E3 Spark Plugs News

Shift Racing's Chad Reed captured his second win in as many races for Two-Two Motorsports at the Freestone MX AMA National over the Memorial Day weekend. Photo courtesy of Shift Racing.

The only thing hotter than the air in Texas this Memorial Day weekend was the on-track action at the Freestone MX track outside Wortham, TX. Last week’s 450 cc class winner at Hangtown, Chad Reed, wasted little time claiming the win in Moto 1 after passing the Lucas Oil TLD Honda of Christian Craig on lap eight. Reed’s main rival, Rockstar Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, chased the Two-Two Motorsport’s rider to the line for second place followed by Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto in third for yet another “red-yellow-green” finish.

In Moto 2, Dungey charged to an early lead followed by Reed and last year’s runner-up in the Lucas Oil AMA MX Championship, Brett Metcalfe. Villopoto and the Joe Gibbs Yamaha of Davi Millsaps were working their way through the pack when a mistake cost Villopoto his chance for a win. Off-road motorcycle ace, Ricky Dietrich, showed the loyal Texas crowd why he’s racing motocross this season and held on to a fourth place overall finish in the second heat. Disaster struck late in the race when the motor on the leader’s power plant failed. With Dungey sitting dead in the water, Reed grabbed the top spot on the podium followed by Millsaps and Metcalfe.

Dungey’s misfortune dropped the defending 450 cc National Champion to eighth overall for the day and fourth in the 2011 points race. Davi Millsaps’s new training regimen paid big dividends this weekend with a second overall at Freestone MX which vaulted the hard charging Georgia rider to third place in championship standings. Villopoto’s 3-5 finishes on the day was good enough for the final step on the podium and moved the Monster Energy rider to second in points. Reed’s gifted win in the second Moto gave the determined Aussie a twenty-one point lead going into Round 3 of the AMA outdoor national championship at the famed High Point MX track in two weeks’ time.

If you’re looking for the winning edge, E3 motorcycle spark plugs were “Born to Burn”. Get the most out of your favorite ride on the street, in the dirt or on the snow. Stop by your local auto parts or hardware store today; or use an online authorized E3 dealer to have E3 spark plugs delivered directly to your door.

The GEICO AMA EnduroCross presented by E3 Spark Plugs is giving racing fans a chance to meet the superstars of EX before they hit the tracks for the 2010 series championship rounds. Pro pits open at noon on Saturday, Nov. 20th. Riders will greet fans and sign autographs before booting up for the 3 p.m. pro practice and Hot Lap qualifying session. It’s all free to the public until the finals round begins later that evening at the Las Vegas Orleans Arena, with tickets starting at $37.

Among the riders looking forward to meeting fans are current GEICO EnduroCross series points leader, KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak; defending series champion, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich; and 10-time AMA National Trial champion, KTM’s Geoff Aaron, who landed his first EnduroCross win in round five.

Reps from the American Motorcyclist Association will pay a visit to the EX finals Saturday evening. In town for the annual AMA Legends & Champions Weekend, they’ll hand out four coveted AMA No. 1 plates to winners in the Expert Pro, TrialCross, Amateur Open and Vet classes.

“The AMA’s very excited with the EnduroCross series and what their team has done to promote the sport of off-road motorcycle racing,” said AMA’s Director of Racing, Joe Bromley. “The crossover aspect with EnduroCross is especially interesting. In addition to the great international off-road racers like Taddy Blazusiak, you have Mike Brown from motocross, Geoff Aaron from trials and guys like Destry Abbott who compete on the AMA’s Hare & Hound, National Enduro, along with racers from the GNCC series. And, with all the AMA championships on the line, we’re definitely looking forward to being in attendance this Saturday at the Orleans.”

Got your tickets yet? They’re available at the venue. Doors open at 6 p.m. and racing begins at 7:30 p.m. Can’t make it? Be sure to check the E3 Spark Plugs blog for race results and watch the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour on Versus.

E3 Spark Plugs congratulates all the racers whose hard-driving ambition and skill got them to the series finals. Best of luck to you all.

Perhaps it’s because the view from behind his desk just can’t beat the flinging mud and screaming fans he’s accustomed to that Kurt Nicoll decided to boot up for Round 5 of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross presented by E3 Spark Plugs this Saturday, Oct. 30 at Denver’s National Western Complex. Dubbed “the toughest racing on two wheels,” EnduroCross combines elements of off-road racing with supercross-style settings featuring rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, water holes and obstacles such as giant tires.

Motocross veteran Kurt Nicoll will race the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010.

Nicoll, former KTM racing manager and current COO of Godfrey Entertainment (producers of films, TV series and documentaries primarily focusing on action and motorsports), is looking to qualify for the Vet class main event and will go head-to-head against a tough field of fellow EnduroCross vets from the Colorado area. Just shy of his 46th birthday, Nicoll is coming off Pro class win at the Nitro Circus Halloween Grand Prix in Utah, a combination motocross, supermoto, off-road, EnduroCross event and says he’s ready for the next challenge.

