ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING RIDER CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS IN 2021 EXC SERIES
The 2021 AMA Extreme Championship returned to action on Sunday with Round 2 of its western series in Spragueville, Iowa. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker had a solid day, finishing third overall with a pair of hard-fought 3-3 finishes at the Iowan Hard Enduro.
With a race format consisting of a hot lap and two separate motos for the pro racers, Haaker remained consistently up front throughout the day. The reigning AMA EnduroCross Champion earned himself a front-row start for the first race following a strong third-place finish in the hot lap session.
In race one, Haaker got off to a good start and quickly put himself into the lead. He diced up front for the rest of the race, ultimately finishing third. In the final race, he got off to a fourth-place start but he made a mistake stalling the bike going up one of the hills and dropped back to fifth early on. He put his head down and charged up to third, where he started to gain momentum. However, late on the second lap he experienced a crash that set him back once again. Re-mounting, Haaker put on one last charge to ultimately fight his way back into podium contention late in the race, finishing third in the race and third overall for the day.
“This weekend, I was more in the mix and ran up front a lot,” Haaker said. “I was pushing hard but I had a couple too many mistakes that kept me from finishing better. Even though the overall result is the same as the last round, progress was made! I’m going to take the positives and have another go at it in two weeks for Last Dog Standing!
Next: Last Dog Standing – May 15-16 – San Bernardino, California
Overall Pro Results
1. Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2
2. Cody Webb (Sherco) 4-1
3. Colton Haaker – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 3-3
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5. Ryder Leblond (Husqvarna) 6-5