Red Bull KTM Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak finished third at the opening round of the AMA EnduroCross Series at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday night while KTM Factory FMF/KTM rider Taylor Robert took fifth.

KTM riders swept the Women’s Pro class podium with Factory FMF/KTM rider Kacy Martinez taking a hard fought victory. Six of the top 10 riders in each of the Men’s and Women’s Pro Classes went to KTM riders.

Blazusiak and Robert were both placed in heat one where they rounded the first corner in the top two positions. Blazusiak went on to lead every lap of the heat and take the win. Robert rode a strong race to finish third to advance to the main event.

Blazusiak got a great start in the main event. He was top three at the first corner and was in the lead before the end of the first lap. Factory teammate Robert had a good jump off the line but went over the bars on the finish line jump of the first lap and restarted in last position. Blazusiak was in a comfortable lead but made a mistake in the log section that dropped him down to fourth place.

“The mistake on the first lap cost me a lot of time,” stated Blazusiak. “I got into a lot of lappers after that and wasn’t able to catch back up to the lead.”

The Polish rider and winner of the last five championships worked his way back to second place and was closing on the lead ride when he lost another position in the rock section of the final lap and had to settle for overall third.

“I’m bummed to not finish first at the opening round, but I am still glad to get on the podium. It is a long series and I’m looking forward to battling for the win at the next round,” Blazusiak commented.

KTM rider Bobby Prochnau was fourth and Robert put in an impressive ride to finish overall for the evening despite a nagging stomach injury that plagued him throughout the afternoon. “I’m really happy with my race considering I didn’t get to ride much this week and was feeling pretty terrible this morning because of my stomach problems from an off-season injury,” said Robert. “Overall, it’s good to walk away with a top five and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Factory FMF/KTM rider Kacy Martinez was in form and took a hard fought battle in the Women’s pro Class. She took the holeshot but dropped to second on the first lap before quickly catching the leader again. She challenged for the win throughout the race and finally made the pass in the final corner to claim victory.

“I had such a great time tonight,” remarked Martinez. “The track was really tough but I just rode calm and was able to make a pass when it counted, I’m really excited to leave here with the point lead.”

Next Event: June 6, 2014 – Austin, TX (X-Games)

EnduroCross Rd. 1

Overall Results Men’s Pro Class
1, Cody Webb
2, Colton Haaker
3, Taddy Blazusiak
4, Bobby Prochnau
5, Taylor Robert
6, Geoff Aaron
7, Gary Sutherlin
8, Cory Graffunder
9, Bryan Roper
10, Jamie Lanza

Overall Results Women’s ProClass
1, Kacy Martinez
2, Shelby Turner
3, Morgan Tanke
4, Rachel Gutish
5, Lexi Pechout
6, Chantelle Bykerk
7, Tarah Gieger
8, Melissa Harten
9, Rily Ellinger
10, Jessica Patterson

Men’s Overall Point Standings
1, Cody Webb – 27
2, Colton Haaker – 23
3, Taddy Blazusiak – 21

Women’s Overall Point Standings
1, Kacy Martinez – 25
2, Shelby Turner – 22
3, Morgan Tanke – 20