IN
THE
WIND
P50
Smage Captures 12th AMA
MotoTrials Championship
F
actoryONE Sherco's Pat
Smage recorded his 12th AMA
MotoTrials Championship when
he won both legs of the final
rounds (seven and eight) at the
Haystack OHV Riding Area in Ro-
swell, New Mexico, October 2-3.
Smage dominated the week-
end, dropping just four points on
Saturday and only one on Sun-
day. Smage's main concern over
the weekend was TRS rider Josh
Roper, who kept the Sherco pilot
honest all-day Sunday, finishing
just two points behind Smage for
second place.
"This weekend went really
well for me," Smage said. "The
sections were mostly pretty easy
which makes for a very stressful
day knowing any mistake could
be impossible to come back from.
Saturday was slightly more dif-
ficult, and I took a few dabs trying
some 'safe' lines to avoid risking a
five and used the wrong technique
on another section that caused
another point ending with four.
"I only made one mistake on
Sunday with a dab on section
seven. I took off a little too easy on
a loose hill before an angled ledge
and didn't quite have enough
momentum to make it without a
dab. My competitors were riding
great, and the scores were very
close, so the pressure was on all
day to stay clean. I am very happy
to have minimized my mistakes
enough to win both days."
Roper was second on Sat-
urday, as well, but finished 18
points behind Smage.
It was a close battle for third
on Saturday. Alexander Niederer
(Scorpa) and Alexander Myers
both dropped 29 points, but
Niederer claimed the last spot on
the podium by having the most
cleans on the day.
Karl Davis Jr. (Vertigo), Daniel
Blanc-Gonnet (GasGas), Will
Myers (Sherco) and Sam Fastle
(TRS) rounded out the Pro field.
On Sunday, it was an even
closer battle for the last spot on
the podium but this time between
Blanc-Gonnet and Myers. Both
riders finished out the day with 18
points on their scorecards, and
they also had the same amount
of cleans. A second tiebreaker
was needed which went in Blanc-
Gonnet's favor for accumulating
the most one's (single dabs) on
the day.
Davis was again fifth, followed
by Myers, Niederer and Fastle.
CN
Pat Smage and the Sherco USA team
celebrate the 2021 AMA MotoTrials
Championship in New Mexico.
PHOTO: STEPHANIE VETTERLY
