nick Brozovich	76
7	Bobby Prochnau	65
8	Jamie Lanza	64
9	Ty Davis	59
10	Phil Smage	41

2009
Taddy Blazusiak was back with a vengeance for the 2009 season, which would again include six events. The series kicked off in Las Vegas with perhaps the most exciting EnduroCross main event to date. Taddy Blazusiak, Ricky Dietrich, Mike Brown and Colton Haaker all led at various times during the main event. Brown led the start of the final lap but was passed by Blazusiak and Dietrich. Dietrich then took the lead away from Blazusiak only to fall with just two turns left and hand the lead back to Blazusiak. Dietrich pushed hard and almost took the win away before the finishline. Brown held on for his first ever EnduroCross podium.
Taddy Blazusiak was back on the top of the podium for round two in Oklahoma ahead of Damon Huffmand and Cory Graffunder. Graffunder, a young Canadian had made his mark by qualifying for the Vegas final and Husqvarna rewarded him with a factory ride, which he quickly repaid with the podium finish.
Florence South Carolina fans witnessed another Taddy Blazusiak win, which was making the unpredictable sport of EnduroCross more predictable. Geoff Aaron finished second ahead of Cory Graffunder who was proving to be a championship threat.
Geoff Aaron finally ended Taddy Blazusiak’s streak by taking his first ever win in Columbus Ohio. He had pressured Blazusiak into a rare mistake and then managed to hold him off to the finish. Colton Haaker found his way back to the podium with a third place finish.
Taddy Blazusiak came back to win in Denver ahead of Colton Haaker and Damon Huffman. Blazusiak was challenged in the early part of the main event but then pulled clear to his safest win of the season. The Championship was now locked up by the Polish KTM rider.
Taddy now had his chance to win a $50,000 bonus as there was again a bounty for the rider that could win the Vegas opener, South Carolina and Vegas final events. But just like a few years earlier, when Blazusiak took the bonus away from Knight, the bonus would go unclaimed as Ricky Dietrich, the defending series champion got his first win of the season. Geoff Aaron took second ahead of Damon Huffman while Blazusiak finished a disappointing fifth.
Blazusiak won the 2009 Championship over Geoff Aaron and Damon Huffman. Colton Haaker won the first ever Junior EnduroCross championship for the top placing rider 21 and under by finishing fourth just ahead of fellow youngster Cory Graffunder.

Round 1 Las Vegas, NV – July 5, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
3	Mike Brown	KTM
4	Geoff Aaron	KTM
5	Kyle Redmond	Yamaha
6	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
7	Cory Graffunder	KTM
8	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
9	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
10	Destry Abbott	Kawasaki

Round 2 Guthrie, OK – August 15, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
3	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
4	Geoff Aaron	KTM
5	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
6	Mike Brown	KTM
7	Kyle Redmond	Yamaha
8	Nick Brozovich	Honda
9	Destry Abbott	Kawasaki
10	Patrick Smage	KTM

Round 3 Florence, SC – September 12, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
4	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
5	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
6	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
7	Kyle Redmond	Yamaha
8	Mike Brown	KTM
9	Jason Raines	Yamaha
10	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki

Round 3 Florence, SC – September 12, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
4	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
5	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
6	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
7	Kyle Redmond	Yamaha
8	Mike Brown	KTM
9	Jason Raines	Yamaha
10	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki

Round 4 Columbus, OH October 3, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Geoff Aaron	KTM
2	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
3	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
4	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
5	Patrick Smage	KTM
6	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
7	Mike Brown	KTM
8	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
9	Kyle Redmond	Yamaha
10	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki

Round 5 Denver, CO October 24, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
3	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
4	Goeff Aaron	KTM
5	Kyle Redmond	KTM
6	Bobby Prochnau	KTM
7	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
8	Patrick Smage	KTM
9	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
10	Cody Webb	KTM

Round 6 Las Vegas, NV November 21, 2009
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Damon Huffman	Kawasaki
4	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
5	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
6	Cody Webb	KTM
7	Bobby Prochnau	KTM
8	Cory Graffunder	KTM
9	Mike Brown	KTM
10	Graham Jarvis	Sherco

Overall
Position	Rider	Points	Wins
1	Taddy Blazusiak	161	4
2	Geoff Aaron	134	1
3	Damon Huffman	115
4	Colton Haaker	111
5	Cory Graffunder	96
6	Kyle Redmond	80
7	Mike Brown	75
8	Ricky Dietrich	66	1
9	Jamie Lanza	61
10	Gary Sutherlin	50

