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/1536483
spectacularly with Thursday's prologue showcasing tight, tech- nical racing before a full crowd. Brightmore delivered a solid per- formance, clinching the victory, while Hart and Lettenbichler finished second and third. The three laid strong groundwork for the weekend, benefiting from advantageous starting positions leading into the main off-road events. The first off-road day on Saturday showcased an intense rivalry between the KTM team members. Lettenbichler started strong, keeping his cool during the tricky Milo Creek section, while Hart and the chasing group faced difficulties amid the tur - moil behind him. In the latter part of the race, Trystan narrowed the gap, following Mani closely be- fore making a crucial push in the final five minutes to clinch victory on the last hillclimb. Hart ended up taking the day's win, with Mani in second place. With everything on the line Sunday, the fight for the over - all victory reached a thrilling conclusion. Piloting his KTM 300 EXC, Lettenbichler pushed himself and performed when it mattered most, seizing the main race win with a narrow 20-sec - ond advantage over Hart. Mani's steady results of 3-2-1 were enough to earn the overall Silver Kings title, with Trystan finishing in second place. "It's been a good race," Letten - bichler said. "I felt good on the bike from the first day, and it showed in my results. The mountain race was awesome, and I enjoyed it a lot, especially battling with Trystan and Mitch Brightmore. The main race was gnarly, and the battle between me and Trystan was super fun; we must have passed each other 20-25 times!" "I started off well with second in the prologue, which was great," Hart said. "The first off-road day was crazy with an eight-way battle for most of the race. I pushed near the end and man - aged to take the win, which I was happy with after a tough race. "Today, I was with Mani for pretty much the whole race, swapping the lead for over two hours. At the end, there was only 20 seconds between us, but I en - joyed that and it's great to have a KTM 1-2." Some of the top American finishers included Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna) eighth overall, Cody Webb (Yamaha) 11th overall and Kawelo Huddy (KTM) 13th overall. Mani's victory in the USA extends his championship lead to 18 points over Brightmore, with five rounds remaining. Husqvarna's Billy Bolt is another three points back in third and is closely followed by Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco) and Wade Young (GasGas). Next up is the Red Bull Ro - maniacs on July 22-26. The FIM Hard Enduro World Champion- ship then resumes with round three at Abestone in Italy on September 6-7. CN OVERALL (Top 10) 1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 2. Trystan Hart (KTM) 3. Mitch Brightmore (GG) 4. Wade Young (GG) 5. Mario Roman (She) 6. Teodor Kabakchiev (She) 7. Billy Bolt (Hus) 8. Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 9. Will Riordan (GG) 10. Alfredo Gomez (Rie) WIND IN THE P54 Great Britain's Mitch Brightmore was third overall. After a slow start to the season, Wade Young put together a solid weekend with fourth overall.