Hart Takes Grinding Stone
Hard Enduro Victory
A
three-race format provided
three levels of attrition for
the record turnout of riders at
the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro
in Page, Arizona, round three of
the AMA West Extreme Off-Road
Championship, Presented by
Beta. Fresh off a tropical battle
in the jungles of Oahu, Hawaii,
Trystan Hart was looking to
extend his win streak in the
series, and in Sunday afternoon's
final showdown in Arizona, from
a field whittled down to just 30
riders, the FMF KTM rider was
able to do just that. Hart nabbed
the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro
victory, this time ahead of Cody
Webb and Ryder LeBlond, going
three for three so far in the 2023
Western Regional championship,
and two-for-two in the IRC U.S.
Hard Enduro Premiere Champi
-
onship, Presented by Klim.
Jim Flynn and the Rockstars
Motorcycle Club were tasked
with the course and format
redesign, no easy task with the
sandstone mesas and high-ex
-
posure nature of the terrain, but
the three-race knockout format
seemed well received by racers
and spectators, alike.
Saturday started out with race
one, all entries running two laps on
a 12-mile loop. Riders had to com
-
plete at least one circuit during a
four-hour time limit before moving
on to the next race. A total of 215
racers lined up in rows of 40 that
started two minutes apart, which
helped spread out the racers for
the highly technical sections.
Trystan Hart led the first lap
with FactoryONE Sherco's Cody
Webb following closely. Webb
made a pass when the two
caught up to lapped traffic in a
crowded uphill section on the
second lap, leaving Webb to claim
the first win of the event. Hart and
RPM KTM's Will Riordan followed
suit while Rockstar Husqvarna's
Ryder LeBlond recovered from a
terrible first lap to finish fourth.
Cooper Abbott (Sherco) rounded
out the top five.
The top 100 racers from
race one moved onto Sunday's
race two, based on the same
WIND
IN THE
P44
Trystan Hart took the win
at the Grinding Stone Hard
Enduro in Page, Arizona,
with room to spare.
PHOTOS: RYAN MCCASLAND