2010
The 2010 Season again kicked off in Las Vegas and Taddy Blazusiak was challenged by Geoff Aaron but ultimately took the top spot on the podium. Cory Graffunder rounded out the podium with a solid ride.
Taddy Blazusiak again took the top spot in Oklahoma after passing his KTM teammate Mike Brown, who would have difficulties and fall from contention. Geoff Aaron again finished second with Monster Kawasaki’s new young talent Justin Soule joining him with a third place finish.
A new event in Indianapolis Indiana during the MotoGP weekend hosted round three. Blazusiak was again unstoppable and was joined by two first time podium finishers in Kyle Redmond and Kevin Rookstool. Aaron’s Championship hopes took a blow with an eleventh place finish.
Another new venue in Everett Washington had a capacity crowd on hand to witness one of the toughest EnduroCross courses to date. The wet logs and soft dirt combined with the usual EnduroCross obstacles were difficult for even the best riders. Blazusiak was challenged but came back for the win over Aaron and Gary Sutherlin.
Geoff Aaron again derailed Taddy Blazusiak’s streak by taking the win at his home event in Denver. Justin Soule and Colton Haaker were both very aggressive and also beat Blazusiak for the final podium spots. In fact, Blazusiak crashed on the final lap and allowed Kyle Redmond to take fourth position away as well.
For the 2010 Vegas final, Taddy Blazusiak again stormed to the win ahead of Geoff Aaron. The final podium position was taken by Cody Webb, the recently crowned AMA Trials Champion. Webb had displayed great speed at previous rounds and finally found a way to the podium.
Blazusiak won his second consecutive GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship in 2010 followed by Geoff Aaron and Justin Soule. Colton Haaker again won the Junior Championship for riders 21 and under but will be handing that crown to somebody new in 2011 as he is now beyond the age limit.

Round 1 Las Vegas, NV July 17, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
4	Mike Brown	KTM
5	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
6	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
7	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
8	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
9	Destry Abbott	Kawasaki
10	Cody Webb	Gas Gas

Round 2 Guthrie, OK August 14, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
4	Cody Webb	Gas Gas
5	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
6	Kevin Rookstool	KTM
7	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
8	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
9	Ricky Dietrich	Kawasaki
10	Kyle Redmond	Kawasakitd>

Round 3 Indianapolis, IN August 27, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
3	Kevin Rookstool	KTM
4	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
5	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
6	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
7	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
8	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
9	Mike Brown	KTM
10	Cody Webb	Gas Gas

Round 4 Everett, WA September 11, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
4	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
5	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
6	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
7	Mike Brown	KTM
8	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
9	Keith Sweeten	KTM
10	Kevin Rookstool	KTM

Round 5 Denver, CO October 30, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Geoff Aaron	KTM
2	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
3	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
4	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
5	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
6	Gary Sutherlin	Kawasaki
7	Cody Webb	Gas Gas
8	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
9	Kevin Rookstool	KTM
10	Jamie Lanza	KTM

Round 6 Las Vegas, NV November 20, 2010
Position	Rider	Bike
1	Taddy Blazusiak	KTM
2	Geoff Aaron	KTM
3	Cody Webb	Gas Gas
4	Mike Brown	KTM
5	Colton Haaker	Kawasaki
6	Cory Graffunder	Husqvarna
7	Justin Soule	Kawasaki
8	Kyle Redmond	Kawasaki
9	Jamie Lanza	Kawasaki
10	Kevin Rookstool	KTM

Overall
Position	Rider	Points	Wins
1	Taddy Blazusiak	166	5
2	Geoff Aaron	140	1
3	Justin Soule	110
4	Cory Graffunder	95
5	Kyle Redmond	94
6	Gary Sutherlin	91
7	Colton Haaker	81
8	Kevin Rookstool	80
9	Cody Webb	75
10	Mike Brown	72

All Time Main Event Wins (through 2010) Wins
Taddy Blazusiak 12
Damon Huffman 3
David Knight 3
Geoff Aaron 2
Ricky Dietrich 2
John Dowd 1
Ryan Hughes 1

2011…
The 2011 GEICO AMA EnduroCross series is kicking off with its first ever inclusion in the X Games as the opening round. The series will also feature two new venues with first time events in Ontario California and Boise Idaho. So you can count on continued growth in popularity for EnduroCross.