Check Point | February 18 2020
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MEDIA | X-TRIAL, ENDUROCROSS & HONDA
Welcome to Check Point, a new weekly feature that will cover the ongoings in the off-road motorcycle racing world, presented by Moose Racing. Although motocross and Supercross is the center of the SML universe, our staff has massive respect for the varied disciplines of off-road, from SuperEnduro to Rally to GNCC to Big Six, and we always have an eye on what’s happening in the professional racing series. Every week we will bring updates from around the world, including race results, photos, video highlights, and new bike or product debuts.
Since this is an early installment of the feature, we want to hear your feedback. Drop a comment below and let us know what you think or what you want to see.
2020 X-TRIAL | BILBOA
Another round of the 2020 X-Trial World Championship, another head-to-head battle between Toni Bou and Adam Raga for the overall win. The two carried their rivalry to Bilboa for the fifth competition of the season and made the Spanish crowd chose which of their countryman to cheer for during the rounds of riding.Raga was again the better rider in the first rounds of the event, as the TRRS rider had far fewer marks than Bou in the qualifiers and looked poised to break Bou’s streak of wins.
But just like in Barcelona two weeks prior, Bou managed to piece together a very good run through sections during the Final round and excelled while Raga struggled on five of the six sections and add more marks to his scorecard.
A set of concrete pipes in the Final round proved to be too technical for either rider and both were forced to dismount their bikes when traversing the tricky obstacles, the ultimate mistake in trial riding. Bou’s bike actually flipped back on him when he fell off at the first level of the section and Raga had to jump off just as he got to the top of the pipe.
Bou was the better rider in Section Two and Section Four, with zero marks to Raga’s one-mark mistakes, and the final score was in his favor for the fifth time this season. Bou now holds a 25-point lead over Raga with two rounds left in the series, which resumes at the end of March in Austria.
2020 AMA ENDUROCROSS SCHEDULE CONFIRMED
Last week Cycle City Promotions, the event organizers of Endurocross, announced the schedule of the five-round tour in 2020, which will run from August to November with visits to Colorado/Arizona/Idaho/Texas, and will be an AMA national championship. Although details including the date and venue for the second stop of the schedule still need to be determined, the promoters stated that it will take place at some point in September, and confirmed the location and dates for the other four rounds.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Colton Haaker will race as the defending champion, while Cody Webb will make his return to competition with Sherco Factory Racing after missing the 2019 series with a knee injury. The two rivals will certainly be the favorites for the title, but they will have to keep a long list of determined up and coming competitors at bay, including Trystan Hart, Cory Graffunder, Max Gerston, Cooper Abbott, Ty Cullins, Noah Kepple, and Ben Herrera. Five-time champion Taddy Blazusiak has also not ruled out a possible return to the United States for a possible sixth title.
2020 AMA EnduroCross Series Schedule
August 22, 2020 | Prescott Valley, Arizona | Findlay Toyota Center
September TBD | Location TBD |
October 3, 2020 | Amarillo, Texas | Amarillo National Center
October 10, 2020 | Denver, Colorado | National Western Complex
November 7, 2020 | Boise, Idaho | Ford Idaho Center
The 2020 AMA EnduroCross championship series will include five events kicking off on August 22, 2020 in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The second event will take place in September with the date and location still being finalized. On October 3rd the series will make a first-ever visit to the state of Texas, with an event in Amarillo. The penultimate round will take place in Denver, Colorado on October 10th and the series will conclude in Boise, Idaho, on November 7th.
“2019 was a rebuilding year for EnduroCross as we took over ownership in June and held three strong events despite a short time frame to pull things together,” said Tod Hammock, the president and founder of Cycle City Promotions. “For 2020, we are expanding to five events and happy to showcase EnduroCross racing in Texas. We are still finalizing details for an event in September and will share those details as soon as possible.”
Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker wrapped up his third AMA EnduroCross championship in 2019 and will be back to defend his title. Cody Webb, who also has three AMA EnduroCross championships to his name, will be back after missing the 2019 season due to a knee injury. He has switched to the Sherco factory team and will look to give the French brand their first-ever win and a championship.
KTM will have their title hopes resting with Trystan Hart, the young Canadian that has been on the verge of breaking up the dominant duo of Haaker and Webb, on his RPM KTM. Taddy Blazusiak, the five-time EnduroCross champion, may also be back in hopes of earning a sixth title.
There will be plenty of other strong riders capable of battling at the front of the pack. Cory Graffunder had a breakout season in 2019, on an SRT Offroad backed Yamaha, with a fourth-place finish in the championship and will be back for more. The Beta team will have veteran Max Gerston and Chile’s Benjamin Herrera competing for podiums in 2020. Husqvarna backed Noah Kepple is always exciting to watch and will be looking to earn his first podium finishes. Ty Cullins, the defending EnduroCross Junior champion (pro-class riders that are 21 and under), is aiming for his first podium finishes. Cooper Abbott will also be back after missing 2019 due to injury.
The series will again include the Super EnduroCross (Pro), Amateur/Intermediate, Vet 35+ and Women’s classes in 2020. Within the Super EnduroCross class, the Junior championship will recognize riders that are 21 years of age and under (Rider must be 21 or under at the final event of the season).
SLR HONDA | SLAMLIFE ADVENTURE EPISODE 5
ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA RACING | TREVOR BOLLINGER SIDELINED WITH KNEE INJURY
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing announced today that team rider Trevor Bollinger sustained a torn ACL and meniscus in his left leg as the result of a crash during the season opener of the AMA National Enduro Series on February 2.
After taking a week off, it was determined that Bollinger will need to undergo surgery next week to repair the torn ligaments. The North Carolina native was slated to compete aboard the FX 450 in the 2020 Grand National Cross Country Series and AMA National Enduro Series but he will be sitting out indefinitely as he goes through the recovery process.
Bollinger: “This off-season went very smoothly and I was feeling really good coming into the 2020 season. Unfortunately, I crashed in the third test at the National Enduro season opener and I tried my best to push through the rest of the day. After a week of intense swelling in my knee, I decided to get it checked out and now I will be heading into surgery next week. It’s a bummer for my team and myself as we had everything in place to be a good year.”
