King of the Motos officially kicks off events for King of the Hammers week out in Johnson Valley, California.  The extreme enduro started early Sunday morning with a 27 mile qualifying loop for the Pro Moto class. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker, sprinted to his TE 300 during the Le-Mans Style start and took off cresting the first rocky slope in 5th place. The weather conditions were clear and sunny and Colton navigated the qualifying course with no issues, finishing in 3rd.

The three-hour main event started at 1 p.m. that afternoon. The weather took a turn for the worst and winds were blowing at 35 mph with rain clouds coming in quickly. Colton jumped off of the start line in the front of the pack and rounded up the hill in a top spot, missing the group of riders that got stuck on the hill. Colton’s tactical riding in the 9 mile course put him in the lead by the end of the second lap. Heading to his first pit stop, Haaker had a rough crash where he landed on a rock with his back and lost his goggles. He lost the lead, but made up time, battling with the current leaders for the top spot. Another mishap lost Colton another couple minutes and he pushed himself to catch up, despite the pain setting in. Adrenaline came next, and Colton closed in on first and second place, trading positions multiple times before the finish.

Colton Haaker finished in 3rd place. There were a total of 22 racers that started, with only 8 of them completing 7 laps in the 3 hour time limit. Colton stated, “King of the Motos proved to be tough again this year. I want to thank my team, my mechanic, Josh, for all of the work he put in, and my friends and family for the support.”

King of the Motos Results
1. Cody Webb (KTM)
2. Taylor Robert (KTM)
3. Colton Haaker (HSQ)