SMAGE CAPTURES 10TH AMA
TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
I
t's not often that an athlete
dominates his or her sport for
more than three to five years. To
dominate for 10 years is amazing.
In the sport of MotoTrials, in the
U.S., two riders have accom-
plished this incredible feat: Geoff
Aaron and Pat Smage have each
won 10 NATC/AMA US National
MotoTrials titles.
Aaron won his first title in 1994
and his last in 2006. Smage
started his run of titles in 2007,
interrupted only in 2010 when
Cody Webb won the title, and in
2016 when Spaniard Marc Freixa
came to the US to compete.
Smage wrapped up his 10th
title with a sweep of the final two
rounds of the series in Don-
ner, California, September 1-2.
Smage swept the entire series,
winning all 10 rounds of the
NATC/AMA US National MotoTri-
als Series in 2018.
At the Donner event, Smage
was at his technical best, riding
with precision and grace over
the knife-edged thin lines that
carried the riders across some
pretty impressive granite ob-
stacles.
Smage took the win on Sat-
urday with a near-perfect per-
formance, cleaning all 36 of the
initial sections, plus both of the
more difficult exhibition sections.
His win on the first day was
enough to wrap up the title, tak-
ing some of the pressure off the
Wisconsin rider for Sunday.
On Sunday, Smage took a
point early in the first lap and
then cleaned the remaining two
laps.
"It's definitely unbelievable
thinking about winning 10 titles,"
said Smage. "When I first started
riding, I looked up to Geoff
Aaron and I just thought there
would be no way I would ever be
IN
THE
WIND
P34
Pat Smage won both rounds
of the final round of the
2018 NATC MotoTrials USA
National Championship at
Donner Pass, and wrapped
up his 10th title.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SHAN
MOORE
