Las Vegas, NV (May 4, 2012) - The 2012 GEICO AMA EnduroCross championship, presented by Lucas Oil kicked off with a bang inside the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Colton Haaker got his first ever GEICO AMA EnduroCross main event win by leading every lap of the main event. The Lucas Oil backed Kawasaki rider withstood heavy pressure from Monster Energy Kawasaki's Justin Soule for the duration but never put a wheel wrong. KTM's Taddy Blazusiak came back from a first turn crash to finish third. After going undefeated in 2011, Blazusiak had a tough day and crashed a few times in practice and during his heat race, which forced him to the Semi. Beta's Cody Webb finished fourth ahead of Taylor Robert rounded out the top five. Mike Brown, Cory Graffunder, Kyle Redmond, Kevin Rookstool, Brobby Prochnau and Destry Abbott rounded out the top eleven riders that made the main event.

Mike Brown got the day started off by setting the fastest lap during the hot laps, where the riders do a single lap against the clock. Blazusiak finished second ahead of Webb, Graffunder and Robert.

The evening also included the support classes. The Open Amateur class, which was won by Max Gerston over Bryan Roper and Shane Cuthbertson. Kurt Nicoll won the Vet class over Josh Adams and Rich Black. Phil Smage, won the TrialsCross class ahead of Zach Sweeten and Ty Cullins.

The Women's class was won KTM's Maria Forsburg. Kacy Martinez passed Forsburg and led for a little while to make it interesting but a mistake forced her to settle for second. Louise Forsley finished third with Chantelle Bykerk fourth and Nicole Bradford rounding out the top five.

GEICO AMA EnduroCross, Presented by Lucas Oil. Las Vegas Expert Results:
Colton Haaker Kawasaki
Justin Soule Kawasaki
Taddy Blazusiak KTM
Cody Webb Beta
Taylor Robert Kawawaki
Mike Brown KTM
Cory Graffunder Husqvarna
Kyle Redmond Husqvarna
Kevin Rookstool Honda
Bobby Prochnau KTM
Destry Abbott Kawasaki

Complete results are available at EnduroCross.com.

The Las Vegas opening round is schedule to air on the Lucas Motorsports Hour on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, June 23rd at 4:30 pm EST. Check your local listing or www.motorsportshour.com.

Round two of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross series will make a first ever stop in Sacramento, California inside the Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday, June 9th.

2012 GEICO AMA EnduroCross Schedule
Location Date Arena / Additional Information
Las Vegas, NV May 4, 2012 Orleans Arena
Sacramento, CA June 9, 2012 Power Balance Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA July 1, 2012 TBA
Ontario, CA September 15, 2012 Citizens Business Bank Arena
Denver, CO October 6, 2012 National Western Complex
Everett, WA October 20, 2012 Comcast Arena
Boise, ID October 27, 2012 Idaho Center
Las Vegas, NV November 17, 2012 Orleans Arena

X Games' formal quest for global domination is now underway. Okay, maybe they don't want to take over the world, but their plans for expanding X Games to three more cities across the globe were announced today. Starting in 2013, X Games will be expanding to six events. Joining Los Angeles, Aspen, and Tignes will be Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, Barcelona, Spain, and Munich, Germany.



X Games organizers conducted an intense bidding process, ultimately selecting the three new cities, for a total of two winter events (Aspen and Tignes) and four summer events (Los Angeles, Foz do Iguacu, Barcelona, and Munich).

John Skipper, President of ESPN, commented, "We are bringing significant focus to this expansion because we believe in the universal appeal of these sports and competitors and want to share the X Games experience with fans around the world."

The biggest surprise from the announcement may actually be which city was not chosen. Whistler, though rumored by many to be a prime destination for Winter X Games, was not added to the lineup. Mixed reactions from some of the winter athletes have begun pouring in on Twitter:

Kelly Clark:
Whistler was the rumor. Turns out it's not happening yet, but maybe in the future.

Mike Riddle
Bummed that @xgames didn't add another winter stop at @WhistlerBlckcmb #GlobalXGames

Spencer O'Brien
Bummed @XGames expanded summer and not winter. Come on guys!

Roz Groenewoud: Very surprised #GlobalXgames isn't expanding to @WhistlerBlckcmb in 2013. Canadian X-Games would have been awesome but I still love @wssf!

Click here for details about the new host cities and more reactions on the expansion.

X Games 2013 Schedule
Jan. 24-27: Aspen, Colo.
March 20-22: Tignes, France
April 18-21: Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
May 9-12: Barcelona, Spain
June 27-30: Munich, Germany
Aug. 1-4: Los Angeles

It's no coincidence that motocross and fmx riders call Temecula home. Where else in California can you have a full-size freestyle motocross facility in your backyard? With funding from the Metal Mulisha, fmx rider Jimmy Fitzpatrick built "Fitzland" a fully stacked training facility equipped with a 90-foot jump and a massive full-pull fifth-gear jump.

This is a win-win situation for the Metal Mulisha. Not only do they have a full-function training facility to perfect their riding for various freestyle competitions, it also serves as a controlled environment to capture footage for projects such as their latest film, Black Friday.

It's good to be a part of the Metal Mulisha family as Brian Deegan, Julian Dusseau, Jimmy Hill, Derek Garland, Ronnie Faisst, and Wes Agee would tell you as they took part in the unveiling of "Fitzland".

Ricky Carmichael aka The G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) talks about racing the Loretta Lynn's southeast qualifier without the pressure to win as he had during his amateur career. Follow RC as he makes a return to his motocross roots in this three-episode video series titled "The Road Back to Loretta's" from Fox Racing.

Watch episode one, The Decision, here:


Words: Motocross.com

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto will not defend his AMA Motocross title in 2012 after injuring his knee at the Seattle supercross on Saturday night. The two-time AMA Supercross and defending AMA Motocross champion will undergo surgery on his knee this week.

"I'm pretty disappointed right now," said Villopoto. "I have trained hard for this season and even though I won the supercross title, I really wanted to defend my outdoor championship. I've been through injury before and I know how hard I have to work to get back."

Villopoto is coming off of a dominant 16 months where the Poulsbo, Wash., native earned two AMA Supercross titles on the strength of 15 wins, the AMA Motocross Championship with three wins and also the richest payday in supercross with a million dollar win at the Monster Energy Cup.