VOL. 54 ISSUE 14 APRIL 11, 2017 P43
"I'm pretty happy with how I
rode, and although the sections
were more technical than last
week, I was still able to keep my
mistakes to a minimum and turn
in a low score," said Smage.
Freixa ended the day in sec-
ond, the Montesa USA rider fin-
ishing with a total of nine points.
"Smage rode very well and I
just made too many mistakes,"
said Freixa.
Factory GasGas rider Bryan
Roper finished third with 16
points to claim his first podium of
the season.
Sherco USA's Andrew Putt
was fourth after turning in loop
scores of 13, 2 and 5 for a total
of 20. Meanwhile, Scorpa USA's
Karl Davis Jr. rounded out the
top five with a total of 28 points.
Sunday's event was much
tighter between Smage and
Freixa. Smage took the initial
lead when Freixa took a dab in
section seven on the massive
exit wall. This turned out to be a
controversial section because
the riders decided not to ride it
the way it was originally set up,
which included a 12-foot vertical
wall. The markers were eventu-
ally moved over to a shorter sec-
tion of the wall (only eight feet!),
which wound up being more
manageable.
Smage cleaned section seven
on his first pass, but took a one
on his second trip through. He
also took a dab in the loose
rocks at the bottom of section
10, giving the Sherco rider two
points to Freixa's one heading
into the final lap.
Smage managed to clean the
entire final lap, and Freixa got
through the tricky wall in sec-
tion seven clean, but then took
a dab in section 10 on the final
lap in almost the same spot that
Smage dabbed on the first lap.
Both riders finished the trial
with a total of two points, but
since Freixa took a point before
Smage did (in section seven of
the first lap), the win was award-
ed to Smage.
"It feels good to come out of
here with a pair of wins, espe-
cially getting wins over Freixa,"
said Smage. "When I took that
dab in section 10 I thought it was
all over with, but then I saw that
Freixa came in on his final lap
with a one in 10 and I couldn't
believe it."
Roper and Putt once again
battled over third place, with Putt
getting the final step of the po-
dium this time with a total of 10
points, including an impressive
clean final lap.
After four rounds, Smage now
leads the SWM U.S. National
MotoTrials Series standings with
a total of 115 points. Freixa is in
second with 101, while Putt is
third with 85 points.
The National MotoTrials Series
resumes action on June 17-18 in
Cleveland, Ohio. CN
Saturday
1. Pat Smage (Shr) 2
2. Marc Freixa (Mon) 9
3. Bryan Roper (GG) 16
4. Andrew Putt (Shr) 20
5. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 28
Sunday
1. Pat Smage (Shr) 2
2. Marc Freixa (Mon) 2
3. Andrew Putt (Shr) 10
4. Bryan Roper (GG) 19
5. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 31
Marc Freixa kept Smage
honest all weekend.
