On the Pegs Magazine - 11 November 2018

The Big Picture

AND GAM FOLLOW THE LEADER

Josh Strang appears to be following himself through a turn at the

thanks

a

Hidden Valley Golf Course in Glen Daniel, West Virginia,

to

bit of photography magic by photographer Darrin Chapman.

PHOTO BY DARRiN CHAPMAN

The Big Picture

AND GAM MOSSY WAY

Toni Bou floats over moss covered rocks while leading Team Spain to victory at the Trial des Nations in the Czech Republic. The US Mens squad finished second the US Women were seventh. PHOTO COURTESY TRIALGP/PEP SEGALES

The Big Picture

AND GAM TUNNEL VISION

Ben Kelley exits the ‘tubes” during the Muddobbers National En duro in Matthews, Indiana. The Trail Jesters Racing KTM rider was seventh in the final standings.

PHOTO BY SHAN MOORE

The Big Picture

AND GAM CADDY SHACK

Josh Toth (center) and Steward Baylor (left) decide who gets to tee off first at the “closest to the pin” contest held at the recent Muddobbers National Enduro. Meanwhile, Ben Kelley is okay with just watching.

BY SHAN MOORE

PHOTO

The Big Picture AND GAM BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Repsol Honda’s Takahisa Fujinami makes an unbelievable transition from a rock to a vertical concrete tube during Honda’s celebration of Toni Bou’s achievements in 2018.

PHOTO COURTESY TRIALGP

SILENCETHE COMPETITION

ENGINEERED TO DELIVER SUPERIOR 2-STROKE POWER WITH A SMOOTH POWER CURVE THROUGHOUT THE RPM RANGE, THE FMF POWERCORE 2.1 SILENCER WILL QUIET YOUR 4-STROKE RIVALS AS YOU BLAST PAST ON YOUR WAY TO VICTORY.

EXCLUSIVE OFFERING AVAILABLE ONLY AT AN AUTHORIZED KTM DEALER CLOSED COURSE / COMPETITION USE ONLY!

300cc 2-Stroke

Find your Beta at one of

S&T Cycles • North Clanton, AL • 205-755-1001

Al’s Cycle Center • North Little Rock, AR • 501-758-4800

Dirt Riders West • Scottsdale, AZ • 800-467-0604

Manic Moto • Queen Creek, AZ • 480-783-3243

On Any Moto • Tucson, AZ • 520-269-6606

Auburn Extreme Powersports • Auburn, CA • 530-885-7105

Browns Cycles • Paso Robles, CA • 805-238-1240

C&D Cycle Center • San Diego, CA • 858-277-3298

Capitol Yamaha • Sacramento, CA • 916-485-9200

Douglas Motorcycles • San Bernardino • CA/909-884-4776

Honda Kawasaki Beta of Modesto • Modesto, CA • 209-529-5424

Jetworld Powersports • Castaic, CA • 661-294-0072

KC Powersports LLC • San Juan Capistrano, CA • 949-942-9854

Moore & Sons • Santa Cruz, CA • 831-475-3619

MotoXotica • Vacaville, CA • 707-446-4282

Mountain Motorsports • Ontario, CA • 909-988-8988

Simi Valley Cycles • Simi Valley, CA • 805-522-3434

Uptite Husky • Santa Ana, CA • 714-540-2920

Apex Sports • Colorado Springs, CO • 719-475-2437

Balance Trials Supply • Arvada, CO • 720-07-7715

Extreme Power Sports • Steamboat, CO • 970-879-9175

Grand Mesa Motorsports • Delta, CO • 970-874-8621

MotoAdventure • Loveland, CO • 970-669-5377

Spirit Lake Motorsports • Grand Lake CO • 970-627-9288

Level 10 Performance Motorsports • Ormond Beach, FL • 386-944-9160

Trial Store USA • Bradenton, FL • 941-404-0757

Hicklin PowerSports • Grimes, IA • 515-986-4880

Action Cycles N Sleds • Twin Falls, ID • 208-736-8118

Dennis Dillon RV & Marine • Boise, ID • 208-343-2830

Kolby Offroad • Idaho Falls, ID • 208-881-9646

Revolution Motorsports • Moscow, ID • 208-883-7800

Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports • Ponderay, ID • 208-263-1535

Braaap Shop • Mendota, IL • 815-538-6686

Fatty’s Cycle• Fortville, IN • 37-485-6200

The Cycle Shed • Vernon, IN • 812-346-8620

Bucher Sales • Rock, KS • 620-986-5666

Miller Cycle Shop • Inman, KS • 620-712-1165

Morgan’s Suspension Service • Louisville, KY • 502-239-1870

Knight Cycles • Southbridge, MA • 508-764-4356

Xtreme Powersports • Jack’s Cycles • South Berwick, Bennett Powersports • MX Parts Now • Watervliet, Plus One Performance

Bonecutter Body Shop Donnell’s Motorcycles Motorcycles and More QC Moto • Springfield, Fastoys • Kalispell, MT Hanson’s Motorsports Kurt’s Polaris • Missoula, Poet Motorcycles • Helena, Brewer Cycles • Henderson, Johnny’s Cycle • Nebraska Naults Powersports • Manchester, Town & Country Cycle Center Trapani Race Setups • Champion Motorsports

Accident, MD • 301-387-2095

DT Motorsports

• Alamogordo, NM • 575-434-0454

Xtrainer Features

-Super-smooth power delivery

-Beta Power Valve for optimal adjust-ability

-Lower seat height compared to the standard RR models.

-Oil Injected eliminates the mess of pre-mixing fuel

-Plastic skidplate for added protection

-Soft enduro competition tires offer superior traction and durability

Adventure Offroad • Leoma, TN • 931-852-5445

Berwick, ME • 207-337-1274

Marlette, MI • 989-635-5500

Watervliet, MI • 269-201-7064

• Dearborn, MI • 313-918-8944

• California, MO • 573-796-8685

• Independence, MO • 816-478-9393

• Marthasville, MO • 636-433-2384

MO • 417-862-4343

• 406-257-8697

• Billings, MT • 406-545-7338

Missoula, MT • 406-541-3651

Helena, MT • 406-457-8230

Henderson, NC • 252-492-8553

Nebraska City, NE • 402-873-6913

Manchester, NH • 603-669-7220

Center • Hamburg, NJ • 973-875-2111

Waretown, NJ • 609-693-3773

Motorsports • Roswell, NM • 575-624-0151

Sierra BMW Motorcycle • Sparks, NV • 775-355-0655

Sportsman Cycle • Las Vegas, NV • 702-641-6401

Powerline Cycles • Mahopac, NY • 845-528-3401

Steve’s Custom Cycle • Lockport, NY • 716-625-4372

Beaver Creek Cycle • Lisbon, OH • 330-386-7353

Championship Powersports • Wauseon, OH • 419-335-8600

Pony Powersports • Westerville, OH • 614-212-7888

Airhead Sales & Service • Klamath Falls, OR • 541-882-3572

Beaverton Motorcycles • Tigard, OR • 503-718-6670

Dan’s Motorsports Outlet • Salem, OR • 503-385-8108

Bromley Motorcycle • Trevose, PA • 215-357-1534

Bromley Motorsports • Stevensville, PA • 215-450-5487

Kissell Motorsports • State College, PA • 814-861-7890

Pro Motorsports • Carnnegie, PA • 724-444-6555

RyanCo Cycle Works • Bloomsburg, PA • 570-437-4034

South Mtn Cycle Shop • Dillsburg, PA • 717-432-4997

Upstate Cycle • Greenville SC • 864-232-7223

Rosco’s Motorcycle & ATV • Rapid City, SD • 605-348-3946

Garry Griffith Cycle • Chattanooga, TN • 423-867-0423

Knox Enduro • Knoxville, TN • 865-308-0330

Rising Sun Cycles • Harriman, TN • 865-590-1363

380 Motorsports • Decatur, TX • 817-752-8456

Big Country Motorsports • Magnolia, TX • 281-356-2506 Mototirialsport • Midlothian, TX • 972-754-9686

Moto El Paso • El Paso, TX • 915-566-6666

Cutler’s Inc. • Orem, UT • 801-224-5005

Ridgeline Motorsports • Vernal, UT • 435-789-7433

Steadmans Recreation • Tooele, UT • 435-882-3344

Sunny Offroad • George, UT • 435-632-8481

Sunny Offroad • Perry, UT • 801-430-1101

Allsport Cycles • Roanoke, VA • 540-772-2500

Frank’s Motor Bikes/Bellevue, WA • 425-603-9000

Smitty’s Outdoor Power & Cycle • Yakima, WA • 509-453-9966

Sprocket Sport Sales • Spokane, WA • 509-489-7331

Metro Motorcycle • Neenah, WI • 920-722-0700

Appalachian Offroad • Lanes, WV • 304-932-0437

Alpine Motorsports • Casper, WY • 307-234-4944

THE LOOP

News and Culture From The World Of Trials, Offroad and Extreme Racing

HAAKER WINS DENVER EX

Webb and Tremaine Round Out Podium

Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker took another mile-high win in Denver, his fourth win out of the last five races held in Colorado, over championship rival FMF KTM’s Cody Webb. The two EnduroCross front runners came into the event tied in points. Now, Haaker goes into next weekend’s Everett, Washington round with a four-point lead.

Ty Tremaine rode another impressive race to secure back-to-back podium positions, taking his new Beta Factory Racing 300 two-stroke to the podium after riding it for the first time this week.

Webb was riding with his usual stellar form in Denver, carrying a ton of momentum into the Main Event and looked to be the favorite for the win. He started by taking his Heat Race win over Tremaine and Gas Gas’ Noah Kepple. Cooper Abbott, Mason Ottersberg and Austin Schiermeister rounded out the top six to go straight to the main.

Then, Webb set the fastest Hot Lap time over Haaker and Tremaine to head into the Bracket Races as the top seed.

Haaker had a banner day, winning his Heat Race over SRT’s Kyle Redmond and Gas Gas’ Geoff Aaron. Ty Cullins, Dustin McCarthy and Daniel Mundell finished fourth through sixth, respectively, to transfer straight to the Main out of heat two.

Then, Haaker took the win in the hotly contested Bracket Race with an aggressive pass in the second turn that put Webb out of contention in the final head-tohead, one lap sprint—both wins earning championship points for Haaker’s hunt for the #1 plate.

When it came time for the Main, Webb looked to be in complete control, grabbing the lead early from Haaker’s holeshot after a small mistake in the rockpile.

Soon, the two were out and away from the field, setting an unmatchable pace that quickly had them racing into lapped traffic. Webb, leading the way into the lappers, made a bobble in almost the same spot of the rock garden as Haaker that allowed Haaker to make a pass. The rest of the race was Haaker’s as he managed lappers efficiently and moved into the No Joke Lane without issue on the last lap before taking the checkers.

