Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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OFF ROAD 2014 AIRES AMA NATC MOTOTRIAL USA NATIONAL SERIES ROUNDS 3-4/MAY 31-JUNE 1, 2014 SEDAN, KANSAS P102 throughout the series so far, and now has four runner-up finishes. In the meantime, Matejicek was pleased with his progress in the American series. "I didn't know what to expect when I came over here, and there was a lot of stress to per- form well, but I am happy with my riding this weekend and I'm look- ing forward to the rest of the se- ries," said Matejicek. Bolopue and Blanc-Gonnet continued their battle over third, with Bolopue once again finding his way to the final step of the podium after beating out Blanc- Gonnet by 18 points, 81 to 99. "Logan and I have had a re- ally good battle and it has been a fun event," said Gonnet. "This stuff is kind of like what I ride in Oregon, but it's a lot dryer. I was familiar with the angled rocks and the jagged edges and it was nice to ride on, I thought the sections were perfect; they were technical with one big hit, but they ended up taking points from everyone, versus just being several big hits in each section." At the halfway point in the se- ries, Smage holds a 20-point lead in the championship stand- ings over Matejicek, 120 points to 100. Bolopue is third overall with 81 points, while Blanc-Gonnet is fourth with 70. The battle for the win in the Expert class was once again waged between American Beta's Ray Peters and Sherco USA's Andrew Putt, with the two riders once again trading wins over the two-day event. Putt took the top spot on Satur- day by a single point over Peters, on the strength of a five-point second lap. When the cards were counted, Putt finished the 36-section trials with a total of 20 points, compared to 21 for Pe- ters. During Sunday's round, Pe- ters was solid for most of the day and got the better of his younger counterpart, taking advantage of a disastrous first loop by Putt that the Sherco rider couldn't re- bound from. At the end of the day, Peters took the win with a total of 15 points, while Putt was second with 27. Third place went to Alex- ander Niederer with 45. Mean- while, Colorado Gas Gas rider Bailey and Ohio Sherco rider Quinn Wentzel rounded out the top five with 51 and 71 points, re- spectively. CN Saturday Pro 1. Pat Smage (Shr) 2 2. Martin Matejicek (GG) 19 3. Logan Bolopue (Shr) 67 4. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (Shr) 71 Expert 1. Andrew Putt (Shr) 20 2. Ray Peters (Bet) 21 3. Alexander Niederer (Bet) 33 4. Bailey Tucker (GG) 34 5. Quinn Wentzel (Shr) 44 Sunday Pro 1. Pat Smage (Shr) 15 2. Martin Matejicek (GG) 47 3. Logan Bolopue (Shr) 81 4. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (Shr) 99 Expert 1. Ray Peters (Bet) 15 2. Andrew Putt (Shr) 27 3. Alexander Niederer (Bet) 45 4. Bailey Tucker (GG) 51 5. Quinn Wentzel (Shr) 71 A pair of six-time champs, Ryan Young (left) discusses a line over a massive wall with Pat Smage.