Monster Energy Kawasaki Riders Endure the Heat at Glen Helen

Irvine, Calif.

After a good start, Abbott pushed his way through the pack despite feeling dehydrated. Even with a few get offs, Abbott managed to make it up to eighth.

“I think I went into the off-road section the first time about 10th so it wasn’t too bad of a start,” said Abbott. “When we went into the notorious bottleneck, I think I was about fifth. The top five or six guys were gone. I made passes and tried to keep moving forward. I started to get dehydrated and made a few mistakes. My goal is to get out of here safe for the Hare and Hound race next weekend. That championship is my main goal and I want to stay healthy.”

Like Abbott, Huffman got a good start about mid-pack and was pushing his way up. After getting stuck in a bottleneck with everyone else on the first lap, Huffman came from 19th on the first lap to ninth at the checkered, which wasn’t an easy task with everyone being spaced out.

“The race started off alright,” said Huffman. “When we came around to the ravine, I was basically stuck there for over a minute. Finally when I came out, all the Pro 2 riders were right with us. From that point on, I was happy with the way I rode. I never got passed and kept moving forward the whole time. It’s a bummer because I felt great on this hot day and thought I could have been up there with the top finishers.”

Dietrich came into the race not fully recovered from a foot injury he sustained at the Oklahoma EnduroCross, but he was feeling good enough after practice on Saturday to go out and give it his best. At the start Dietrich was squeezed out and rounded the first turn just outside the top-10. After being bumped around and going down, Dietrich tried to push it but was in too much pain to continue.

“I was coming into this race very enthusiastic,” said Dietrich. “I was looking forward to putting my foot thing behind me. I got stuck in the ravine with the rest of the group and got held up quite a bit. I’m not really happy how that all went down. Now I’m just going to focus on ISDE and hopefully come back and finish out the last race with a win. It might not be for a championship, but I want to go out and show that I’m the fastest guy out on the track.”

The race threw everything at Robert, but he came out with his head high knowing he rode the best race he could. With a crash and two flat tires, Robert didn’t let that stop him and made an impressive run to finish sixth on the day.

“I crashed on the first lap and was about 10th when I finally came around for the second lap,” said Robert. “I made my way up to fifth then got a flat. I went back out on a new tire and it went flat again. After I came back in the second time I was about 10th and was able to get a few guys before the finish. The heat didn’t affect me at all since I’m from Arizona and I think that probably helped me.”

With only one race left, the Pro 2 championship will go down to the wire as Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green riders Corey Floyd and Ryan Abbatoye fight for top honors. After a great performance by Floyd, who earned his fifth win of the season, he now sits only three points behind consistent finisher Abbatoye.

With only a few weeks until the International Six Day Enduro in Portugal, Huffman has been practicing the basics for the bike maintenance he will have to perform on his own.

“I’m really excited for this new experience,” said Huffman. “I have been told what to expect, but I won’t know first hand what is to come until I get there.”

The next five weeks are going to be busy for every one on the Monster Energy Kawasaki off-road team. Abbott has a Hare and Hound race, Dietrich and Huffman will be in Ohio for EnduroCross before leaving to Portugal and when the group returns they head to the final WORCS race of the season in Mesquite, Nev.

“It’s going to be busy for sure, but I have been training all summer for this time of the year and I’m really feeling good,” said Abbott.