VOL. 54 ISSUE 24 JUNE 20, 2017 P37
row lines along the top of large
rocks, with a near-impossible
rock step posing as the focus
point of the section. Smage
made up five points on Freixa in
this one after posting a five and
a clean, compared to Freixa's
two fives.
When the final cards were
tallied, Freixa came away with
the win by a single point over
Smage, 11 points to 12.
SUNDAY
Sunday's event was the stan-
dard three-lap affair, though
the organizers tightened up the
sections a bit in an effort to draw
more points from the pros. From
the looks of the final results, they
accomplished their goal without
making it too tough on the sup-
port classes.
Freixa got off to a quick start
on the opening lap of Sunday's
event, posting a three-point
lap, which was three marks
better than Smage's six points.
Freixa dropped a two and a one,
compared to a five and a one for
Smage.
Smage's five came when he
broke the ribbon while trying a
bold line over two logs in section
seven.
"It was a little more danger-
ous line and I should have taken
the safety route," said Smage.
"It was two suspended logs
and I just tried to hold pressure
and set my front wheel on the
second one. I was an inch too
far right where it started to slope
down. The front end just slid
sideways and caught the rib-
bon."
Smage made amends for his
first-lap mistake with a brilliant
one-point second lap. Mean-
while, Freixa took two dabs
along the 12-second course.
The final lap would ultimately
decide the event, and Smage
once again turned in a one-
point ride, taking a safe one on
the log this time. Freixa, on the
other hand, took a two in the log
section and then another single
dab in section two. This gave
both riders a score of eight, and
Smage got the win by virtue of
having 32 cleans compared to
29 for Freixa.
Since the two top riders
split wins, Smage maintains a
14-point advantage going into
next week's finale in Rhode
Island.
After six rounds, Smage now
leads the SWM US National
MotoTrials Series standings with
a total of 170 points. Freixa sits
in second place with 156 points,
while Putt is third with 127 points.
If Smage is able to hold on he will
add a ninth national MotoTrials
championship to his resume.
Shan Moore
SATURDAY
1. Marc Freixa (Hon) 11
2. Pat Smage (Shr) 12
3. Andrew Putt (Shr) 27
4. Bryan Roper (GG) 39
5. Alexander Niederer (GG) 43
6. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (Mon) 61
7. Sam Fastle (Shr) 81
8. Quinn Wentzel (Sco) 94
SUNDAY
1. Pat Smage (Shr) 8
2 Marc Freixa (Mon) 8
3. Andrew Putt (Shr) 27
4. Bryan Roper (GG) 47
5. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (Mon) 64
6. Alex Niederer (GG) 68
7. Sam Fastle (Shr) 96
8. Quinn Wentzel (Sco) 104
After finishing second to
Freixa on Saturday, Pat
Smage turned the tables on
Sunday to take the win.