“Denver has always been really good to me,” said Haaker. “The tracks are a little faster and I always have good results here. I’ve won four of the last five races here. I made an error in the rocks after my Holeshot and Cody got by me so I tried to keep calm and just ride my race to the end. I tried to keep the pressure on but not make mistakes. I saw an opening in the rocks in the same exact place I lost the lead and I went for it. From there I tried to put down some good laps and stay out front cleanly. Then, I fell in the sand turn and took a lot of time going through the No Joke Lane tonight because it was actually No Joke. It was pretty serious! I made it through in the lead and just brought it home.”

RESULTS

1. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna

2. Cody Webb, KTM

3. Ty Tremaine, Alta

4. Noah Kepple, GasGas

5. Cooper Abbott, KTM

6. Ty Cullins, Beta

7. Kyle Redmond, Husqvarna

8. Geoff Aaron, GasGas

9. Mason Ottersberg, Beta

10. Dustin McCarthy, Yamaha

Photos Courtesy Tanner Yeager

2019 PROVISIONAL TRIALGP SCHEDULE

2019 TrialGP Schedule

Sport7, the official promoter of the FIM Trial World Championship - TrialGP, FIM Trial2 World Championship - Trial2, FIM Trial125 World Championship - Trial125, FIM Women’s Trial World Championship - TrialGP Women, FIM Trial2 Women’s World Cup - Trial2 Women, FIM TrialE Cup - TrialE and the FIM Trial des Nations / FIM Women’s Trial des Nations recently announced the 2019 provisional calendar for the various outdoor championships.

May 25-26, 2019

June 7-9, 2019

June 22-23, 2019

Italy

Japan

Netherlands

June 29-30, 2019 Belgium

July 13-14, 2019

Portugal

July 20-21, 2019 France

August 8-9, 2019 England

Sept 21-22, 2019

TdN

Spain

Sept 27-28, 2019 Ibiza

Photos Courtesy

STEWARD BAYLOR IN FOR CHILE

The American Motorcyclist Association has named two-time AMA National Enduro champion and AMA Grand National Cross Country Series competitor Steward Baylor Jr. as the replacement rider for Kailub Russell on the U.S. World Trophy Team in the FIM International Six Days Enduro.

This year’s event is Nov. 12-17 in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Russell suffered a shoulder injury during a pro motocross event, which forced him to withdraw from the team. It will be Baylor’s fourth time representing the United States at the FIM International Six Days Enduro.

Baylor currently leads the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series NE Pro1 Class points standings by 20 points heading into the final round of the season.

“I cannot wait to compete in another ISDE and, for the first time, on the trophy team,” Baylor said. “Racing dirt bikes on the beach in Chile isn’t a bad place to be.”

U.S. ISDE World Trophy Team Manager Kallonen Antti said the team is fortunate Baylor was available to fill in for Russell.

“Kailub’s withdrawal from the event is unfortunate, and I wish him a speedy recovery,” Antti said. “I’m pleased to be able to replace him with Steward. He has great speed and determination and will be a great fit with our team.”

Baylor will be competing aboard a KTM.

His younger brother, Grant Baylor, is on the U.S. Junior Trophy Team.

The International Six Days Enduro is the world’s largest annual off-road motorcycle competition. Since 1913, countries have sent their best off-road racers to exotic locations around the world to be tested on everything from sandy beaches to rocky crevices to deep woods to motocross tracks for the event’s top prize: the ISDE World Trophy.

DUVALL SITS FINAL ROUNDS

In a Facebook post, Thad DuVall announced he would be sitting out the final round of the GNCC series and the final round of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Alabama, due to a wrist injury he suffered in the first turn of the Powerline GNCC in October. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider has had rollercoaster season in 2018, which included wins in both series, as well as mechanical issues and injuries.

“I knew during the race something wasn’t right but never would of thought that my wrist was broke in few spots,” Thad said in his post. “No more good wrist. Thanks for all the support and thanks @timmyweigand for making me get it checked.”

After numerous doctor visits, a hand specialist finally confirmed that he sustained a fracture to the ulna and some small tears in his ligaments. Currently there is no timetable on his return to racing.

DOUGIE LAMPKIN WINS SCOTT TRIAL

Dougie Lampkin continues to make history after winning the 2018 edition of the Scott Trial. The toughest conditions in years due to the pouring rain mean that this year’s edition will become one to remember.

Last weekend took place another edition of the popular and world-famous Scott Trial. This singular event is not only about who is able to make it to the finish line with fewer marks, but also about who is able to do so with the less time possible. Dougie Lampkin was once again the man to beat, as he was arriving at this year’s event as the 2017 edition Champion and with the SSDT 2018 victory under his belt.

Conditions during race day were the toughest ones in years. The rain left high water levels on the local rivers and streams, driving riders and bikes near the limit. Lampkin dealt with all the situations in style to reach a new victory. He was the rider with fewer marks, 55 (5 due to time penalty and 51 coming from the observers), with TrialGP riders Jack Price (65), the time setter, and James Dabill (80, 22 due to time and 58 on observation) finishing 2nd and 3rd. n

E-TICKET

YAMAHA’S TY-E ELECTRIC TRIALS

Photos Courtesy

YAMAHA TY-E

Yamaha debuted its prototype TY-E electric Trials model at the recent Trial-E Cup World Championships in France and Belgium; where Kenichi Kuroyama piloted the bike to a second place overall finish in the final championship standings. Kuroyama, who is a world-class trials competitor, had a big hand in the development of the bike, which is still a prototype and not yet ready for public consumption. One of the things that sets the TY-E apart from other electric offerings is its mechanical clutch, which is coupled with an AC synchronous electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery.

The electric motor utilizes sophisticated control technology that offers excellent response and power, while the mechanical clutch ensures immediate power.

THE GOODS

Length: 2003mm

Width: 830mm

Height: 1130

Wheelbase: 1310mm

Ground Clearance : 350mm

Weight: 70kg

Engine: AC Synchronous Electric

Battery: Lithium Ion

Clutch: Hydraulic, Wet, Multi-plate

Frame: CFRP Monocoque

IBEX

DOUBLE YOUR ADVANTAGE

IBEX TREAD NOW AVAILABLE IN MATCHING FRONT + REAR

Photo: Darren Chapman

HUSQVARNA

701 SUPERENDURO & ENDURO

Husqvarna Motorcycles recently announced the release of their model year 2019

701 SUPERMOTO and 701 ENDURO motorcycles – two large-displacement machines that set the benchmark in terms of technology, agility and performance. Bringing the pure essence of supermoto and enduro riding to the streets, the 701 SUPERMOTO and 701 ENDURO allow Husqvarna riders to make the most of all riding condition, ranging from daily commuting to adrenaline-filled on or offroad adventures.

The MY19 701 SUPERMOTO and 701 ENDURO machines will be available from October onwards at all authorised Husqvarna Motorcycles Dealers worldwide. For full details on availability and pricing, please refer to your national Husqvarna Motorcycles Subsidiary or Importer.

701 SUPERMOTO

Featuring a mighty 74 hp single cylinder engine, the 701 SUPERMOTO has a fun factor that is second to none on the streets – a high-performance machine that focuses on agility, manoeuvrability and maximum power. The supreme control offered by the 701 SUPERMOTO, combined with an estimated weight of just 145 kg, makes it arguably the most complete motorcycle in its segment.

701 SUPERMOTO BENEFITS

• Uncompromising supermoto performance

• Astounding power-to-weight ratio

• Ride-by-wire throttle

• Fully-adjustable WP suspension

• Competition-level Brembo brakes

• Latest ABS technology from Bosch

• Extensive range of extra accessories

• A2 licence compatible

701 ENDURO

The 701 ENDURO is the ultimate offroad-capable street motorcycle. Featuring a powerful engine in a lightweight package, it is the perfect choice for any occasional offroad adventure. Offering a wide range of opportunities for commuting, urban riding and true offroad exploration, the 701 ENDURO has impressive long-distance travel capabilities.

701 ENDURO BENEFITS

• Hugely versatile motorcycle

• Unique combination of onroad & offroad capabilities

• Impressive power-to-weight ratio

• Advanced electronics for smooth power delivery

• Forward-thinking Bosch ABS technology

• Race-bred WP suspension tuned for everyday use

• Additional available accessories to further enhance its capabilities

• A2 licence compatible

To suit the needs of all modern-day motorcyclists, Husqvarna Motorcycles offer a complete selection of premium-quality protective clothing. Styled to honor the brand’s innovative spirit and Swedish roots, all items offer functionality, durability and comfort to all supermoto and enduro riders.

2019 BETA RR

Seven Distinctive Sizes to Choose From

The 2019 Beta RR Racing Editions have arrived! These Italian thoroughbreds are based from the standard RR models yet offer distinctive features found only on race bikes and are manufactured to the same specifications that Beta Factory rider Steve Holcombe used to become 2017 Enduro GP World Champion and allowed Beta to clinch the Enduro GP Constructors’ World Championship title. They are also the models that Beta USA factory rider’s Max Gerston, Michael Witkowski, and Newly-Crowned 250 Hare & Hound Champion Chance Fullerton used to compete in all of the AMA Championships in 2018. For 2019, there are a total of seven different RR Racing Editions offered including the addition of the new RR Racing 125 RR! Other racing model sizes return as well providing racers with many choices to suit their riding style. These returning mod-

els include 250 and 300cc 2-stroke as well as 350, 390, 430, and 480cc 4-stroke. With many features added to the standard models, the RR Racing line includes the following updates for 2019 that are unique to the model range including the following:

2019 Beta 300 RR-Race Edition Suspension

Beta engineers have been hard at work developing the front and rear suspension settings to improve overall handling under the most extreme conditions.

• Sachs 48 mm closed cartridge fork with anodized slider: stiffer and more resistant to wear, while providing less friction. SKF low-friction fork seals and wipers are also installed.

• New fork shoes (yoke): stiffer and lighter.

• New fork guards: designed together with the shoe to combine practicality and design while providing more strength.

• Fully redesigned ZF Sachs shock: with more compact 46 mm piston, about ½ lb. lighter. The new piston has been designed to ensure more stable operation as the oil temperature varies, while increasing sensitivity to enhance comfort and traction. The small upper base and reservoir have also been redesigned to be farther away from the exhaust pipe while minimizing weight. The new spring is also lighter.

Premix:

For racing, the 2-stroke range has no automatic oil injector and requires pre-mix. This feature was removed to reduce weight.

Special components:

The range includes all those aesthetic and practical features one expects from a real Racing bike:

• Quick-release front axle pull: speeds up tire repairs, saving precious seconds in race situations.

• Moto-Style hand guards: modern design, tough and “In-Mold” graphics; ideal for extreme off-road riding.

• Black Aluminum footrests: light yet strong, wider than the standard model’s steel pegs to ensure maximum, long-lasting grip under all conditions.

• Rear sprocket with anodized aluminum core and steel teeth: an unbeatable combination of lightness and durability.

• Red aluminum chain tensioner blocks. providing quick and precise adjustments to the chain

• Racing seat with document pocket.

• Black anodized shift/brake levers.

• Transmission oil cap, engine oil cap and oil filter cap in red anodized aluminum.

• Racing graphics and red rim stickers.

