It was Viva Las Vegas for John
By TMX Archives on 23rd Nov 06
SUZUKI mounted former 125cc AMA Supercross champion John Dowd defeated Kawasaki rider Nathan Woods and KTM's defending champion David Knight to win the 2006 running of the Maxxis Endurocross in Las Vegas last Saturday night.
During a thrilling 10-rider final, Dowd and Woods battled it out for the win while Knight was forced to battle his way from the back of the pack having been caught up in the first turn mayhem
In front of a sell out crowd of close to 10,000 spectators in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Dowd became the third rider in three years to win the AMA Endurocross event, and in doing so walked away with a cool $10,000 for his nights work.
Despite the International Six Days Enduro taking place at the same time, robbing the event of some of its top home grown stars and international competitors, a re-designed course within the Orleans Arena ensured close and exciting racing with last years runner-up Dowd moving onto the top step of the podium.
The whole night went great for me, explained the Junkyard Dog. I got the fastest time in qualifying, did really well in my heat race, and got a great start in the final and won the race. Things couldn't have gone much better for me really.
It was becoming clear early on in the night that the 180 degree first turn was where the final was likely to be won or lost, Dowd managed to exit the all important turn out front, closely followed by former WORCS championship winner Nathan Woods.
I nailed the start, which helped me so much, admitted Dowd from the podium. Being able to choose whatever lines I wanted with no riders in front of me during the opening laps really helped me. It must have been hard for any rider trying to pass. I knew a good start was going to be really important, and that's what I got. The whole race went so well after that.
2006 MAXXIS ENDUROCROSS Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Heat 1: 1 John Dowd, 2 Geoff Aaron, 3 Eric Rhoten, 4 Russell Pearson, 5 Nick Mantzoros, 6 David Gassin, 7 Bobby Prochnau, 8 Richard Lafferty, 9 Kurt Nicoll, 10 Charlie Mullins.
Heat 2: 1 Nathan Woods, 2 Ryan Dudek, 3 Garrett Edmisten, 4 Robie Jenks, 5 Matt Karlsen, 6 Ryan Hughes, 7 Ben Gebham, 8 Stephen Edmondson, 9 Ryan Dodgers, 10 Bobby Garison, 11 Craig Holasek.
Heat 3: 1 David Knight, 2 Homero Diaz, 3 Destry Abbott, 4 Nathan Kanney, 5 Justin Soule, 6 Nick Brozovich, 7 Jesse Robinson, 8 Kyle Redmond, 9 Steve Hatch, 10 Gary Fogg.
Semi-final 1: 1 Nick Mantoros, 2 Bobby Prochnau, 3 Eric Rhoten, 4 Stephen Edmondson, 5 Bobby Garison, 6 Kurt Nicoll, 7 Robbie Jenks, 8 Craig Holasek, DNF Ryan Hughes.
Semi-final 2: 1 Nick Brozovich, 2 Justin Soule, 3 Kyle Redmond, 4 Jesse Robinson, 5 Destry Abbott, 6 Steve Hatch, 7 Gary Fogg, DNF Nathan Kanney.
Semi Final 3: 1 Matt Karlsen, 2 Ben Grabham, 3 Charlie Mullins, 4 Ryan Rodgers, 5 Russell Pearson, 6 Garrett Edmisten, 7 Richard Lafferty, DNF David Gassin.
LCQ: 1 Eric Rhoten, 2 Ben Grabham, 3 Justin Soule, 4 Jesse Robinson, 5 Russell Pearson, 6 Kyle Redmond, 7 Charlie Mullins, 8 Bobby Garrison, 9 Destry Abbott, 10 Stephen Edmondson.
Night Rider (Non-qualifiers night race): 1 Justin Soule, 2 Ben Grabham, 3 Ryan Rodgers, 4 Bobby Prochnau, 5 Jesse Robinson, 6 Jimmy Lewis, 7 Bobby Garrison, 8 Stephen Edmondson, 9 Russell Pearson, 10 Kyle Redmond.
Final: 1 John Dowd (Suzuki), 2 Nathan Woods (Kawasaki), 3 David Knight (KTM), 4 Eric Rhoten (Honda), 5 Matt Karlsen (Kawasaki), 6 Homero Diaz (Yamaha), 7 Geoff Aaron (KTM), 8 Ryan Dudek (Kawasaki), 9 Nick Mantzoros (Sherco), 10 Nick Brozovich (Yamaha).
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX News, Friday, November 24, 2006.