down to the final sections of the
day. The Montesa Honda rider
would take two dabs, and an
unfortunate single point kept the
Sherco rider from the top step.
Casales ended with three points
on the day to Smage's four, with
FactoryOne Scorpa's Alex Myers
rounding out the podium with 37
points.
"Today was really hard be
-
cause Pat [Smage] is really
strong," Casales said. "He rides
very well. I'm happy to have a
stronger rider [compete] with
me. To be honest, I didn't like
the sections; they were beauti
-
ful, but the level for me was too
easy—It's too easy to do easy
mistakes. The last lap, I had a lot
of pressure; I made a mistake
in section two or three, and I
thought I lost. Pat also made a
mistake, so I knew I had to fin
-
ish the [final] lap [clean]. I think
today's [win] is very important
for the championship because
now I have more options to win
if something happens."
Sunday's competition was
even hotter, and so was the
weather, with temperatures
approaching 90 degrees. Once
again, points were low, and the
win came down to a single mis
-
take in section 10.
Riders had to traverse up
and down a very uneven field of
large limestone rocks set into
the hillside. Coming through the
section on the first loop, Smage
was able to clean the section.
Casales got off line about half
-
way up the rocky hillclimb, put
his foot down to save the ride,
but ultimately slid backwards,
dismounting the bike to save
himself from falling and earning
himself five points. After both
riders cleaned their second loop,
it all came down to the final sec
-
tions.
Smage managed the pressure,
sitting at a completely clean day,
and dropped only a single point,
the only point he would take.
Casales finished with six points
for second place, with Alex
Myers once again rounding out
the podium. The rest of the Pro
field mirrored the results from
Saturday, with Trials Superstore
GasGas USA's Josh Roper taking
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P39
Pat Smage bounced back with
the win on Sunday.
