A podium finish on night two of this weekend’s 2023 AMA EnduroCross Championship double-header in Idaho completed a fine outing for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker, backing up his fourth position on Friday and making for a consistent two rounds of nail-biting action.
Round 3 saw Haaker race to 4-1-5 moto scores, with mid-field starts the only thing holding him back as he demonstrated race-winning speed during the second moto of the night. His tally would place him just off the box in P4 overall.
The second leg of the double-header, Round 4 on Saturday, once again showed Haaker’s poise and finesse onboard his FX 350, rocketing to a closely-contested fourth-place finish in the opening moto. A come-from-behind ride in Moto 2 saw the number 10 capture the lead by the mid-point, racing to a winning performance that saw Haaker fend off his nearest rivals for a decisive race victory.
Fourth place in the third and final moto was enough to seal the final step on the round podium for Haaker, who inched closer to the series lead with his Idaho Falls results, now sitting in P4 overall and only 21 points off the championship lead.
“It was an eventful night of racing here in Idaho!” recalled Haaker. “I really had to work for this one in each race, not getting the best of starts and then having to fight my way up into position. The track had a few passing opportunities if you were creative, so I found some lines that were working for me and that helped a lot. Rounds 3 and 4 were decent here, we showed a lot of promise with two race wins, although I just need to put it all together to get back toward the title fight.”
Teammate Ryder LeBlond experienced a more difficult outing within Hero Arena, despite charging to a promising P3 finish during the opening race of Round 3. As is the nature of EnduroCross, the tight confines can lend itself to chaos at times, and incidents with other riders during races two and three resulted in 11-8 finishes, leaving LeBlond with seventh place overall on Friday evening.
A lowly start to Round 4’s opening encounter saw LeBlond charge his way up through the field, as he crossed the line in 10th place. Consistent 6-5 results across the two remaining motos earned LeBlond another seventh-place overall for the weekend, and he’s currently fifth in the standings.
“Not a great two nights of racing here in Idaho, and we salvaged what we could, although the starts really hurt us,” commented LeBlond. “I put myself in bad positions across each of the rounds, which is on me, although we’ll go back to work now and come back and aim for the podium at the next one.”
Round 5 of the 2023 AMA EnduroCross Championship heads to Redmond, Oregon, at the First Interstate Bank Center on Saturday, November 11.
EX Pro Results – Round 3
1. Trystan Hart, KTM, 1-2-1
2. Jonny Walker, Beta, 2,4,3
3. Cody Webb, Sherco, 5-3-2
4. Colton Haaker – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 4-1-5
…
7. Ryder LeBlond – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 3-11-8
EX Pro Results – Round 4
1. Trystan Hart, Beta, 1-2-2
2. Cody Webb, Sherco, 2-3-1
3. Colton Haaker – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 4-1-4
…
7. Ryder LeBlond – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 10-6-5
EX Pro Championship Standings
1. Jonny Walker, 103 points
2. Trystan Hart, 92
3. Cody Webb, 92
4. Colton Haaker – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 82
5. Ryder LeBlond – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 67
