AIRES AMA NATC MOTOTRIALS US NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
These rocks are slippery even in
the dry, so after the deluge that
hit just before the start of the sec-
ond lap on Saturday, the rocks
were like ice, making for a very
tough event.
Webb seemed to adapt best to
the slippery conditions and was
clearly the man to beat when the
scorecards were turned in after
lap one.
But instead of Smage close
behind, it was Gas Gas USA rider
Martin Matejicek, from the Czech
Republic, who was pushing
Webb from the runners-up slot,
with Smage sitting several points
back in third.
After one lap, Webb held the
lead with 11 points, followed by
Matejicek with 13 and Smage
with 16.
Webb turned up the heat on
lap two, just when the sections
were starting to get really slick.
Due to the rapidly deteriorat-
ing conditions, Webb's score
ballooned to 24 on lap two, but
so did Matejicek's and Smage's,
with Matejicek dropping 30 on
his second lap, Smage 31 on lap
two.
On the final lap, Webb was able
to close the deal with a 28-point
final lap, compared to 25 for
Matejicek and 27 for Smage.
After penalty points for being
late to the finish were factored in,
Webb took a well-deserved win
with a total of 63 points, followed
by Matejicek in second with 68
and Smage with 74.
"I would say I'm a little sur-
prised right now," said Webb. "I
haven't been able to spend much
time on a trials bike this year and
I was practicing with those guys
(Smage and Bryan Roper) on Fri-
day, and they looked pretty solid
and, I have to admit, I felt a little
shaky. I can go over the obsta-
cles just fine, but it's the little stuff
I'm rusty on. Today the rain came
down and it became a little bit
more of a traditional trials event
because of that, where you have
to plan a little bit farther ahead on
the section, and maybe my Endu-
roCross experience helped out a
little bit today in that regard.
"This was a totally different
event after the rain hit," added
Webb. "Rides that were ones
VOL. 51 ISSUE 26 JULY 1, 2014 P101
Pat Smage tackles one of the
rocky creek sections on Saturday.
Smage claimed his seventh National
MotoTrials title with a 3-2 finish in
Tennessee.