2019 Beta 390 RR-Race Edition

RR Racing 125 cc 2-stroke:

The 125 RR Racing Edition 2-stroke is a stunning achievement: in addition to all the above, it boasts a suspension system specially designed for the 125 chassis.

• Same front and rear suspension as the larger Racing models.

• New cylinder, with modified exhaust port and timing charts.

• New exhaust flange.

• New exhaust valve system and new boosters.

• New clutch cover with air bleed system to give the clutch improved feel, a modified oil filler cap position.

• New clutch basket.

• New expansion chamber.

Improved low-rev power delivery combined with greater high-rev acceleration, resulting in better performance across the rev range and more linear, manageable power output. The outcome is a considerably broader riding range, a crucial feature on a small-displacement engine.

2019 Beta 125 RR-Race Edition

Availability:

November (Early production is limited so visit your Beta dealer today to leave a deposit to insure delivery!)

Prices:

125 RR Race $8399.00

250 RR Race $9099.00

300 RR Race $9299.00

350 RR Race $10,199.00

390 RR Race $10,299.00

430 RR Race $10,399.00

480 RR Race $10,499.00

SMAGE RIDING TECHNIQUE PAT

FOR THE NEXT YEAR, NINE-TIME US MOTOTRIALS CHAMPION PAT SMAGE WILL BE BRINGING US MONTHLY RIDING TIPS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU A BETTER RIDER. AND WHO DOESN’T WANT TO BE A BETTER RIDER? WHETHER YOU’RE A TRIALS RIDER OR AN OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIAST, WE’RE CERTAIN YOU’LL BENEFIT FROM PAT’S TIPS, SO SIT BACK AND TAKE IT ALL IN. BE SAFE AND DON’T FORGET TO PRACTICE WITH A BUDDY!

LESSON 9: THE ZAP

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

REKLUSE BILLET SLAVE CYLINDER

Max Sug. Retail: See Website

Website: www.rekluse.com

Rekluse recently announced the launch of their new direct OEM replacement billet slave cylinders. These slave cylinders feature a hard-anodized billet aluminum housing and piston, providing increased durability. The proprietary piston and seal design extends seal life and improves clutch modulation. Developed in partnership with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory riders, the slave cylinders have been tested in the toughest riding environments at the highest levels of racing. They are designed for use with OEM or aftermarket manual clutch systems, including Rekluse’s Core Manual TorqDrive, Core Manual, and TorqDrive Clutch Pack.

Note: these slave cylinders are not compatible with Rekluse auto clutches (RadiusCX, Core EXP 3.0, and RadiusX).

ENDURO ENGINEERING GRIPPER SEAT COVERS

Max Sug. Retail: See Website

Website: www.enduroeng.com

Enduro Engineering is now offering a new ‘Gripper’ seat cover for those riders looking for some more traction than the traditional EE textured seat cover. The new ‘Gripper’ cover features 5 ribs that are created by overlapping material sewn at a angle allowing the rider to slide forward when needed, but not allow the rider to slide backwards when they do not want to.

The new ‘Gripper’ seat covers are currently available for most 2016-19 KTM & Husqvarna models for self installation ($59.95). They are also available upon request in a complete seat option ($154.95). If you are happy with your current seat and want to add the Enduro Engineering Gripper Seat Cover, we can install the new cover for you for an additional $25.00.

Max Sug. Retail: $20.95

Website: www.rypusa.com

LITE HYDROGEN SEAFOAM/PORT GEAR

Max Sug. Retail: See Website

Website: www.flyracing.com

Fly’s latest offering, the Special Edition Lite Hydrogen Seafoam/Port colorway is inspired by winners who want to reach the finish line in a style all their own. The Seafoam/Port colorway is about racing your best, standing out from the crowd, and giving it your all. Get ready to shine for others, and for yourself.

TICKET TO RIDE

SIX DAYS IN CHILE: 2018 ISDE PREVIEW

PREVIEW: 2018 ISDE

The 2018 edition of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) is rapidly approaching. On November 12th, over 600 riders from 30 different countries will gather in Viña del Mar, Chile for the 93rd edition of the storied event. If you’re not familiar with Six Days, the event will consist of five days of enduro competition over approximately 300 km in the Valparaíso region, followed by a final day motocross near Viña del Mar. It is a test of rider and machine as once the race begins, outside assistance is limited only to haxzardous materials help (gas and oil) and handing tools and parts to the racers.

The 2018 U.S. World Trophy Team includes: Ryan Sipes, on a Husqvarna FE 250; Taylor Robert, riding a KTM 450 XC-F; Zach Bell, riding a Husqvarna TX 300; and Steward Baylor, on a KTM 450 XC-F.

Steward was a last minute addition to the team when it was announced in midOctober that Kailub Russell was going to undergo shoulder surgery immediately

after wrapping up the GNCC title.

Baylor will be making his fourth appearance at Six Days (most recently in Spain in 2016) and his first as member of the US World Trophy Team.

“It’s a big honor to be picked for the team,” Steward told On The Pegs. “It was a last minute deal so I have some work to do to prepare. I’m flying to California to do some suspension testing to get ready since I’ll be riding the bike they shipped down there for Kailub.”

Steward races a 350 in the National Enduro series and raced a 2019 450 motocross bike in the final two rounds of the Sprint Enduro series to see if that would be the displacement he’d race next year, however in Chile he won’t have a choice, it’ll be the 450 Kailiub was set to race in the E2 class.

Sipes was the 2015 ISDE overall winner. FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Robert was the 2016 ISDE overall winner. Meanwhile, Bell is a standout motocrosser turned

off-road racer and former AMA District 37 Big 6 Grand Prix Series champion.

To get an idea of the type of terrain the area has to offer for the 2018 event, US Team Manager Antti Kallonen sent Taylor Robert to Chile back in December for a couple of days of recon, to scout out the area and ride on the terrain.

Taylor also wanted to know what bike size and setup would be best suited for the terrain. “We had some friends down there, racers from Chile,” said Kallonen. “So Taylor spent a couple days there.”

According to Taylor, the event will feature California-like terrain. “It’s expected to be two days of sand, the first two days, and then kind of a mix of terrain from there on out,” added Kallonen. “It will be hard pack when you get into the mountains near the coastline. The first couple days would be sandy, kind of in the pine trees right by the ocean.”

Antti pointed out an advantage to an event in South America, “In 2014 we went to Argentina,” said Kallonen. “Usually when we go to Europe, we say we’re a little bit handicapped because all the Europeans have more resources when it’s on

their soil, because they don’t need to pack a container and ship it. Now in Chile everyone is on an even playing field. They’ll have a container to work out of and all the necessary resources they don’t have when it’s in Europe. They can’t bring their trucks and catering and more staff. I think everyone is more equal now when we race in Chile.”

Some of the more important rules have changed for 2018 that affect the Trophy Teams. This is related to the rule change back in 2016 that lowered the numbers of members on the team but did away with the ‘throw out’ scores… but things are different in 2018 for the World Trophy Teams.

“I personally like the [2016] rule that all scores counted, just for the sake of that it is endurance racing and you need to be very consistent and everyone needs to finish,” said Kallonen. “So, they actually kept that rule for the Junior team, which is kind of silly. There are three riders in Junior team and all scores count. So they need to be very consistent, fast, and there’s no room for errors, otherwise you’re out of their championship contention. But for Trophy Teams, they changed the

only rider who will have to adjust, and he’s been putting in the necessary time on the 300 two-stroke, is Zach Bell. This came up kind of looking at Zach Bell’s riding first on a four-stroke. He’s a very fast sprinter and obviously the motocross background helps. He’s transitioned to off-road and has kind of learned the ropes already and should be consistent and hitting his marks on enduro type of racing where every inch counts. So he has a very good technique. Then seeing him racing the two- stroke national at Glen Helen on a two-stroke and he was just fine with the two- stroke, so that actually brought the idea we could actually put Zach on a 300 two-stroke. So, Husky built him a bike and he’s been out riding here and there during the summer, and lately he’s been putting more time on the twostroke. He’s very comfortable on the two-stroke, very fast. We actually just had a training camp last week here in California, for three days. We were able to spend some time and do our routine what we do at the training camp. We added some new things for this year on the training camp to try to get even better prepared for Chile. It really worked well. I think it was one of the best training camps we’ve

had. Zach was really fast and also it was benefitting him. We did a bunch of service work and went over some rules, so he’s getting more and more comfortable with understanding the rules and the bike maintenance side.”

Kallonen also filled us in on the Junior Trophy and Women’s Trophy Teams.

“This year basically when I said we’re going to win, I meant we’re going to win all three classes,” said Kallonen. “That’s our goal. Junior team, we have Josh Toth and Ben Kelley and Grant Baylor. They’re all fast. They’ve all been to Six Days before. Grant has been super fast on some GNCC’s and also the Enduro Nationals. So he’s really shown a great speed. Then Josh and Ben are leading the XC2 class at GNCC and have good sprint speed as well. So looking forward to the Junior team definitely and turning it up and hopefully getting the trophy back. They won in ’14 in Argentina, so I don’t expect anything less than hopefully repeating it now in Chile.

“Last year was the first year with the women’s team that I have involvement. I learned a lot. Made some changes. I kind of know now what to expect. Two of

the three girls are returning: Brandy Richards and Becca Sheets. Also Tara Geiger has been at Six Days before and she was able to join us this year. I know Australia is going to be tough. They’re kind of our main competitor really in all classes, all three different categories, but especially with the women. We have our eyes on the prize and hopefully we can better our second place from last year with one spot and stand on the top.” n

TEAM USA: 2018

US WORLD TROPHY TEAM

Taylor Robert (KTM 450 XC-F)

Steward Baylor (KTM 450 XC-F)

Ryan Sipes (Husqvarna FE250)

Zach Bell (Husqvarna TX300)

US JUNIOR TROPHY TEAM

Ben Kelley(KTM 350 XC-F)

Josh Toth (KTM 250 XC-F)

Grant Baylor (450 XC-F)

US WOMEN’S TROPHY TEAM

Brandy Richards (KTM 350 XC-F)

Becca Sheets (KTM 250 XC-F)

Tarah Geiger (Honda CRF250R)

GRANT’S HOOSIER HEROICS

2018 NATC/AMA US NATIONAL MOTOTRIALS SERIES

ROUND 9

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

MATTHEWS, IN

PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE

GRANT BAYLOR

Grant Baylor took a decisive win at the 2018 Muddobbers National Enduro in Matthews, Indiana, winning four of the six tests and beating out his brother and fellow Tely Energy KTM rider Steward Baylor by a minute and 26 seconds for the victory.

The race marked the second consecutive round where the brothers have finished first and second, with Steward getting the win ahead of Grant at the previous round of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Marquette, Michigan.

In Indiana, Grant got off to a strong start by posting the fastest time in the 10-mile opening test, outrunning his brother by 34 seconds. From there, Grant continued to extend his lead, losing only to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Thad DuVall in test four and to his brother in test six, dropping test four by four seconds and test six by three seconds.

