GEICO Endurocross Series ends on a high note in Las Vegas

LAS
VEGAS (Nov. 20) -- The 2011 GEICO Endurocross Series ended with a
sell-out crowd cheering on the world's best riders Saturday night at the
Orleans Arena. 

For
the second year in a row, both of Team GEICO's top riders -- Geoff
Aaron and Kyle Redmond finished the seven-race circuit in the top 10.
Aaron, a 10-time National Trials Champion, was fourth overall, while
Kyle Redmond earned the No. 7 position.

"For
our first year on Hondas I think things went pretty well," said Aaron,
who hails from Bailey, Colo. "It was a big adjustment and we're working
from the platform of a really great motocross bike that we then have to
adjust to meet the demands of Endurocross, and we certainly came a long
way. Things will only get better from here."

The
year was dominated by Poland's Taddy Blazusiak, who won every race en
route to his third straight title. Blazusiak's commanding performance
left all the other riders searching for answers as to how to catch the
talented pro.

"He's
definitely one of the best, if not the best, enduro riders in history,"
Redmond said. "He also has the best bike out here, so we can see what
we need to do to catch him. I look forward to working with the Honda
engineers on making these bikes more specific for what we need. They've
been a great partner to the team and I know how much they want to win,
which is really exciting for the future of our sport and the GEICO Honda
race team."

In
an effort to put the top stars of the sport in front of the crowd as
much as possible, race organizers built two main events into Saturday's
card. Redmond and Aaron showed better in the second main, taking fifth
and sixth, respectively. Several pile-ups limited both men in the first
main, where they finished ninth and 10th overall.

"I
actually broke the case in the first race and I was leaking oil the
entire time," Aaron said. "I thought about stopping altogether but I
knew every point I could earn would be important in the end. I just had
to nurse the bike around.

"Aside
from Taddy, everyone kind of rode the same pace in both mains. Once the
start would shake-out, you just kind of rode where you were. It was a
very fun course, but tight and hard to pass. It really took someone else
making a mistake for you to have an opportunity. There were some guys
being overly aggressive at the starts and pushing the action, and
ultimately that set the order."

Redmond,
who was limited by injuries suffered in an accident early in the year,
was satisfied with his riding, although he admits to wanting more.

"It
seems like I was playing catch-up all year," Redmond said. "I think at
one point I was 18th or 19th in the points, so to finish seventh is
something I'm pretty proud of. It was a struggle but a lot of fun."

The 2012 schedule features eight events, starting with a May 4th date back at the Orleans Arena.