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IN THE WIND P32 SMAGE MASTERS NEW MEXICO MOTOTRIALS OPENER P at Smage took the first step towards claiming a record-tying 10th U.S. National MotoTrials Cham- pionship by sweeping the opening two rounds of the AMA/NATC U.S. National MotoTrials Series in Roswell, New Mexico, April 21-22. The Sherco USA rider easily outdistanced the competi- tion on each of the two days of competition, leaving little doubt that the 2018 title is his to lose. The New Mexico event was held in desert terrain northeast of Roswell, and consisted of steep, sandy climbs and tight lines over huge sandstone boulders. The sec- tions were technical but the mark- ings were relatively open, giving the riders more than one option at the bigger obstacles. Smage kicked off Saturday's event by reeling off eight-straight clean rides to start the first lap. His run of perfection ended in section nine, however, when he was unable to master the massive three-step wall at the exit. Finishing out the lap, Smage added a single dab in section 12 to the five he collected in section nine, which made for a total of six points for lap one. On lap two, Smage was able to get through section nine with just three points this time. Adding another dab in section 12, Smage was able to drop his second lap total to just four. He did one better on the final lap by turning in a three-point score card, giving him a grand total of 13 for the day, which was 33 points better than his closest rival, and more than good enough for the overall win. "It's good to get a win right out of the gate," said Smage. "I was a little shaky in the morning, but I was able to clean it up after a few sections. As the day went on I warmed up and started making some solid rides." While Smage breezed to the win, a fierce battle for second emerged between North Amer- ica GasGas teammates Daniel Blanc-Gonnet and Alex Niederer. Niederer held the upper hand after lap one with a total of 13 points, compared to 21 points for Blanc-Gonnet. On lap two, Blanc-Gonnet was able to trim 10 points off of his score, while Niederer's second-lap score ballooned to 20. At that point, Blanc-Gonnet held a one-point lead over Niederer heading into the final lap. Both riders suffered fives in section 11 and after three laps, Blanc-Gonnet wound up securing the runner-up slot with a total of 46, while Niederer settled for third with 50. Sherco USA's Sam Fastle finished the day with 73 points Pat Smage might not have been perfect in New Mexico but he was still way ahead of the rest in the results. He topped both days at the MotoTrials season opener. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAN MOORE