“It was an awesome day,” said Grant. “The first test was a long one and I’m usually kind of slow to start in those, but I managed to win the test by over 30 seconds. So I had some breathing room going into the rest of the day and I just tried to ride safe and smart and smooth. I didn’t fall too many times, but I fell pretty hard in test three and I actually cracked my helmet but I still managed to win the test. I went into the last test with about a two minute lead and I just cruised home safe and sound.”

Steward edged DuVall by 16 seconds to finish second, extending his championship point lead to 20 seconds over FMF KTM’s Josh Toth.

“I felt like I was riding pretty well for the first four tests,” said Steward. “Near the end of test four I started slipping mentally and I started missing lines. In test five I basically thought I ended my day. I started the test really strong, trying to make

THAD DUVALL

up some time on Grant, but then I tagged a tree and fell pretty hard. I crashed a few more times after that. I didn’t feel like I was riding bad, it was just random stuff; a root here, and a rolling loose rock there, it was just little things I was not picking up on.”

DuVall rounded out the podium in third thanks in part to his win in the fourth test.

“I’m happy that I was able to beat Grant in a test, but I just started too slow,” said DuVall. “I just couldn’t get going, I think I was just riding too comfortable and I needed to be riding on the edge.”

Fourth went to FMF KTM Factory rider Josh Toth, who needed to make something happen this weekend to keep up with Steward in the championship chase.

“I just struggled trying to keep up with the Baylors,” said Toth. “It was tricky out there. It was hard to go fast and hard to know when to go fast.”

In addition to the tight and slippery places, the Muddobbers course had some pretty fast sections, as well, and SRT Husqvarna’s Evan Smith, who finished fifth, reported after the race that he hit 78.9 mph in one of the bean fields.

“I finished third in a couple of the tests, which I’m happy with, although I lost intensity halfway into the day,” said Smith. “I crashed a couple of times in the last two tests, but overall I’m happy with the day.”

FAR Racing Gas Gas North America’s Andrew DeLong turned in his best finish of the season with a sixth overall.

“I feel like all the hard work is starting to pay off,” said DeLong. “I was feeling it today and I’m happy with the bike and I’m happy with how I rode. I lost my brakes in one of the tests and that cost me

about 30 seconds and then I had a run-in with a lapper and that cost me big-time, so I think I could have been fourth or fifth today.”

Seventh went to Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Ben Kelley, while Solid Performance Husqvarna rider Ryder Lafferty won the NE Pro 2 division with an eighth overall finish.

Ninth was KR4 Husqvarna’s Cory Buttrick. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s Thorne Devlin made his return to the Pro class after spending most of the year recovering for a torn ACL with a solid 10th place finish.

Logan Lowrey finished second in the NE Pro 2 class with a 13th overall finish, while his AirGroup/ Enduro Engineering Husqvarna teammate Jake Froman was third in the class with a 14th overall finish.

KR4 Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones topped the Women’s Elite class by seven seconds over Trail Jesters KTM Racing’s Mackenzie Tricker. Jones won three of the five tests, while Tricker won two.

“I had fun today and I think I rode pretty well except for test four where I got caught in a vine and played in the mud a little,” said Jones.

Beta USA’s Rachel Gutish finished third, ahead of Tayler Bonecutter.

RESULTS

1. Grant Baylor (KTM)

2. Steward Baylor (KTM)

3. Thad DuVall (Hsq)

4. Josh Toth (KTM)

5. Evan Smith (Hsq)

6. Andrew DeLong (GG)

7. Ben Kelley (KTM)

8. Ryder Lafferty (Hsq)

9. Cory Buttrick (Hsq)

10. Thorne Devlin (GG)

AROUND THE PITS

THE MAN WITH THE PLAN. ALAN RANDT AT YOUR SERVICE!

ANDREW DELONG SAYS HE HAS ARM PUMP FROM CHANGING DIAPERS

TWOSPORT ATHLETE?

BEN KELLEY MAKES HIS MOVE

SMOOTH AND DEADLY EVAN SMITH. WHERE WILL HE LAND IN 2019?

BACK FROM INJURY, THORN DEVLIN TURNED IN A STATEMENT RIDE IN INDIANA

THE SILVER ARROW EPISODE 1

By Kenneth Olausson

The Husqvarna Silver Arrow – one of the most famous and successful machines the Swedish factory ever produced. 11,300 175cc 2-stroke units were produced with many victories earned in both motocross and enduro.

In all of Husqvarna’s history, probably one of the most important developments is the Silver Arrow, Silverpilen. This 175 cc 2-stroke, three-speed machine paved the way for the company’s future success. The Silver Arrow was the basis for a victorious path on track. Husqvarna won 13 individual world championship titles in motocross and many enduro victories from this lightweight machine. The hit started in 1955 when the classic bike was born...

My first and only motocross bike was of course a Husqvarna, developed from the Dream Machine, which had first seen the light of day back in 1953. Despite good intentions, I never became successful on the track, but I remember as a kid dreaming of reaching the top of this gruelling sport. My neighbour had bought a used Silver Arrow, which I had the privilege of trying out in the dark woods around the western Stockholm area where I grew up.

Since the Dream Machine never sold to expectations, a new motorcycle was introduced in January 1955, stealing the name “Silver Arrow” from Mercedes successful four-wheeled racers. It was sales director Harald Carlström who baptised this embryo, since he was both a motorsport man and drove a Mercedes. The newcomer had exactly the right styling to tempt many a youngster to become a motorcyclist over the next decade. Actually, the Huskvarna factory benefitted over almost twenty years from income and developments that could be traced back to the Silver Arrow. A common joke was that the weapons factory reloaded its guns from releasing a silver-plated arrow to shooting a silver bullet through the air. All in all, 11,300 units were produced between 1955 and 1965 in the province of Smaland, before sales then stopped.

The model name consisted of the three tiny figures 282, which later had the extra tag of an “E” on the refined versions for export. Crucially, according to Swedish law restrictions, the new machine had a weight just below 75 kilos, which was the legal formality for using a “Lightweight Machine”. In this weight classification both equipment and a full tank of petrol were included in order to make the bike legal for 16-year olds with a riding license. The law was actually counter-productive and bureaucratic as the factory was inclined to use lightweight, budget components in order to reach the 75-kilo-limit. Consequently, the factory had to use

two-ply tires, under-powered brakes, a frame that was not up to standards for the potent engine and finally front forks that were more like rubber bands with poor damping characteristics.

The following statements are an excerpt from the Silver Arrow book of instructions: ‘During the running-in period of this vehicle, the engine should always be allowed to work easily, i.e. shift down over hills and heavy conditions. The workload on the motor should never be strained. The running-in period for engines with hard-chromed cylinder-walls is 4-5,000 kilometres and you will not get full performance before this distance. The abrasion in the cylinder is normally not more than 0.004 millimetres over 10,000 kilometres of riding”.

One of the men behind the work was Carl Heimdahl. His background with Husqvarna went way back as he had both ridden races for the factory as well as being a test rider with deep knowledge in the mysteries of research and development. Having an education as an engineer with a master’s degree, Carl Heimdahl came to Husqvarna in the thirties with excellent technical knowledge. Another engineer behind the scenes was Olof Edlund, who worked a lot for this invest-

ment. Further names in the project were the constructor engineers Ruben Helmin, Allan Kastberg and Egil Skoog.

A test protocol from the Royal Technical University, KTH, was performed by the end of January in 1952. This engine reliability try-out was performed during various conditions. Primus motor Carl Heimdahl in power source development was of course present at KTH in Stockholm. This all happened before Olof Edlund came to the engine laboratory. The tests were done in the cold room at the institution for combustion technique with the aim to establish adequate greasing for clutch and gearbox. Minus 30 degrees Celsius was set as a standard. It was an interesting and satisfactory conclusion that the goods withstood this coldness without problems. It was noted that the throttle was sluggish and that neither the lighting nor the signal worked at this freezing temperature. The Husqvarna people were thorough in the development stage and it is no coincidence that the material was up to standards. Their homework had been done right from the start.

VICTORY FOR GARCIA AT HAWKSTONE PARK

World Enduro Super Series – Round 6 - Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, England

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Josep Garcia dominated the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country – round six of the 2018 World Enduro Super Series. Nathan Watson claimed his first WESS podium of the year in second with Taddy Blazusiak putting in an excellent performance to finish fourth.

Round six of the World Enduro Super Series saw riders head to the iconic Hawkstone Park circuit in Shropshire, Great Britain. The weekend comprised of a Sprint Enduro on Saturday to determine start positions for Sunday’s main event – a two-and-a-half-hour CrossCountry race. With the stereotypical British weather bringing a mixture of rain and sunshine to the area, the soft, loamy sand of the famous Hawkstone motocross track became extremely muddy in places while conditions remained drier in the sheltered woodlands.

Saturday’s Sprint Enduro was comprised of one enduro test and one motocross test, both ridden three times. Josep Garcia, back onboard the KTM 250 EXC-F that carried him to the 2017 Enduro 2 World Championship, was unstoppable on the demanding British terrain. Topping the time sheets on both tests, Garcia claimed pole position for Sunday’s main event. Second fastest was Nathan Watson with Taddy Blazusiak finishing fifth, just behind KTM-mounted Jaume Betriu in fourth.

Sunday dawned wet, but soon cleared to leave a dry and bright day. However, the overnight rain left a notably chal-

lenging course. The tougher conditions, added to the high number of competitors, ensured the afternoon’s event was a serious test of endurance.

Garcia, setting off from pole position, never looked back. The young Spaniard stretched out a comfortable advantage over the second-placed rider and was able to then manage his advantage to the finish line. Showing his world championship winning pace, Josep took the chequered flag at the end of the gruelling race with a one-minute-30-second advantage over teammate Watson. The win at Hawkstone Park elevates Garcia to third overall in the provisional WESS standings

“I am really happy to win my first event in the WESS. I felt really good in the race – I set off first and stayed in front the whole time. My team were great, they let me know how much of an advantage I had and so I was able to gauge the gap back to Nathan,” said Garcia. “I did have a couple of crashes, one where I was lapping a slower rider - unfortunately he stopped and I hit him and went over the bars. Luckily, I was mostly ok and didn’t hurt myself. It’s been an awesome weekend – fastest on both days. It’s given me added motivation for hopefully another good result at the next round.”

For Nathan Watson the race started well but the young Brit was forced to pit early due to an issue with his goggles. The time lost dropped him back to third, but the KTM 350 EXC-F mounted rider was able to fight his way back to the

JOSEP GARCIA

runner-up position and hold it to the line.

“That was a great race. I got a good start and moved into second but then on the first lap a stone flew up and damaged my goggles so I had to make an early pit stop,” said Nathan. “Billy caught me and was really fast through the stones – he was riding straight through the middle, but I was riding around them. I was gaining time back on the faster stuff and eventually got into a good rhythm and was able to move back into second. I didn’t have enough left to go after Josep, he was riding well today but overall I am happy with my result and it’s great to get my first WESS podium.”

Keen to earn himself more valuable championship points, Taddy Blazusiak pushed hard all weekend, impressing on the Sprint Enduro tests to take fifth and continuing that form to go one better on Sunday’s Cross-Country. Despite a number of small crashes, Blazusiak kept his focus and was able to maintain a good pace on the extremely rough sandy terrain. Taddy now sits fifth in the provisional WESS standings.

