Wild EnduroCross Double Header Weekend Has Webb Gain in Points Championship

Idaho Falls, ID – A double header in the Gem State provided edge-of-your-seat action from the first gate drop on both nights. Social media became a buzz after seeing drone footage of the track map which did not include a matrix for the third (and forth) round in a row. This caused the promoters to make a last-ditch effort to secure enough logs to build one. They were able to do so much to the riders and fan’s satisfaction. The addition of the matrix would bring the difficulty score of the track up which is better suited for Cody Webb and the rest of the riders who are more technically sound.

Cody Webb would have night one moto scores of 5-3-2 which was good enough for p3 on the night. Cooper Abbott would go 9-9-7 which gave him p8. Night two Webb would go 2-3-1 for p2. Abbott would go 5-8-6 for p6.

Cody Webb on His Night One Hot Lap With the New “Stealth” Graphics From SKDA

Photo: Jack Jaxson

The expert class kicked the night off for the packed house.  The top six would qualify for the EX Pro class.  This was followed by qualifying hot laps from the top 10 EX Pros  based on current championship points. The hot laps determine the rider gate pick for moto one. Cooper Abbott would sit in the hot seat with the fastest time early on, but it would eventually only be good enough for the seventh fastest time. Cody Webb showed that you do not have to jump everything to put in a fast time. He would be second fastest by a mere .015 seconds behind Jonny Walker who has been completely undefeated coming into the weekend.

Cooper Abbott on Night One Hot Lap

Photo: Jack Jaxson

In what seems to be a broken record, Webb and Abbott both would have their difficulties in moto one. Webb would get a third-place start but some small mistakes were just enough to drop him to p5 on the moto. Abbott would get pushed out at the 90-degree first turn, putting him p11 at the hole shot line. He would make up a few positions finishing p9.

The reverse gate of moto two would provide difficulty for Webb at the start. He would get caught in a melee of riders at the first turn. After getting through that, he would get caught up in the matrix putting him p8. Abbott would suffer a similar fate but unfortunately for him, riders went down in front of him in the Matrix and with no way to get around, he would be p13 on lap one. Webb would ride patient and pick off riders one at a time. He was very fast in the rock garden and that seemed to be where he made up the majority of his time. He would finish p3 at the checkered flag. Abbott would also make up ground finishing p9 for a second straight moto.

Webb Passing Spencer Wilton Early in Moto 2 in the Rock Garden

Photo: Jack Jaxson

At the gate drop in moto three, it was Trystan Hart with the hole shot with Cody hot on his heels. Webb would make a pass for the lead in the matrix. Cooper Abbott would have a better start coming across the first timing stripe in p6. The battle for the podium positions would heat up as Hart, Webb, Colton Haaker and Jonny Walker would battle throughout the entire moto. Hart would get around Webb at the start of lap three and Colton Haaker was showing Webb a wheel. Haaker would make a costly mistake at the end of lap three where he would go down on his own in a tight corner. This helped the cause of Webb as Haaker had won the previous moto and finished a place better than Webb on moto one. Webb would have to ride a flawless remainder of the race to hold onto the final podium position. Walker would put heavy pressure on Webb for p2. He would make a pass late in the race by cutting off Webb in the same corner where Haaker went down. On the very next lap, Webb would get by Walker in the exact spot where he was passed a lap ago. It came with help from Walker’s own teammate who unexpectedly cut in front of Walker knocking him off track for a moment. This allowed Webb to force his way through the two riders. The moto would finish with Webb taking p2. Abbott would have his best moto finish on the night with a p7.

Round Three Podium

Photo: Jack Jaxson

The EnduroCross track crew worked throughout the night to give the riders a completely new track for the second night of the doubleheader. The riders would also reverse direction. Cody Webb once again threw down a fast time in the hot lap but he was pipped by Jonny Walker once again by one half of a second. Cooper Abbott had a great hot lap finishing p5.

