WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
BY KIT PALMER
G
asGas USA's Josh Roper
chalked up his third win
in a row at the fourth
running of the California Trials
Invitational. Last year, he battled
12-time AMA/NATC MotoTrials
National Champion Pat Smage
and several other trials stand
-
outs before taking the win. This
year,
however, Roper used his
aggressive riding style to fight
off young Belgian Emile Mat
-
theeuws before he could, once
again, lay
claim to the top step
of the podium.
The California Trials Invitation
-
al is a relatively new event held
at
the KTM North America facil-
ity, aka RD Field (Roger DeCoster
Field), in Murrieta, California, and
hosted by GasGas, a brand well
known in the sport of trials. In
2020, at the height of the pan
-
demic, GasGas hosted its own
trials competition event
on home
turf (since all other trials compe
-
titions had been shut down) and
it has been
going strong ever
since. This "made-for-the-media"
non-points-paying competition
is more about friendly rivalry
and promoting the sport of trials
than anything else.
APRIL 26, 2023
RD FIELD / MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA
TRIALS I 4TH ANNUAL CALIFORNIA TRIALS INVITATIONAL, PRESENTED BY GASGAS
P106
Josh Roper makes it three wins in a
row at California Trials Invitational
THREE'S
A CHARM
