IN
THE
WIND
P42
SMAGE DOUBLES UP
S
herco USA's Pat Smage
took a pair of wins at rounds
three and four of the SWM
U.S. National MotoTrials Series
in Sedan, Kansas, April 8-9,
extending his lead in the cham-
pionship standings to 14 points
over Spaniard Marc Freixa, who
was second on both days.
The Kansas event featured
technical sections with massive
sandstone ledges, which the
riders were sent up, down and
around. Though the event was
a bit tougher than last week's
event in Texas, it was still a
relatively low-scoring trial for the
top riders.
Smage was steady and
precise on Saturday, needing
just two single dabs to navigate
the entire 12-section, three-lap
event. His first dab came in sec-
tion five of the first lap when he
got off his line and got too close
to the edge of a drop off, forcing
him to take a dab to correct his
line. After that, the Wisconsin
rider proceeded to clean the
rest of the event until the final
section of the day, where he
took a dab on the takeoff to the
massive wall at the exit.
"There was a lot going on
in my head by the time I got to
the final section," said Smage.
"I wasn't sure how many points
Marc had and there was a lot
of pressure on me. When I was
setting up for the wall, I didn't
have my balance and I didn't
have enough speed when I took
off so I had to take a one at the
top to push the bike over the top
of the ledge. It could easily have
been a five so that was my best
option."
Smage's one on 12 gave him
two points total for the day, which
was more than enough to claim
his second win of the series.
Pat Smage
swept both
rounds of the
AMA MotoTrials
Championship
in Kansas.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SHAN
MOORE
