Red Bull KTM's Hart came out
on top of a close battle with
Lettenbichler. It took Hart one
hour and 51 minutes to com-
plete the course. Lettenbichler
finished 2:46 behind. Brightmore
was 12:01 back, followed by his
younger brother Ashton (12:39
back from the winner). Sherco's
Teo Kabakchiev rounded out the
top five, 12:55 behind.
In addition to the pro racing,
over 500 amateur riders com-
peted on a long course on Friday
and Saturday, with more difficult
sections added on the second
day of racing. The total times
for the two days determined the
overall amateur results. Hawaii's
Makana Barger was the overall
amateur and A-class winner with
a combined time of two hours, 30
minutes and 45 seconds. South
African Damon Garrel finished
second, 13:27 behind, and an-
other Hawaiian, Boogie Rivera
rounded out the overall podium
13:42 behind the winner.
The Pro main event, called
the Thunder Bowl Finale, was a
multi-lap race on a course with
lap times around 21 minutes for
the fastest riders. The 42 riders
blasted up the ski hill to start
the race that looked more like a
desert-race bomb run than a hard
enduro. Hart completed the first
lap in the lead with Lettenbichler
close behind and Brightmore over
a minute back. Lettenbichler took
over the lead at the completion
of lap two with Hart and Bright-
more not far back in second and
third. Despite the tight battle,
Lettenbichler held the lead at the
completion of laps three and four,
but a difficult fifth lap dropped
him back to third. Brightmore had
taken over at the front with Hart
second. The three riders held
those spots through the comple-
tion of lap six. The riders started
the final lap, which included the
King Slayer hillclimb finish. The
three riders battled closely with
Hart passing Brightmore within
sight of the finish arch only to
have the GasGas rider make his
own countermove to put himself
back in front.
Brightmore crossed the finish
line after two hours and 16 min-
utes of racing. Hart was about
five seconds back. Lettenbichler
was just over one minute behind
the winner. Kabakchiev finished
fourth on his Sherco, 12:53 be-
hind. Ashton Brightmore finished
fifth on his X-Grip GasGas.
Rockstar Husqvarna's Ryder
LeBlond finished sixth, 15:01 be-
hind. Matthew Green was seventh
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P39
Trystan Hart
finished just five
seconds behind
after over two hours
of racing on the
difficult course at
the Silver Mountain
Resort ski area.