“I’m really happy with my riding today. I made a few mistakes in the first lap and ended up clipping a tree – I hurt my hand again a little and lost some confidence. I got back going again and was in sixth, but I’d made a small mistake with my settings and was struggling in a few places” said Blazusiak. “It felt like I was using too much energy to try and stay

with the guys in front so I had to back off a little. Overall though I am happy with my result. It’s been quite a lot of time since we’ve done a race like this so I have learned a lot for the next one. My speed has been good, even on yesterday’s Sprint Enduro, which is something we haven’t trained for for a long time, so that is encouraging too.”

RESULTS

1. Josep Garcia (ESP), KTM

2. Nathan Watson (GBR), KTM

3. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna

4. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM

5. Jaume Betriu (ESP), KTM

World Enduro Super Series Standings (After round 6 of 8)

1. Billy Bolt (4060)

2. Manuel Lettenbichler (3935)

3. Josep Garcia (3320)

4. Wade Young (3220)

5. Taddy Blazusiak (2985)

INTERVIEW: Josep Garcia

The New World Enduro Super Series Title Contender

Dominating the Hawkstone Park Cross-Country, Spain’s Josep Garcia (KTM) jumped from fifth to third in the World Enduro Super Series to become a serious title contender with just two rounds remaining. Claiming a start-to-finish victory at round six, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider finally got to display his impressive raw speed as he stormed his way to a commanding win at the Original Fast Eddy Cross-Country.

Now, with two rounds left in this year’s inaugural WESS championship, the Spaniard feels he’s hitting his stride at just the right time to challenge for the title of ULTIMATE ENDURO CHAMPION…

Congratulations Josep, winning both days at the Hawkstone Park CrossCountry must feel like the perfect weekend — it couldn’t have gone any better for you?

Josep Garcia: “Yes, it has really been the perfect weekend. Winning both days and then securing my first victory in WESS is amazing. I’ve been waiting for this moment all season and at this stage in the championship it’s a result that gives me a lot of motivation heading into the final two rounds in Sweden and the Netherlands.”

In Saturday’s Fast Eddy Sprint Enduro you came out swinging, taking a 12 second lead on the opening Enduro test. Was that the objective, to stamp your authority on the event?

“I just wanted to say to everyone that I am here and show that I’m in the battle for this championship. I pushed hard from the very beginning of Saturday and when I ended the opening Enduro test with a 12 second lead I knew then it could be a winning weekend. Being able to build that advantage throughout Saturday gave me more confidence going into Sunday knowing that my speed was strong.”

You took the holeshot in Sunday’s Original Fast Eddy Cross-Country race and were never headed. Was it the ‘perfect race’?

“As races go it was pretty much as good as it gets. I knew the holeshot would be crucial because of the mud on the Motocross track. I wanted to lead lap one, stay clean and have a clear run through the woods. It worked and I pulled a gap of about 20 seconds on lap one. I kept pushing at maximum effort until the pit stop, to build as much as an advantage as possible. My team were great and they kept me updated on how the race was going and I could use that to gauge the gap back to Nathan (Watson) and Billy (Bolt). I had a couple of small crashes but

nothing too major and when I crossed the finish line I could have done another lap if needed. Overall, it was nearly the perfect race for sure.”

Knowing that the Cross-Country race, and the conditions, at Hawkstone Park would suit you, did you feel under any extra pressure to win?

“No, I didn’t feel any extra pressure coming into this race because I wanted to win for myself, because I knew I could. I won the event here in 2017 and so having good memories of the race was helpful for the motivation. Nobody needed to tell me that I had to win because I wanted to do my best and show what I’m capable of.”

Before racing commenced there was a three-hour open practice session for the Pros and Hobby riders to test the track. Did you enjoy having the opportunity to share the track like that?

“That was something quite cool and unique to do. It’s not often something like that happens so it was good to ride with the Hobby riders on Saturday. I think they enjoyed it too because they were able to watch us ride, see some of the lines we took and try to repeat them. I feel it’s good for the people and Enduro to mix together like that on the track in a non-competitive way because that’s the spirit of the sport. It’s why we all started riding bikes in the first place - to have fun and to play on our bikes in the forest.”

You’ll be one of up to 3000 riders competing at the Gotland Grand National in Sweden in a few weeks. How important will a good result there be for you?

“Naturally at this stage in the season the title is on a lot of people’s minds. I took some points here in Hawkstone Park and need to keep that momentum rolling in Sweden. It’s a big race with a lot of riders, so there might be more guys who can challenge for the win and upset the overall. I know the Swedish riders will be strong. They have a lot of experience with this race and I know from racing in the world championship with them that they will be very fast. We might only have two rounds left in the series but there’s a lot left to be decided.”

Your victory at Hawkstone Park moves you to third in the championship standings — suddenly you’ve become a contender in this title fight!

“I feel like this victory has come at the right time for me in the championship and I honestly can’t wait for the next round in Gotland. I’ve gone from fifth to third in the standings, I believe I can be a contender for the title. Of course, I need to stay on the podium or win in order to stay in the championship fight, but I know that’s

possible to do, especially in Gotland. Like I said, my motivation is high and with four weekends until the race I’m going to enjoy this time and have a lot of pleasure in preparing for the next race because I want to go there 100 per cent ready to fight.”

The World Enduro Super Series continues with round seven at Sweden’s Gotland Grand National on October 26/27.

Championship Standings

(After round 6 of 8)

1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna - GB) 4060pts; 2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM - GER) 3935pts; 3. Josep Garcia (KTM - ESP) 3320pts; 4. Wade Young (Sherco) 3220pts; 5. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM - POL) 2985pts; 6. Jonny Walker (KTM - GB) 2900pts; 7. Nathan Watson (KTM - GB) 2778pts; 8. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna - GB) 2768pts; 9. Paul Bolton (KTM - GB) 2752pts; 10. Lars Enockl (Gas Gas - AUT) 2076pts…

STRANG WRAPS IT UP

KENDA FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO SERIES: ROUND 8

BY DARRIN CHAPMAN

Steward Baylor may have won the battle, but it was Josh Strang who won the war. This oft-used phrase perfectly describes this weekend’s Kenda Hidden Valley Sprint Enduro held at the Hidden Valley Golf Course in Glen Daniel, West Virginia.

After a lackluster performance on Saturday, Steward Baylor got his ducks order on Sunday, running the table by claiming six test wins. The Tely Energy Racing KTM rider topped Sunday’s event by a whopping 53 seconds over Strang.

In the championship battle, however, Strang came into the weekend sitting just two points behind Steward, and the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider’s stellar performance on Saturday, consisting of four test wins, set him up so that all he needed was a third place finish on Sunday to claim the series title.

At the end of the weekend, the Aussie off-road star finished second on Sunday, which was more than enough to give him the 2018 title.

“Saturday was good,” said Strang. “I was able to use my “Euro” lines since the golf course sections were slippery and I think that worked in my favor. I knew I was sitting good going into Sunday’s race, but I didn’t do the math because I didn’t want to have anything more to think about.”

PHOTOGRAPHY

JOSH STRANG

Strang was second in every test on Sunday except for one.

“It feels great to win the title, especially as good as Stew was riding on Sunday,” added Strang. “I did what I had to do on Saturday and the rest took care of itself.”

And to win the title while riding on a golf course has to be every dirt biker’s dream.

“That’s an unbelievable situation,” Strang said about the chance to race on a golf course. That’s exactly what the series has provided its riders the last two years.

Steward Baylor ended up second in the series standings, but finished off an up and down season an exclamation point at the Hidden Valley event with his dominating win on Sunday.

“We weren’t prepared for Saturday,” admitted Steward. “I was riding the 2019 450 and all I had as far as suspension was the stock shock. I got a new shock at the last minute but I was afraid to run it this weekend without any testing, and I paid the price. My rear end was all over the place with the stock shock.”

Things took a drastic turn for the better when Steward decided to run the new shock on Sunday.

“After the way things went on Saturday I figured I didn’t have anything to lose on Sunday so we threw on the new shock,” said Steward. “I won the first Cross test and I did it pretty dominatingly. I ended up winning Sunday by almost a minute so I wish I had of ran the shock on Saturday.”

Steward came up five points short in his bid for a second Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro title.

“It would have been nice to have won the title, I’m bummed I didn’t get it, but I’m happy to come away with some wins and I think I turned in a performance today that is up there with the best,” added Steward.

Third on the weekend went to KR4/Husqvarna’s Layne Michael.

“I had some good rides and I was able to turn it into a podium finish for the weekend, so I’m happy with how I rode,” said Michael. “I was battling with Grant for most of the weekend, but he ended up having an issue so I had a pretty good buffer over him near the end of the day.” Michael finished off the season strong with threestraight podium finishes, and was fourth overall in the final standings.

“The season started off kind of slow, I just wasn’t riding good, but I adjusted a few things for the second half of the series and things started to work for me,” said Michael.

Jordan Ashburn missed the podium with a fourth overall finish. The Beta USA-backed Tennessee rider started the event with a strong second in the opening test of the weekend and then settled into fourth for the remainder of the event.

Fifth overall and first in the Pro2 division went to KR4 Husqvarna’s Liam Draper. Amazingly, the New Zealander dominated the Pro2 class by winning all 12 tests over the course of the two-day event.

SRT Husqvarna’s Evan Smith finished in sixth, 29-seconds ahead of Billy Schlag. Schlag also took second in the Pro2 division on his TrailPros/Ride on Moto KTM.

The remainder of the overall top 10 was occupied by Pro2 riders, with Braxton McGee (Hsq), Jesse Ansley (KTM) and JR Cook (KTM), claiming eighth through 10th.

In the final series standings, Strang finished the season with 363 points, compared to 358 for Steward Baylor. Grant Baylor was third overall with 317, while Layne Michael (304) and Ryan Sipes (290) rounded out the top five. Sipes missed the Hidden Valley event to compete in the Red Bull Straight Rhythm in California, while Grant Baylor finished 24th overall when he trashed a rear hub.

LAYNE MICHAEL

In the Women’s Pro division, KR4 Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones claimed her seventh win of the season, beating out Bonanza Plumbing/ Trail Jesters KTM rider Mackenzie Tricker and FLY/Maxxis/Seat Concepts KTM Becca Sheets in the process.

In all, Jones won 11 of the 12 tests, with the other test win going to Tricker.

Jones finished off the season with 360 points for first in the Women’s Pro Championship, while Tricker was second overall with 315. Third went to Brooke Cosner with 237 points, with Becca Sheets (211) and Shelby Rolen (68) rounding out the top five.

Yamaha rider Tristian Stumbo looked strong en route to the win the Open A class. Meanwhile, KTM riders Cody Pingley and Luke Ross were second and third.

Devan Byer was first in the Lites A division, followed by fellow Husqvarna rider Michael Pillar in second. Yamaha-mounted Harry Symanski was third.

