FREIXA CLINCHES MOTOTRIALS TITLE
M
arc Freixa clinched the
2016 SWM US National
Championship MotoTrials Cham-
pionship title with a sweep of the
series finale in Canon City, Colo-
rado, June 25-26, where the
Spaniard held off stiff challenges
by Sherco USA teammates Pat
Smage and Andrew Putt.
Held at over 5000 feet in
elevation, the event featured
the usual technical terrain for a
Colorado event, and was a stark
contrast to last week's event
held in Oregon, where the sec-
tions were wet and slick.
Freixa was expected to domi-
nate the series from the get-go,
since he was the number three-
ranked rider in the world for
three straight years. However,
the Montesa/Honda rider has
been retired from world-caliber
competition for seven years,
and Smage was able to take two
wins from him early in the series
and nearly pulled off the win on
the final day in Colorado.
"When I first heard Freixa
was coming over I was ready to
just hand him the championship
because I knew how good he
was," said Smage. "So being
able to get a couple of wins off
of someone who was third in the
world three years running, and
then to push him today feels re-
ally good."
In the final standings, Freixa's
best seven rides totaled 205
points, followed by Smage with
185 and Putt with 151. Karl Davis
Jr. was fourth overall with Alex
Niederer rounding out the top
five.
Shan Moore
RESULTS
Saturday
1. Marc Freixa (Mon) 12
2. Andrew Putt (Shr) 19
3. Pat Smage (Shr) 28
4. Alex Niederer (GG) 62
5. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 64
Sunday
1. Marc Freixa (Mon) 7
2. Pat Smage (Shr) 9
3. Andrew Putt 14 (Shr)
4. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 63
5. Alex Niederer (GG) 78
IN
THE
WIND
P30
Marc Freixa capped
off the final round
of the MotoTrials
Championship
with a double win
and a National
Championship.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SHAN
MOORE
