This week in US Powersports racing.
TRYSTAN HART OPENS AMA ENDUROCROSS TITLE DEFENSE WITH COLORADO SPRINGS VICTORY
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart has opened his AMA EnduroCross title defense with a spectacular victory at the opening round of the 2024 season in Colorado Springs, combining race-winning pace with exceptional consistency on Saturday night.
Hart – who clinched a fourth-straight U.S. Hard Enduro Championship in August – stole the show at Broadmoor World Arena this weekend riding the KTM 350 XC-F, going 1-2-2 across the three motos to seal the overall.
It was a convincing start to the indoor season for the Canadian, who was quick from the outset in Colorado at the season-opener, fastest in practice and then sitting P3 following the Hot Lap. Hart then produced a measured performance throughout the main events to start the season on top of the podium.
Trystan Hart: “It was a solid night here at Round 1! I was P1 in practice, which is not normal for me, and then the Hot Lap went pretty well, also. In the first moto I had around a 20-second lead and that was crazy! Second moto, I finished second, and then in the third one I got tight and didn’t ride super-good, but still got P2. I was on the edge everywhere, but we got the job done, and I’m happy to get the win here this weekend.”
Hart will now carry a five-point advantage into the second round of the 2024 AMA EnduroCross Series, set for Prescott Valley, Arizona, this Saturday, October 19th.
EX Pro Class Results
1. Trystan Hart, FMF KTM Factory Racing
2. Jonny Walker, Triumph
3. Cooper Abbott, Sherco
4. Will Riordan, GASGAS
6. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
8. Ryder LeBlond, Husqvarna
UPCOMING OFFROAD RACES – OCTOBER 2024
10/19: EnduroCross Championship – Round 2
10/25: EnduroCross Championship – Round 3
10/26: EnduroCross Championship – Round 4
10/27: Grand National Cross Country Series – Round 13
10/27: National Grand Prix Championship – Round 8
Race win the highlight for Ryder LeBlond as EnduroCross opens in Colorado
A mixed opening round of the 2024 AMA EnduroCross Series finished on a high for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, where Ryder LeBlond won the final race of the three-moto format to deliver an impressive end to the night at the Broadmoor World Arena.
LeBlond effectively eased into the new season on his Husqvarna FX 350, battling to eighth and 13th positions in the early races of the evening, before putting everything together to take the lead around halfway and storm to victory in race three. It was a convincing turnaround for Ryder on his way to eighth overall, but one that he will build upon in the coming rounds.
Ryder LeBlond: “Colorado Springs started out kind of rough! I felt okay in practice, feel like I had good lines, but then my Hot Lap wasn’t great with some mistakes. First moto and second moto, I was avoiding the chaos for the most part, but I just made my own mistakes again and went back pretty far – it was a tough track to make moves on. That wasn’t good, so I gave it all in my last moto from the second row, and rode like I know how to for the win! Hopefully I can take that confidence into the next round.”
Rockstar Energy Factory Racing teammate Colton Haaker started the night strongly with P2 in the Hot Lap session, and then raced to third in the opening encounter. He backed that up with 6-8 scores to conclude Round 1, placing sixth overall for what was an otherwise promising weekend for the five-time series champion.
Colton Haaker: “It was an unfortunate start to the season in some ways, made some mistakes on our side also, but we will regroup and come back swinging at Round 2. The end result was okay, sixth overall and some promise there – it just didn’t come together across the three motos on the night.”
EX Pro Class Results
1. Trystan Hart, KTM
2. Jonny Walker, Triumph
3. Cooper Abbott, Sherco
4. Will Riordan, GASGAS
6. Colton Haaker, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
8. Ryder LeBlond, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Upcoming Offroad Races – October 2024
10/19: EnduroCross Championship – Round 2
10/25: EnduroCross Championship – Round 3
10/26: EnduroCross Championship – Round 4
10/27: Grand National Cross Country Series – Round 13
10/27: National Grand Prix Championship – Round 8
Trystan Hart Wins 2024 EnduroCross Series Opener
Jonny Walker and Cooper Abbott Round out the Podium
Colorado Springs, Colorado – The Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance visited the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this weekend, for round one of its six-round series where Redbull FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart took a big step towards defending his 2023 title by claiming the overall win.
Hart posted a runaway victory in the first race and followed that up with a pair of runner-up spots to claim the overall win with a total of five points. Triumph Factory rider, Jonny Walker, of Great Britain, the 2022 EnduroCross champion, was second overall with a total of 11 points after posting a 7-3-1 finish, while FactoryONE Sherco’s Cooper Abbott was third overall with 13 points with his 4-3-6 tally.
To kick off the evening, Dominic Olszowy of Poland, posted the fastest time during the Hot Lap qualifying on his factory Rieju with a time of 32.782 seconds to set the starting order for the first of three motos. Five-time EnduroCross Champion, Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker followed with a 32.783, while Hart was third-fastest with a time of 32.863. Walker was fourth (34.017 seconds), with Walker fifth (34.187)
Hart capitalized on a great start, squeezing by Olszowy in the first turn to take a lead he would never relinquish in race one, lapping his way up past fifth place by the finish. Olszowy kept Hart honest by sticking to the KTM rider’s rear wheel until the halfway mark of the race, eventually finishing second, with Haaker rounding out the top three. Abbott was fourth with Factory Beta rider Max Gerston in fifth.
The second moto inverts the sixteen riders’ finish positions from race one to establish gate picks, meaning the top eight riders from race one start on the second row.
Starting from the back, Abbott was the first of the top riders to make a move, passing into fourth position soon after the start. He was soon followed by Walker, who took the lead from Abbott a lap later, wanting to make amends for his seventh-place finish in the first race. Haaker went down on lap two, dropping out of the top five, while Hart struggled at mid-pack trying to get around slower riders.
By lap four, Hart had moved his way up into third and set his sights first on Olszowy and then on Abbott. On the final lap, Hart made an inside move on Abbott to secure the runner-up slot, with Walker taking the win at the checkers, followed by Hart, Abbott, Riordan and Gerston.
Walker wasted no time taking the lead in the third and final race, grabbing a clean holeshot and leading the pack into the opening lap, followed by Rockstar Husqvarna Factory’s Ryder LeBlond and Hart. Halfway into the race, LeBlond put a pass on Walker when the Triumph rider spun on a rock. LeBlond rode a smooth and steady race for the final few laps to take the win, followed by Hart in second and Walker in third. Riordan was fourth with Gerston in fifth.
After one round, Hart leads the series standings with 30 points, followed by Walker with 25 and Abbott with 21.
The Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance resumes on October 19th at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona. For more information on the series please go to www.endurocross.com.
COLORADO EX PRO CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2-2
2. Jonny Walker (Tri) 7-1-3
3. Cooper Abbott (Shr) 4-3-6
4. Will Riordan (GG) 6-4-4
5. Max Gerston (Bet) 5-5-5
6. Colton Haaker (Hsq) 3-6-8
7. Dominik Olszowy (Rie) 2-10-7
8. Ryder LeBlond (Hsq) 8-13-1
9. Tim Apolle (Bet) 12-8-9
10. Anthony Johnson (KTM) 14-7-10
