King of the Motos was back in Johnson Valley over the weekend. The popular race is part of the events of King of the Hammers week. Much like the four wheeled vehicle course, King of the Motos features high speed desert terrain and rockcrawling over giant boulders. The course can be much harder to navigate on two wheels. Organizer Justin Leineweber threw in an extra element. The entire course was unmarked. Riders had to navigate the course via GPS units.
German KTM rider Manuel Littenbichler had the lead on the third lap, battling Cody Webb. Unfortunately, Littenbhichler somehow bypassed the obstacle in Backdoor. He was assessed a 1-hour penalty. 2017 winner Colton Haaker received a similar penalty. The mistakes allowed Cody Webb to take the victory and the crown. Webb missed a checkpoint in 2017 and lost to Haaker. Webb has multiple wins at the King of the Motos. Webb sustained an ACL injury ten months prior to the event sidelining him from racing.
“The first lap everyone was taking turns leading, making mistakes. I kind of didn’t make the best decision on tires but it lasted. I ran a standard tire, just because I knew it’d last, and it really kicked my butt,” Webb said. “So, the first two laps I struggled, and I did all I could to hang with Manny, just to stay in his rear wheel. That last half I had a way better tire setup. And then I shot up Backdoor, and I saw him miss it, and then it was like “Ok, I know he missed that checkpoint.” So, once I saw Manny miss that checkpoint on the final lap, I was like ‘OK, take your time, don’t mess anything up because that’s going to be a big setback for him.” I lost that way a couple of years ago and it sucks. Manny definitely out rode me today.”
For complete King of the Motos results, check out www.ultra4racing.com
Images courtesy of: King of the Hammers
