IN
THE
WIND
P30
SMAGE AND FREIXA SPLIT
FLORIDA MOTOTRIALS OPENER
D
efending champion Pat
Smage came into the 2016
SWM U.S. National Champion-
ship MotoTrials Series in Florida,
May 21-22, looking to add a
ninth title to his resume. Howev-
er, 37-year-old Marc Freixa may
have something to say about
that. It's been a long time since
Smage has had tough competi-
tion and Freixa may be just the
guy to deliver it.
Freixa is a former top-10
world-caliber trials rider, and
finished number three in the FIM
world standings for three straight
years, though the 37-year-old re-
tired from world competition five
years ago and has been teach-
ing trials schools in Spain.
Montesa/Honda gave Freixa
the opportunity to come to
America and compete in the US
series, and from the looks of the
opening round in Ocala, Florida,
where Smage and Freixa split
wins over the course of the
two-day event, it's going to be a
pretty competitive year.
Smage (Team RYP/Zip Ex-
press/Dunlop/Maxima/Sherco)
got the ball rolling on Day One
with a masterful three-point first
lap, while Freixa finished the lap
with a total of six.
Smage was clean up to the
seventh section, where he man-
aged to get through what most
of the riders considered the
toughest section of the day with
a two-point ride.
"That section had a big wall in
the beginning and an exit that re-
quired pinpoint precision," said
Smage. "I just didn't get enough
lift on the big wall on the first lap
and had to put my foot down to
pull it onto the rock."
Smage came back with a
clean in section seven on his
second attempt, propelling him
to a two-point second lap.
Having not competed since
the 2011 season, Freixa had to
Defending US
National MotoTrials
Champion Pat
Smage took the win
at the 2016 season
opener in Ocala,
Florida.