Abbott Finishing his Hot Lap in Style

Photo: Jack Jaxson

Cooper Abbott and Cody Webb would finally break the moto one jinx. Webb would get out to a p2 start early but a red flag stoppage of the race would have the riders back in gate to do it all over again. Webb would again be p2 at the restart and would ride steady to hold off Haaker and crew to finish in that spot. Abbott would get his best start in p5 and would also finish in that spot.

Webb in the Matrix in Moto One

Photo: Jack Jaxson

On the moto two gate drop with the reverse order, Webb was dead last coming into the first turn. His fortunes changed when he was able to squeeze through an eight-rider pileup just after the first turn. He was p6 over the timing stripe.  Abbott wasn’t as fortunate as he was one of those eight who were collected and went down. He was p13.

Again, it was Webb who was the fastest rider through the rock garden. He would use this to his advantage passing two riders moving him to p4 at the conclusion of lap one.  Colton Haaker, Trystan Hart, and Will Riordan were battling for the top spot when all three almost went down in the rock garden on lap two. This allowed Webb to close the gap on the leading trio. Webb would bang bars with Hart at the very end of the rock garden but wasn’t able to make the pass. The pair did get around Riordan before the next 90-degree turn, however. The back-and-forth battle between Webb and Hart would allow Haaker to extend his lead. Each time Webb would gain ground in the rock garden, he would seem to lose it near the finish line area. The yo-yo moto would finish with Haaker ahead of Hart and Webb.

Webb and Hart Banging Bars in Moto Two

Photo: Jack Jaxson

Hart was sitting on three points with Haaker and Webb tied on five going into the last moto. Each rider knew what they had to do to take the overall on the night. Webb needed the win and to finish with at least one rider between himself and Hart. Hart just had to finish one spot behind Webb. Haaker needed the same scenario as Webb. The moto three showdown was set.

Webb was fourth from the right on the eight-man front row of the gate. This wasn’t ideal coming into a hard right-hand first turn but he made it work as he rocketed to the hole-shot on his SE 300 Factory two-stroke. As luck would have it, Haaker was p2 and Hart p3. If the result stood, Webb would take the overall on the night. But this is EnduroCross and much can happen in a six-minute plus one-lap moto. Hart would make a pass on Haaker before the end of the lap as he knew he had to finish one spot behind Webb to get the overall. Meanwhile, Webb would build an almost three-second gap over the pair by lap four.

Hart would make a small bobble on lap five over a right-hand log pivot turn. Haaker threw wheelied into the back of Hart pushing him forward but it was Haaker who went to the ground. Hart, while jostled, was able to stay up and ride on. This hurt Webb’s chances at the overall. Webb was now almost a full six seconds ahead of his combatants and he focused on riding steady. Behind him on lap six, Hart would make a mistake in the rock garden allowing Haaker to make a pass for p2. Webb would extend to almost seven full seconds the next lap. Hart challenged for a pass in the same spot in the rock garden but Haaker held him off. Near the finish of the race, it was Webb with an almost eight-second gap and Haaker ahead of Hart. Hart knew he had one more chance so he bumped Haaker in a log turn before the rock garden. This caused Haaker to catch his left footpeg on the next log putting him on the ground again. That would be the way the riders would finish. While Webb secured his first moto win of the season, luck wasn’t on his side and he had to settle for p2 on the night. Cooper Abbott rode a smooth moto finishing p6 for the moto and p6 overall.

With the weekend results, Webb would eat into the championship points margin. He now sits 11 points back with two rounds remaining.

“I feel like I made some big improvements on the weekend,” said Cody Webb. “My Sherco SE 300 two-stroke was so good in the rocks. It really is so much fun to ride. I was able to improve my starts which put me in the hunt for the win. I want to commend the promoters for putting in a matrix at such a late minute. Also to the track crew for staying up to all hours doing that and building us a completely different track for night two. Night two was difficult but also flowy. I had so much fun. I needed some luck on that last moto but I am still pleased with second,” concluded Webb.

Webb With the Moto Win

Photo: Jack Jaxson

Round Four Podium

Photo: Jack Jaxson