Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128228
AMAINATC Ryan Young Products National Trials Championship Series Rounds 11-12: Mosteller Ranch onships. "I believe [Sunday's win] was even tighter than the indoor." Sherco USA's David Chaves has come close several times this year to taking his first podium finish and finally got it on Saturday with a third, while U.S. Montesa's Chris Florin took the show spot on Sunday. The Wyoming Motorcycle Trials Association did an excellent job of mixing in dry-rock sections with muddy climbs, wet rides through rocky creeks and an artificial section in the pits made of concrete forms to challenge the] ] 0 riders entered. STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE/ TRIALS COMPETITION NEWSPAPER CASPER, WY, AUG. 2ยท3 t was about as close as you can get and still put it in the win column, but Geoff Aaron topped archrival Ryon Bell on Sunday by the slimmest possible margin and backed that up with a solid second-place performance on Saturday, putting his name in the record books as the only person to win seven U.S. National Trials Championships. Aaron's performance at rounds] 1 and] 2 of the Ryan Young Products National Trials Championship Series held at Mosteller Ranch near Casper, Wyoming, closed the books on the 2003 title chase with one event still remaining on the schedule. On Saturday, Aaron was second to Bell, who arguably was making his best ride of the year. On Sunday, Aaron topped Bell by means of a tie breaker in a battle that was reminiscent of their duel at the U.S. Indoor Championships in San Francisco earlier this year. Aaron won that encounter by a just a few seconds via a special ride-off. "It feels great," said Aaron of his seventh title. "We've been doing this a long time and working really hard this year, and this is just icing on the cake. It's been a good year, and I definitely want to thank my sponsors." "Ryon was riding real well, and I was happy to pull it off," Aaron said in reference to the Indoor Champi- I SATURDAY QeofI' &.on spilt ..... wlthRyon Bell in Wyoming and -.ppecl up the 2003 Trials 'National Championship. Bell has been give Aaron a hard time as of late. Bell won on Saturday and lost out on the tie breakers to Aaron on Sunday. 44 AUGUST 20, 2003' cue I e nevus For all intents and purposes, round ]] didn't begin until section eight of the first lap, as most of the top five were clean up until that point, with the exception of an odd point here or there, taken more out of first-lap jitters than anything. Wyoming marked the first time this year that the NATC regulars had competed at altitude (the course was based at an elevation of 5500 feet in the Casper Mountains), and section eight would be a tougher test for that reason. Its defining feature was a head-tall rock step with a shorterthan-usual approach out of a dry creek bed. This is where the waiting game began, and after] 5 minutes of collective rock-kicking, line-grooming and nervous clock-watching, Ray Peters took the initiative and conquered the step with a single prod at the top. Aaron was next and tried a David Chaves got on the podium for the first time this year with a third on Saturday.