OVERALL RESULTS

1. Steward Baylor (KTM)

2. Josh Strang (Hsq)

3. Layne Michael (Hsq)

4. Jordan Ashburn

5. Liam Draper (Hsq)

6. Evan Smith (Hsq)

7. Billy Schlag (KTM)

8. Braxton McGee (Hsq)

9. Jesse Ansley (KTM)

10. JR Cook (KTM)

JORDAN ASHBURN

2018 Schedule

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The 2019 Mecatecno DragonFly will be available for sale starting in October. More information can be found on www.mecatecno.biz

• A versatile trials or trail bike (with the addition of a removable seat)

• The T-18 Dragonfly is an adult electric trials bike featuring a real hydraulic clutch

• A 5 speed gearbox provides the best match of engine power to terrain requirements

• M4 39mm Aluminum AIR FORKS

• Special Ohlins shock direct to swing arm (Linkless suspension)

• 3 hr quick change battery

• Weighs in at 132 pounds

Dirt Riders West - Mike Carlton, 800.467.0604, Scottsdale, AZ

Lewisport USA - Adrian & Mandy Lewis, 209.785.6878, Copperopolis, CA

Balance Trials Supply - Bill Haskell - 720.207.7715 - Erie, CO

Trial Store USA - Alex Niederer - 941.404.0757 - Bradenton, FL

Aloha Trials - Clayton Oshita, 808.822.2706, Kapaa, HI

Northwest Cycle - Ron Rivenburgh, 815.344.7780, McHenry, IL

Jack’s Cycles - Stuart Preston, 207.337.1274, South Berwick, ME

Competition Wheels - James McKenzie, 704.906.3238, Concord, NC

HVC Cycle - Brad Obidowski, 402.817.4795, Lincoln, NE

Miller Ranch Trials - Aaron & Andy Miller 607.765.8362 Corning, NY

Torne Mountain Trial - Jon France, 914.490.0637, Hillburn, NY

Adroit Engineering - Jon Rentschler, 440.668.3207, Chardon, OH

Gran Prix Cycle - Gary & Robyn Byers, 541.926.3139, Albany, OR

MotoMex - Danny Aguirre, 214.912.9005, Dallas, TX

Skagit Powersports - Gary Lawver, 360.757.7999, Burlington, WA

TTC - Charlie Roberts, 423.942.8688, Sequatchie, TN

TRIAL DES NATIONS

US MEN 2ND; US WOMEN 7TH

CZECH REPUBLIC

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

PHOTOS COURTESY TRIALGP/PEP SEGALES/ SAM FASTLE AND PAT SMAGE

By Sam Fastle

The 2018 Trial Des Nations trip to Sokolov in the Czech Republic was a great success! This was my first year being selected as a rider for the men’s team and I was honored to stand beside Daniel Blanc-Gonnet and Pat Smage who are both my good friends and role models. I was also honored to be with the women’s team made up of Maddie Hoover, Kylee Sweeten, and Laura Peters. I am thankful for everyone that supported the team and want to give a special thank you to Ray Peters who was the team manager, the minders Jordan Fastle (my brother), Jerome Gregorow-

icz, Tom Fraser, and Garry Hoover and Vonda and Todd Roper who always help make the TDN team successful.

My trip over to the Czech Republic was probably the most eventful for team

USA. My flight from Atlanta to JFK was delayed which would have caused me to miss the group flight from JFK to Prague. I was rerouted from Atlanta to Frankfurt and then to Prague. However, the layover time in Frankfurt was too small and I missed the flight to Prague by 3 minutes. I then had to wait in the Frankfurt airport for 12 hours until the next flight to Prague. Finally, after 30 hours of travel

I arrived in Prague, but unfortunately my

bags didn’t which was kind of a big deal because I had my helmet, Pat’s helmet, and my brother’s helmet all packed in my suitcases. Fortunately, they showed up the next day and we were all set to have a great weekend.

Friday was the first day anyone was allowed into the paddock and once there we set up our pits and rounded up all the bikes for the riders and the minders. Pat, Kylee, and I headed over to the Sherco pits where we were greeted by Axel who is the mechanic for Miquel Gelabert, a TrialGP rider. Axel was more than helpful as he showed us the brand new 2019 Factory Shercos

that we would be riding. Big thank you and shout out to Ryan Young Products who provides the best for their riders and customers. Once we picked up the bikes and completed tech inspection it was time for the first official practice. The terrain there in Sokolov included creeks, rock gardens, very steep hills, and very powdery dirt on those hills that made some of the deepest ruts I have ever ridden through. The practice sessions were very useful to help us acclimate to the terrain, get in sync with our minders, and verify that our bikes are set up perfectly.

Saturday started out with another

practice session in the morning along with the opportunity to practice the qualification section. One of the new changes for the TDN this year was for two people from each three-person team would have the chance to put up the fastest qualification time. We decided that Pat and Daniel would run the course and they made the practice run look easy even though it was stadium style obstacles on very slick grass just outside the paddock. After that we piled in the cars and drove out to where the sections were to walk them and pick our lines. This was different from our national competitions as we had much more

collaboration in determining lines since we were not competing against each other. As we walked the sections we realized how hard the trial would be and Daniel said that it would be the hardest TDN he had ever ridden. Once we had walked all 15 sections, we gathered with the other nations for the opening ceremonies before the qualification races. Daniel and I made our rounds trying to get a picture with every team that we could before we made our way on stage. That was fun, and the other nations were excited to take a picture with the Americans. After all the countries were presented it was time for the

qualification section. The International class was first to go and the Australians, who won the international line last year, set the fastest pace early on at 31.17 seconds. Then Pat came blazing through and even though his execution was not perfect, he was still able to top the Australians with a time of 30.25! I thought for sure that Pat had won the race for the second year in a row. However, Noe Pretalli from Switzerland was able to post an amazing 28.93 which moved us to second and meant that we would be starting second to last. Maddie Hoover was able to post the fastest time between her and Kylee Sweeten and it put

them in 6th place for their starting order. In the TrialGP line, Takahisa Fujinami was able to beat out Spain’s Jaime Busto and Toni Bou by 0.36 seconds! It was incredible watching these men navigate the course at such a fast pace. Being able to witness the best in the world is a great part of the TDN.

Now it was time for the competition on Sunday. We were focused, our bikes were ready, and we were excited to represent our nation. Unfortunately, the weather turned foul the night before and the temperature was a toasty 50ºF with forecasted showers all day. This meant that the long loop ride be -

tween the sections along the road was freezing cold as you were pelted by rain drops that felt like icicles. But even with poor conditions we all put forth our best effort and never gave up. The men’s team started out strong we were posting some very pleasing scores. They take the best two rides from the three attempts which allows for one rider to have a bad ride at each section. It seemed like the three of us were taking turns on who would have the bad ride at each section which was good, but nerve racking as none of us were having a spectacular day. The pressure that is felt when you must compete at that level and do it no-stop is hard to describe. We ride lots of sections without stopping here when we practice, but

it just doesn’t compare to being inside the ribbon with three observers hawk eyeing you for the slightest hesitation. Nonetheless, we each managed to pull off some very impressive rides. One that was memorable for me was section 13 on the first loop. This was a very steep hill and we had to navigate around some trees as we climbed nearly 100 yards up the hill. I was the only one to make it for team USA and it was a miracle of God that I did. We came into the final section with only a few minutes to spare and ended up finishing the first loop with one minute of time penalty. We were sitting in second place only 15 points behind the Czech Republic. We had a quick break and set out for the second loop only this time we had 30

minutes less, so we knew we were going to have to keep it moving. The sections had deteriorated and were significantly harder with the added moisture from the rain. But we kept pressing forward trying to get through what sections we could and save points anywhere and everywhere. There were a few sections during the second loop that none of us made it through and that was discouraging. When we finally finished the last section, we were tired, and everyone had mud on their USA gear from tumbling down a hill. The FIM official at the end of the section told us that we were in second place and were probably going to finish that way. We were pumped to hear that as we thought we had blown any chance of being on the podi-

um during the second loop. We finished second to the Czech Republic with 93 points to their 55. They rode outstanding and very much deserved the win. Austria came in third with 111 points. It was such an honor to be able to walk away with a second place in my very first year as a member of the TDN team. I am grateful for all those who have supported me over the years and especially everyone that supports the TDN team. None of it would be possible without everyone’s donations and efforts. And yes, my trip home went much smoother than the journey out. n

Spain stormed to a fantastic fifteenth consecutive FIM Trial des Nations victory today at a wet, wild and spectacular Sokolov venue in the Czech Republic with their three-man team of Toni Bou - Repsol Honda and Gas Gas team-mates Jeroni Fajardo and Jaime Busto reigning supreme in the Men’s World Championship category.

It was a much closer-fought affair in the Women’s TDN class where, competing alongside the men for the first time in the competition’s rich and illustrious history, Great Britain’s Emma Bristow - Sherco, Donna Fox - Montesa and Jess Brown - Scorpa regained the title they lost last year to Spain.

QUALIFYING

The 2018 FIM Trial des Nations kicked off at Sokolov in the Czech Republic with a hard-fought qualification session designed to determine starting order for the main event.

A hugely impressive twenty-three nations converged on the historic town in the west of the country near the border with Germany for the Olympics of Trial. Each country fielded two riders for qualification with the fastest, lowest-scoring run of the pair counting.

In the World Championship category Japan triumphed with veterans Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Honda and Kenichi Kuroyama - Yamaha just edging out defending champions Spain in a nail-biting showdown over the fast, man-made section that ended with a huge leap requiring courage and commitment in equal measure.

In the end it was Fujigas’ full-on assault that swung the balance away from Toni Bou - Repsol Honda and Jaime Busto - Gas Gas with his time of 0:33.54 less than half-a-second ahead of Busto who

DANIEL BLANC-GONNET NAVIGATES HIS WAY THROUGH THE SLIPPERY, MOSS COVERED ROCKS

beat his twelve-time World Champion teammate.

Amazingly, Italy’s Matteo Grattarola - Honda recorded the same time as Busto, but his team-mate Luca Pettrela - TRRS finished behind Bou which dropped them to third ahead of France and Norway with Great Britain and Germany rounding out the top seven.

Victory in the Women’s World Championship class went to Great Britain led by Emma BristowSherco with Donna Fox - Montesa riding shotgun.

Demonstrating complete mastery of the huge rock slabs, Bristow - who sewed-up her fifth consecutive TrialGP Women World title at the start of the month - recorded a feet-up time of 0:28.80 to push defending champions Spain into second as Sandra Gomez - Gas Gas and Berta Abellan - Vertigo struggled to live with her pace.

Germany’s Theresa Bauml - Montesa and Vivian Wachs - Gas Gas were third ahead of the Italian and Norwegian teams with the United States finishing sixth.

In the Men’s International Trophy it was the Swiss pairing of Noe Pretalli - Gas Gas and Steve ErzerMontesa who came out on top with Pretalli’s clean ride in a time of 0:28.93 giving them the nod by over a second ahead of the United States’ Patrick Smage - Sherco and Daniel Blanc Gonnet - Gas Gas. Defending champions Australia represented by Chris Bayles - Gas Gas and Kyle Middleton - Gas Gas came in third almost a full second further back.