“[I] feel I’m better prepared than a few years ago. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be any good,” he says with a laugh. Nicoll also is a top Motocross GP contender and AMA Supermoto championship winner.

The GEICO AMA EnduroCross presented by E3 Spark Plugs promises a hotly contested battle between current series points leader Taddy Blazusiak of KTM and Monster Energy / Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich, the defending series champion. The day’s activities start with a free-to-the-public meet-and-greet with the racers and a pro practice and Hot Lap qualifying session.

“Opening the pro pits and afternoon practice session gives those curious fans a chance to see GEICO EnduroCross at no cost,” says mike Kartsting, VP of Events for producer Source Interlink Media.”Should they decide to stay for the night show, we’ve got tickets available at several different price points starting at 13 bucks for kids age three to 12.”

Saturday’s race is the last before the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Grand Championships Nov. 20 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Visit the EnduroCross website to purchase tickets. Meanwhile, get your own ride running like a race winner with E3 motorcycle spark plugs.

Taddy Blazusiak wins Round Two of the GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Image courtesy of EnduroCross/Source Interlink.

Round Two of the 2010 GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark Plugs delivered a dramatic show this past weekend at Guthrie, OK’s Lazy E Arena. Bets were on KTM racer Mike Brown, who dominated much of the race – until the checkers flew. After an exhausting battle across the biggest track of the series, KTM teammate Taddy Blazusiak pulled out all the stops for a spectacular come-from-behind win. After also taking the series opener at Las Vegas’ Orleans Arena July 17, Blazusiak thus far has a firm grip on the championship lead.

Brown and Blazusiak traded leads throughout the event, with Brown hitting triples and scrubbing speed in the straights and Blazusiak, true to form, holding the advantage in the technical rocky turns. In fact, it was one rock in particular that ultimately took Brown out of the running for the win. Wet sand had made the river rock 180-degree turn incredibly slick and it was there that Blazusiak made the pass that stuck. Several laps later, Brown’s KTM stalled and never fired back up, saddling its rider with a disappointing DNF.

Taddy Blazusiak wins Round Two of the GEICO Powersports AMA EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs. Geoff Aaron (right) took second, Justin Soule (left) third. Image courtesy of EnduroCross/Source Interlink.

Brown’s exit handed second place over to GEICO Christini rider Geoff Aaron, a ten-time National Trials champ. For a moment, it looked as if he may take the win when Blazusiak nearly performed an endo across a double jump on the last lap, but held on long enough to finish first. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Justin Soule took third place, making his first podium finish in only his second main event. The turn of events pushed Soule’s Kawasaki teammate Ricky Dietrich further away from regaining his AMA EnduroCross championship. Dietrich raced despite debilitating pain from a compound fracture of his pinky toe suffered just two weeks prior. The pain and a bent shift lever on the opening lap of the main left him with a modest ninth-place finish.

Next up: Round Three of the GEICO EnduroCross series presented by E3 Spark Plugs in Indianapolis, Indiana Friday, August 27 during MotoGP weekend. Be sure to check the E3 Spark Plugs blog for all the latest racing news. And to boost your own racing performance, pick up a set of E3 Powersports Spark Plugs at one of our licensed dealers with stores online and nationwide.
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Defending EnduroCross champion Taddy Blazusiak of Poland raced to a hard-fought win, opening the E3 Spark Plugs-sponsored 2010 GEICO EnduroCross Series at Las Vegas’ Orleans Arena July 17. Touted the sport’s “premier showman,” Blazusiak rode his Red Bull KTM to victory over Geoff Aaron and Cory Graffunder.

Poland's Taddy Blazusiak, winner of the 2010 GEICO EnduroCross Series' Las Vegas opener.

Ten time National Trials champ Aaron kick-started race day by setting the fastest time in the Pioneer Hot Lap, which determined the gate picks for the evening heat races. When the dust settled, Blazusiak, Graffunder and Mike Brown were awarded the best gate picks for the main event. Blazusiak wond the $750 Girardi Wealth Management holeshot award, but it proved a short-term victory when Aaron quickly passed him by. The two riders ran neck-and-neck during the first half of the race, until a mishap sent Aaron tumbling into the GEICO rock garden. That gave Blazusiak a small lead that he managed to hold for the rest of the race.

The competition for third place proved to be a nail biter. Graffunder, Brown, Justin Soule, Gary Sutherlin, Cody Webb and Kyle Redmund. Each had a shot at the podium at various times during the race, but all bets were on Webb until he crashed into the Monster water hole. Brown and Soule followed closely for fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich provided the biggest shock of the day when he crashed during the Last Chance Qualifier, knocking him from the main event. Lucas Oil rider Colton Haaker, last year’s E3 Spark Plugs Junior champion also sat out the main event on the bench.

Next up for the GEICO EnduroCross Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs, maker of the top-rated E3 motorcycle spark plugs: Round Two at Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Lazy E Arena August 14.
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