the checkers at just over nine
grueling hours. Less than half of
the racers who started the day
would earn the coveted Tecate
Enduro finisher pin.
Gerston, aboard his Beta RR
300, claimed the checkers at just
over four hours.
"Loop one took it out of me,"
Gerston said. "I was tired after
that loop, and I am not sure if I
just didn't sleep well or what, but
I was just feeling low physically.
So, at the pit, I tried to regroup
as much as I could for loop two,
which worked for a bit, but then
I started cramping bad, so that
was a tough test for me and the
body. I just had to keep smooth
and keep pushing, trying not to
lose time. At the second pit, I
was sitting out with Ryan [Wells],
falling asleep in the chair across
from him, and I just thought, 'Oh
come on, you can't let him see
this!'
"We started loop three, and I
came back alive. Ryan actually
passed me towards the begin
-
ning of the loop, just on fire. I
just stayed with him and waited
for
him to make a mistake, and
when he did, I made the pass. By
then, I upped my pace and was
finally feeling good, so loop three
was definitely my best test."
Overall, it was a close race for
the top three Pro class finishers,
with just 0.28 of a second sepa
-
rating second- and third-place
times on loop one for
AZ Dirt
Bike Training racer Ryan Wells,
riding his dad's KTM 300 XC-W,
and local legend KTM Red Bull
Factory racer Ivan Ramirez on
his "far-too-big-for-this-race" mo
-
torcycle (his words), a 450 XC-F,
with
overly sprung suspension.
Ultimately, Ryan increased his
advantage each loop, finishing
the race 6.31 minutes ahead of
the Mexico native.
"It was fun to get back to
racing," Wells said. "My last
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 9 MARCH 3, 2026 P51
Ryan Wells kept Gerston honest, finishing a close second.