The scene is now perfectly set for the main event when the best riders in the World will scrap it out to determine the ruling nations of Trial.

TRIAL DES NATIONS

With the best two scores through each section

counting towards a country’s result, riders from twenty-three nations faced a mixture of manmade hazards featuring huge boulders and more natural terrain in nearby woods where grip was at a minimum. Daylong torrential rain and plunging temperatures added to the drama and forced organizers to modify the sections as the event became a war of attrition.

The Spanish men initially got off to a slow start and actually trailed the French trio of Benoit Bincaz - Scorpa, Alexandre Ferrer - Sherco and Loris Gubian - Gas Gas after the first four sections, but when the going got tough then Bou and company got going.

While the Spanish demonstrated their clear superiority to lead the field, Great Britain, France and Japan went toe-to-toe for the remaining podium positions with the balance swinging in each nation’s favor as the Trial progressed.

Following the opening lap Spain’s total of just twenty gave them a clear advantage, even after nineteen time penalties were added to their total. France were second with fifty-one on observation and five on time followed by Great Britain’s James Dabill - Beta, Jack Price - Gas Gas and Toby Martyn - Montesa who had parted with fifty-six marks in the sections and collected eight time penalties.

The Japanese trio of Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Honda, Kenichi Kuroyama - Yamaha and Tomoyuki Ogawa - Montesa had dropped fifty-three, but picked up twenty time penalties, which put them fourth.

On the second lap Spain extended their advantage as Great Britain, reveling in the UK-style conditions, picked up the pace to secure the second step of the podium by eleven marks from France

SAM FASTLE SPLASHES HIS WAY THOUGH A SECTION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

as Japan struggled to get to grips with the deteriorating conditions and their challenge fell away. Italy ended the day a distant fifth ahead of Norway and Germany.

“Yesterday Jaime got injured in the training area,” says Fajardo, “but this morning we started not so bad until I strained my back in section three. We were suffering a little bit, but then everything came together for us.”

With the defending Women’s champions fielding Sandra Gomez - Gas Gas, Berta Abellan - Vertigo and Neus Murcia - Beta it was always going to be a fierce contest with the British Lionesses leading by just five marks at the halfway stage before pulling clear on lap two to record a hard-earned twelve-mark victory.

“We definitely pulled together as a team,” says Bristow. “We’re just so happy and there’s been such a great team spirit. We’ve worked so well together and it’s great to get the trophy back.”

Germany’s Theresa Bauml - Montesa, Vivian Wachs - Gas Gas and Ina Wilde - Gas Gas came home a comfortable third ahead of Norway and Italy.

In the Men’s International Trophy it was the Czech team of Dominik Wunsch - Gas Gas, Martin Matejicek - Gas Gas and Martin Kroustek - TRRS who took a hugely-popular home win with a comfortable thirtyeight-mark victory over the United States team of Patrick Smage - Sherco, Samuel Fastle - Sherco and Daniel Blanc Gonnet - Gas Gas.

Austria’s Philipp Doeller - Beta, Marco Mempoer - Beta and Jonas Widschwendter - TRRS took third while defending champions Australia slipped to a disappointing sixth behind Belgium and Ireland.

The TDN brought a close to the 2018 TrialGP season, and marked the second and yet another successful season with Sport7 at the helm.

JERONI FAJARDO JOINED TONI BOU AND JAIME BUSTO ON THE WINNING SPANISH TEAM

RESULTS

1. Spain (83)

2. Great Britain (122)

3. France (133)

4. Japan (147)

5. Italy (177)

6. Norway (190)

7. Germany (200)

1. Great Britain (36)

2. Spain (48)

3. Germany (85)

4. Norway (126)

5. Italy (127)

6. France (157)

7. United States (168)

8. Australia (182)

9. Poland (243)

10. Portugal (256)

INTERNATIONAL

1. Czech Republic (55)

2. United States (93)

3. Austria (111)

4. Belgium (119)

5. Ireland (121)

6. Australia (125)

7. Sweden (130)

8. Switzerland (134)

9. Poland (135)

10. Denmark (147)

11. Slovakia (150)

12. Latvia (159)

13. Portugal (161)

14. Andorra (161)

15. Luxembourg (197)

16. Mexico (280)

HISTORY OF THE TdN

The FIM Trial des Nations is widely regarded as the Olympics of Trial with teams from an incredible twenty-three different countries coming together to decide global bragging rights across three classes.

It is hardly surprising given their dominance of the modern-day sport that Spain reign supreme in the premier Men’s World Trophy category. In fact, in the event’s thirty-fouryear history the Trial powerhouses have won on no fewer than twenty-four occasions and are looking to stretch their current win-streak in the competition to a fantastic fifteen.

It was not always the case however and when the Trial des Nations launched in 1984 in Poland it was the four-man French squad of Philippe Berlatier, Gilles Burgat, current FIM Trial Director Thierry Michaud and his older brother Fred who came out on top. Winners again in 1985 and 1986 in Italy and Austria with a largely unchanged team - only Fred Michaud had been replaced by Pascal Couturier - the hat-trick cemented France’s reputation as the leading Trial nation on the planet.

Italy claimed their sole TDN victory in Finland in 1987 with Diego Bosis, Renato Chiaberto, Carlo Franco and Donato Miglio before France bounced back the following year with Thierry Girard joining Berlatier, Couturier and Michaud on top of the podium.

Incredibly, Spain had to wait until 1989 to take their first TDN title with Jordi Tarreswho had just secured his second FIM Trial World Championship - leading Amos Bilbao, Andreu Codina and Gabino Renales to a landmark victory in Belgium. The French struck back on home soil for their fifth and final TDN win in 1990 with Berlatier, Couturier, Girard and Bruno Camozzi, but after that it was Spain all the way with the red and yellow Rojigualda flying high above the podium for the next six years.

With Tarres, Bilbao and Marc Colomer forming the nucleus of their triumphant team - supplemented by Renales, Joan Pons, Angel Garcia and Marcel Justribo - the Spanish looked invincible, but then - on an emotionally-charged day on the Isle of Man in 1997 - Great Britain’s Dougie Lampkin, Graham Jarvis, Steve Colley and Dan Clark ended Spain’s run of victories.

Spain struck back in Italy in 1998 with Jordi Pascuet replacing the recently retired Tarres before Britain returned to the top in 1999 with Martin Crosswaite taking Clark’s place on the victorious team as the two great Trial nations went toe to toe.

The new millennium was marked by Spain’s ninth TDN victory as Albert Cabestany got the call-up for the first time alongside Colomer, Justribo and Marc Freixa and in 2001 - with Justribo dropped in favour of team newcomer Adam Raga - they retained their title.

Britain fought back in 2002 with Lampkin, Colley, Jarvis and Sam Connor taking a onemark win from Spain in Portugal and the following year, with Ben Hemingway replacing Colley, Britain claimed another one-mark victory over their fiercest of rivals.

Since then the Spanish Armada has dominated the TDN with Toni Bou, Raga and Cabestany forming the backbone of a dream team every year since 2005 with teenaged talent Jaime Busto getting the call up instead of veteran Cabestany last year.

First held in 2000, the FIM Women’s Trial des Nations was initially wide open with Spain, Germany, Norway and France all victorious during the first six years of the competition before Maria Conway, Rebekah Cook Talbot and Donna Fox steered Great Britain to the top in 2006 and 2007.

Spain won the Women’s World Trophy again in 2008 with off-road legend Laia Sanz, Sandra Gomez and Mireia Conde, but Emma Bristow, Joanne Coles and Cook Talbot put Britain back on top in 2009.

From 2010 to 2012 the Spanish trio of Sanz, Gomez and Conde reeled off a hat-trick of wins and from 2013 until 2016 the FIM Women’s Trial des Nations was locked down by the British - first with Bristow, Coles and Cook Talbot and since 2015 with Bristow, Cook Talbot and Fox - before Gomez, Berta Abellan and Maria Giro wrestled the title back on home soil last year.

The second-tier Men’s International Trophy is always fiercely-fought and incredibly competitive and this year the Australian team will be going all-out to defend their title with strong opposition expected to come from, among others, the United States and Czech Republic teams. n

DBG’S LINE

A TRI-MONTHLY COLUMN BY DANIEL BLANC-GONNET

After a solid three days back at work following the last rounds of the US national championships and the Canadian championship, I was headed to Prague, Czech Republic! I arrived in the capital city Tuesday morning and got to take advantage of my early arrival to tour the city before the rest of team USA was to join me. This was the first foreign country I have been to that did not have either a germanic or latin language base meaning that I could not even sound out the words written on the street signs or menu’s! First thing I noticed about the Czech Republic is all the commodities are so cheap! A good lunch and a pint was about $5 USD (or 110 Koruna, the local currency), and the hotel was only $30 a night. The city had some of the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen; compared to most of the western european countries,thearchitecture was very gothic with dark stone, sharp features, and sad statues.

Wednesday morning I met up with the team and we made our way to the trial

site in Sokolov. Thursday was a prep day where we test fitted our gear, stickered the helmets, bought food for the week, and caught up with friends. Friday was where the rubber hit the road; We received our new bikes still in crates and had to assemble them, break the new bikes in, do technical inspection, and go out for the first official practice. This day of the world championship’s is always so hectic! Something interesting that happened in technical inspection is that Trial GP’s new procedure involves swapping out the CDI’s of the bikes to their own version that has a rev limiter so all bikes can be tested at the same RPM for sound compliance. As for practice, well, that is always insane. Imagine almost 120 talented riders practicing all within a square mile! People are flying every which-way trying to make use of the short amount of time to get adjusted to the terrain and also a little bit of the ‘fluffing of the feathers’ effect where riders all seem to try and show off. Very intimidating!

Saturday was qualification day. During qualifying, two out of the three riders ride a predetermined section as fast as they can without taking any points. The points are counted sfirst, then ties on points go to the faster time. The order of quickest runs from first to last run in reverse order the following day for startime time; This means that the slowest riders go out first.

The days events started out with another official practice along with a practice for our qualifying run. The qualifying section was relatively straightforward but was surprisingly hard to go fast as it had little flow and many radical changes of direction. Pat put forward a blazing run getting the fastest practice qualifier for the international class! I knew that for the final qualifying run, all I had to do was get a solid quick time with no dabs and Pat could go all out for victory! In the actual qualifier, Pat went first and set a time at least two second faster than the next country while my run was exactly what I wanted, quick enough to break any ties but not crazy to waste energy or crash. In the end, Noe Petralli set the fastest time with an awesome run; he even had his Hebo sun visor down! The Czech team mysteriously flopped during the qualifying to go almost first the following day in the trial; Was this on purpose or did they really mess up? We shall see...

That evening, the annual TDN parade was scheduled where every country participates in a parade to the podium where the team riders are introduced and the pictures are taken.

While lining up for the parade, my teammate Sam Fastle and I ran around and got a picture with every team we could which I think ended up being 14 teams! That evening, we had a USA team dinner of spaghetti and meatballs where the last minute preparation and pep talks were done.

