The fifth running of the King Of The Motos race—the event that kicks off the King Of The Hammers off-road event in Johnson Valley, California—saw Cody Webb take the overall victory, reclaiming his crown from 2015 winner Colton Haaker. The win marked Webb’s third career win at the extreme off-road race, and he was joined on the podium by his FMF KTM teammate Taylor Robert, who took second place. Haaker rounded out the podium in third.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker came into the event set on defending his number-one plate. Webb and Taylor got out front early with Haaker following in third, but the defending champ grabbed the lead when the KTM duo took a wrong turn at the end of the second lap.
“Taylor and I were battling for the lead when we both made a mistake which allowed Colton to pass,” Webb explained. “I was able to get back on track quicker than Taylor which allowed me to start working my way toward Colton again.”
Once out front, Haaker made a run for it, but his lead was short-lived. Haaker suffered a big crash in the third lap, which allowed Webb to close back up on him and regain the lead.
“If you saw you probably wouldn’t have blamed [me] had I quit,” Haaker said. “But I pushed through and I’m just glad I’m not broken.”
Haaker kept the pressure on Webb only to have another big get-off. From there Webb was able to open up a gap of nearly two minutes before the end of the three-hour King Of The Motos race.
Robert reeled in Haaker and challenged him for the runner-up position. The defending champ fought to retain the point, but couldn’t stop Robert from taking a second-place finish. Haaker ultimately had to settle for third.
“This course was much more challenging than in the years past,” stated Webb. “It was shorter and more technical which meant we had to encounter lappers sooner than we normally would. We actually passed all the way up to seventh place, which made it a little stressful. But overall, after the rain went away, the course was really good and I had a fun day.”
King Of The Motos Overall Results:
- Cody Webb (KTM)
- Taylor Robert (KTM)
- Colton Haaker (Hus)
- Cory Graffunder (KTM)
- Kyle Redmond (Bet)
- Max Gerston (Bet)
- Noah Kepple (KTM)
- Mitch Carvolth (KTM)
- Ty Tremaine (KTM)
- Bryan Roper (Hus)
Sport Class
- Don Boespflug (KTM)
- Jordan Rock (KTM)
- Darrell Collins (KTM)
Team Class
- Michael Salsman, Ty Cullins (Gas)
- Jason Gitchel, Peterson (KTM)
- Justin Linenbach, Kevin Driver (Hus)
