The second of two South American SuperEnduro events ended with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker missing out on the overall event win by just one-point, securing a deserved runner-up result following an impressive night’s racing. Rounding out a highly positive event for Husqvarna, Spaniard Mario Roman placed sixth overall.

Once again showing his ability to challenge for the overall event win, the Brazilian event proved to be a great one for Haaker. With his confidence high following strong results at the previous round in Argentina, were it not for a costly mistake in the night’s second final a winning result would certainly have come his way.

As it was, Haaker ended the night with 2/3/1 results. Gifted the race lead in the night’s second final Colton then made a mistake on one of the track’s many jumps, dropping from the lead to third. Bouncing back to secure the win in the third and closing final, Haaker claimed the overall runner-up result for the second consecutive SuperEnduro GP. He now sits third in the championship standings, 15 points behind second placed Cody Webb.

The Brazilian round of the series was also a good one for Mario Roman. Competing in his first full season of SuperEnduro competition Mario secured his best result of the night in the opening final where he finished fourth. Backing that up with a sixth place result in the second final and then a seventh place finish in the night’s last final, Mario placed sixth overall. He now sits seventh in the 2016 SuperEnduro championship standings.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker and Mario Roman return to action at round five of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Prague, the Czech Republic on March 12.

Colton Haaker: “I’m stoked to get that close to the overall win here in Brazil. We had a good day of racing at a really tough track. I was pretty pumped with my second final. Cody (Webb) was riding pretty good but he crashed a couple of times and kind of gave it to me. Then I felt like I had it but I had a weird crash on a jump. The front just washed out and there was no way I could save it. That for me was the whole GP over as I went back to third. I could have won there. But I came back and won the last race and I’m happy for that. It was good to beat the monkey off my back. I’ve been in the lead a couple of times but to secure a race win here in Brazil is great. I only made one major mistake tonight and that was the difference between winning or losing the GP. Overall, we had two good weekends of racing in South America and two second places. It’s just so tough to try and make up points right now as Cody, Jonny (Walker) and myself are so close and the racing is intense. We now have a weekend off. I’m getting better and I’m looking forward to round five of the series.”

Mario Roman: “It was a tough night of racing here in Belo Horizonte but I feel like we’re continuing to make progress. I improve a lot every time out and that shows in my results as well. The first moto in Brazil was great for me. I was last in the first corners but gave it a good fight passing Alfredo (Gomez) and Taylor (Robert) to finish fourth. In the second moto I was again faster than Alfredo and Taylor but I made a mistake in the rock section and ended sixth. It was so easy to get stuck and loose time on this track. I was pretty close to the top again in the last race but made another mistake and everyone passed me. What matters the most for me right now is the progress we’ve been making. Physically I’m feeling way better than the year before. I don’t get arm pump so can remain focused on every obstacle. We also worked on my FE 250 with my mechanic a lot during the last few weeks. The bike feels awesome and I can’t wait for the next round in the Czech Republic.”

Results – FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Round 4, Brazil

Overall Classification

1. Cody Webb (KTM) 55pts; 2. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 54pts; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 53pts; 4. Taylor Robert (KTM) 36pts; 5. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 33pts; 6. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 32pts

Final 1

1. Cody Webb (KTM) 11laps, 07:01.955; 2. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 07:12.161; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 07:44.152; 4. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 07:02.064; 5. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 07:13.320

Final 2

1. Jonny Walker (KTM) 11 laps, 07:09.773; 2. Cody Webb (KTM) 07:11.881; 3. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 07:13.420; 4. Taylor Robert (KTM) 07:35.844; 5. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 07:44.616; 6. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 07:19.115

Final 3

1. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 11 laps, 06:56.128; 2. Cody Webb (KTM) 07:04.378; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 07:07.948; 4. Taylor Robert (KTM) 07:17.613; 5. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 07:29.374… 7. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 07:41.573

Championship Standings (After Round 4)

Prestige Class

1. Jonny Walker (KTM) 212pts; 2. Cody Webb (KTM) 203pts; 3. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 188pts; 4. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 142pts; 5. Taylor Robert (KTM) 141pts… 7. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 109pts