Sunday morning we arrived to the paddock early for any last minute bike work and to make sure everything was perfect for the 2-laps of 15 section trial.. For those of you who don’t know what the TDN is like, it can easily be described as a world championship trial with a celebratory, almost festival like spirit! This is because the championship season is over and almost all GP riders are present to enjoy getting together with friends and have a much more relaxed competition for gloating rights. As the actual practice area was closed on race day, we had to warm up on tires and logs in the parking lot; not the best way to start the day. As soon as we started the event, the rain started coming down which made for a horrendously cold ride to the first section! The TDN is usually a mixture between relatively easy sections at the start and a few really technical ones towards the end of the lap. Every country has three riders where the top two rides in every section count for the final score giving you a free mulligan. As we have a pretty solid team, we easily cleaned the first few easier sections as we made our way around the loop. Luckily during the first few sections the ground was still kind of dry and the ruts were not too deep. Towards the end of the first lap when we encountered the harder sections, the weather really started taking its toll as the sections rapidly deteriorated. The inherently slick terrain became polished when the rain started accumulating causing our team score to rapidly isncrease. Remember how the czech threw qualifying away? Well about a quarter of the way through our second loop we painfully discovered that this was a huge advantage. The sections were already difficult in that the line was about three inches wide but with the rain that margin slimmed and we unfortunately were stuck later in the day behind many of the other teams that rutted out the sections and allowed for more rain to saturate the mud. Luckily we were able to kick it into high gear and still clean many of the sections but also made a few killer mistakes that added up points fast. As the Czech were already accustomed to riding the terrain and also were able to get out front, they had created a pretty sizable gap in points that we were not able to overcome. Fortunately, other teams had a more difficult time with the terrain than we did and the gap to third place was also pretty large allowing us a comfortable second in the international class! The women ended up finishing in a respectable 7th place!

After finishing 2nd for the 2nd year in a row, I would be lying if I said i wasn’t disappointed that we couldn’t bring home a win! It is hard to be upset though when I think about how hard everyone worked to get it done and how much fun it was representing my country. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have changed a thing… well besides maybe a few less dabs ;). With that TDN behind me, I have now been a part

of five TDN teams with three podiums, not a bad running record! I love the TDN and it is definitely my favorite event every year. Even if I were not able to make the team again, I would go mind for the team just because I love being in that atmosphere. Next year the TDN is in Ibiza, Spain, an island off the coast known for its beautiful blue waters and vibrant city! You can bet I will work hard to be able to earn a position on this team again! Special thanks to Michel from S3 for supplying the gear and the Czech GasGas Importer for supplying bikes for Maddie and I! Keep your feet on the pegs readers!

BOU CELEBRATES

Toni Bou and Takahisa Fujinami celebrate the season at the Montesada 2018

Repsol Honda Team riders Toni Bou and Takahisa Fujinami were two of the most prominent protagonists at Montesa’s grand fiesta, La Montesada.

La Montesada is the annual meeting of owners, fans and Montesa followers – an event that has been held since 2001 and which each year fills the small town of Tona with hundreds of Montesas of every description. The participation of Repsol Honda Team riders Toni Bou and Takahisa Fujinami aboard their Montesa Cota 4RTs hogged the limelight at the party where they were met by hundreds of passionate followers of the Spanish brand. All this on the 50th anniversary of the company’s most successful model which is still in production: the Cota.

Bou and Fujinami were the main focus of the final exhibition held before several hundred enthusiasts despite the fine rain which fell intermittently throughout the morning. The Repsol Honda Team rounded off the day with a fan photo shoot as well as signing posters and t-shirts.

BACK TO SADDLEBACK EAST

By: Stephanie Vetterly October 20th, 2018

In 1991, 12 individuals joined together and purchased 100 acres of land in Bedford, Kentucky. Initially used for woods riding, Saddleback East Motorcycle Club quickly grew to host trials events starting in 1992, hare scrambles in 1993, and has built 3 different motocross tracks hosting numerous events throughout the year. Since then, the club has grown to 150 members and almost 700 acres. RV hook-ups, beautiful heated bathroom facilities, and a bike-wash station are just some of the amenities available on-site.

“The Dixie Cup” is the aptly-named annual trials event hosted at the Saddleback East facility and is part of the Trials Incorporated competition series. Started in 1992, the first Dixie Cup was overseen by trials master Jerry Huddleston, one of the first members at Saddleback East. Jerry has been heavily involved in the sport of motorcycle trials since the mid-1970’s and was even inducted into the Trials Inc Hall of Fame at the 2017 club banquet.

2018 marked the 26th annual Dixie Cup, and Saddleback shows no signs of

slowing down. “The attendance each year can be all over the place,” says current trials master Brad Baumert. “It has ranged from 120 riders to 50 riders, depending on weather, economic conditions, and placement in the schedule. Turn-out does not affect the amount of work to get it ready, so we do not pay much attention to it. We just work each year so that the riders that attend ride a quality event and have as much fun as possible.” That is exactly what Saddleback East has done.

Saddleback gives riders a varied trials experience. Leading riders through a beautiful forest on a rather low-difficulty trail, riders compete in a section formed from the foundation of an old barn, several off-camber/hill sections, creek sections, and several stadium sections that are a stones-throw away from the pits. Taking first place on Saturday, and seventh place on Sunday, Kentuckybased Sportsman rider Zachary Poulton currently stands in second place for the season championship. Having two event wins over Zachary, Donald Buckley secured the top podium for the Sportsman championship before advancing to the Advanced class for the last event of the season. Securing third place in the Sportsman class is Ohio rider Richard Calendine.

LUCAS CONLEY

ZACHARY POULTON

One of the next biggest class for the weekend was the Advanced class, seeing 9 riders on both Saturday and Sunday. Brian Herrel took the lead Saturday, winning the round with 18 clean rides and 24 points; however, scores were lower on Sunday, and Brian was pushed back to fourth place with 21 cleans and 18 points. Mark Spring Jr started out in second place Saturday with 19 cleans and 39 points but was pushed back to third place Sunday with 23 cleans and 16 points. Gil Reed tied Mark for second place on Saturday, losing the position only by having the most number of 1-point sections. Gil turned it around to take first place on Sunday. The most amazing comeback was Mike Cramsey, who finished eighth place Saturday to an outstanding second place on Sunday. Even the Smage brothers, Pat and Phil, showed up Sunday to enjoy the event. Pat dropped a single point in section #2, but remained clean for the rest of the day. Phil, who suffered a terrible and nearly crippling accident in a side-by-side stunt earlier this year was walking about enjoying the action and meeting with his fans and supporters.

“As enthusiasts, we cannot ask for a better place to put on this event,” says Brad. “The club is passionate about motorcycles and supports all disciplines of off-road riding. Saddleback East is truly a great example of a motorcycle club that will give people a place to ride for decades to come.”

The TI season is almost complete. Check out www.trialsinc.org for remaining events. The 2019 schedule will be available after the club meeting on November 10th. See you on the loop! n

ROBERT STURGEON

DEAN BECHARD

PAT SMAGE

2018 US MOTOTRIALS

April 21-22 Roswell, New Mexico

April 28-29 Salida, Colorado

June 9-10 Sequatchie, Tennessee

June 16-17 Uniontown, Arkansas

Sept 1-2 Donner, California

2018 FIM TRIAL GP

May 19-20 Caprodon, Spain

June 1-3 Motegi, Japan

June 16-17 Sant Julia, Andorra

June 23-24 Gouveia, Portugal

July 14-15 Auron, France

July 21-22 Comblain-au-Pont, Belgium

Sept 1-2 Silsden, Great Britan

Sept 15-16 Arco di Trento, Italy

2018 TRIAL DES NATIONS

Sept 22-23 Sokolov, Czech Republic

2018 AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES

Feb 4 Sumter, South Carolina

March 4 Forest Hill, Louisiana

April 15 Lynnville, Indiana

May 6 Arrington, Virginia

June 3 Greensboro, Georgia

July 22 Cross Fork, Pennsylvania

Aug 26 Chandlersville, Ohio

Sept 9 Marquette, Michigan

Sept 23 Matthews, Indiana

Nov 4 Stanton, Alabama

2018 WORLD SUPER ENDURO

Jan 6 Riesa, Germany

Feb 17 Malaga, Spain

March 3 Bilbao, Spain

March 31 Lidkowpin, Sweden

2018 FIM WORLD ENDURO CHAMPIONSHIP

March 17-18

Helsinki, Finland

April 29-30 Santiago, Spain

May 5-6 Castelo Bronco, Portugal

June 3-4 Tallin, Estonia

June 30 Arco di Trento, Italy

July TBA TBA, France

Sept 2-3 Edolo, Italy

Sept 23-24 ` Hawkstone Park, England

Oct 14-15 Woltersdorf, Germany

2018 FIM WORLD ENDURO SUPER SERIES

May 11-13

Portugal - Extreme XL Lagares

May 31 – June 3 Austria - Erzberg

June 8-10 France - Trefle Lozerien AMV

July 24-28 Romania - Red Bull Romaniacs

Sept (TBA) Poland - Red Bull 111 Megawatt

October 26-27 Sweden - Gotland Grand National

November 10 The Netherlands - Red Bull Knock Out

2018 INTERNATIONAL SIX DAYS ENDURO

November 12-17 Vina-del-Mar, Chile

2018 WORCS

Feb 2-4 Las Vegas, Nevada

Feb 22-25 Peoria, Arizona

March 23-25 Lake Havasu, Arizona

April 20-22 Hurricane, Utah

May 25-27 Cedar City, Utah

Sept 14-15 Devore, California

Oct 19-21 Adelanto, California

Nov 9-11 Primm, Nevada

2018 TRIALS INC.

April 7-8 Tippecanoe, Ohio

April 28-29 Garrettsville, Ohio

May 19-20 Sidell, Illinois

July 21-22 North Benton, Ohio

Aug 18-19 Toronto, Ohio

Sept 1-2 Newark, Ohio

Sept 15-16 Bloomington, Indiana

Sept 29-30 Bedford, Kentucky

Oct 13-14 Little Hocking, Ohio

Oct 27-28 S. Bloomingville, Ohio

Nov 10-11 Dayton, Ohio (Banquet)

2018 STRA TRIALS

Oct 13-14 Cornelia, Georgia

Oct 27-28 Sequatchie, Tennessee (58K)

Nov 10-11 Ringgold, Georgia

2018 RMTA

TRIALS

Sept 16 Valcano gultch

Sept 30 Pilot Peak South

Oct 14 Tucker’s Ranch

FLORIDA TRIALS ASSOCIATION

Oct 21 Croom, Brooksville, FL

Nov 18 Croom, Brooksville, FL

Dec 8 Promise Ranch, Webster, FL

Dec 30 Lazy Springs, Fort Myers, FL

Jan 13 Hardrock, Ocala, FL

Feb 10 Hardrock, Ocala, FL

Mar 9-10 Hardrock, Ocala, FL

Apr 6 Promise Ranch, Webster, FL