VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P43
for, but it doesn't always go that way, so
when it does it's especially satisfying. I
put in a lot of extra effort over the winter
and struggled through some frustration
and adverse weather conditions and to
have it pay off here in some of the mud-
diest of conditions is really rewarding."
In the Expert class, Beta USA's
Andreas Niederer came out on top
with 35 points, followed by GasGas
rider Drew Forkner with 37 points and
Scorpa rider Alex Myers with 37.
After eight rounds, Smage finished
the season with 225 points and five
wins, with Freixa ending up in the
runner-up position with 211 points and
three. Andrew Putt was third on the
year with 169 points, while Bryan Roper
(137) and Alex Niederer (113) rounded
out the top five. Smage is now just one
championship away from tying North
America's all-time career titleholder
Geoff Aaron, who sits atop the NATC
record book with 10 U.S. National Mo-
toTrials titles.
In the Women's Pro division, Cana-
da's Christy Williams had 95.5 points
to take the win over GasGas North
America's Madeleine Hoover, who had
113.5 points, on Saturday. On Sun-
day, however, roles were reversed as
Hoover's 61-point day edged out Wil-
liams' 78 for the win.
In the Expert division Drew Fortner
(GG) took top honors on Saturday,
while Andreas Niederer (Beta) did the
same Sunday.
Shan Moore
(Above) Pat
Smage claimed
the 2017
MotoTrials
Championship at
the final round in
Rhode Island.
(Right) Marc
Freixa kept
Smage on his
toes but came up
just a few points
short of the title.
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