EnduroCross Rounds 3&4 and Trials Nationals Rounds 7&8 Results

Idaho Falls, ID & Central Falls, FL It was a jam-packed weekend for the FactoryONE Sherco racing team with a pair of doubleheaders on opposite sides of the country. The enduro team with Cooper Abbott and supported amateur Coran Calvert were in Idaho Falls for rounds three and four of the AMA EnduroCross season. This was also the first rounds for the Pro Women at EnduroCross where Rachel Gutish and Hallie Marks would make their debuts. Pat Smage and Alex Myers were in Florida for the final two rounds of the AMA Mototrials season.

The FactoryONE Sherco team took home a total of 10 podium finishes across the various classes over the weekend.

Cooper Abbott Whipping his Sherco SE 300 Factory

Photo: Jack Jaxson

The action would get kicked off on Friday night at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. A very technical and tight track would lead to some intense racing over the course of the evening. First up was amateur Coran Calvert in the intermediate class, who found himself back in the pack after the start and couldn’t recover enough to find himself in a podium battle. He finished p5 in class. However, it was a reversal of fortune for Calvert in the Jr. class final.  The Rocky Mountain Rock Garden was the differentiator this round and Calvert used his trials skills to master the tougher inside line after figuring it out in his earlier race. He would finish P1 in the class.

The EX Pro Women made their debut in round three. Sisters Moto Sherco’s Hallie Marks would ride smooth and steady giving her a strong p2 podium finish. Bonecutter Sherco and FactoryONE supported rider Rachel Gutish had a battle with Mark’s for p2 but ended up crashing twice in the difficult rock garden giving her a p3 finish.

The EX Pro motos were edge-of-your-seat action. There was no shortage of carnage on this technical track. Cooper Abbott qualified p6 which would give him a front-row gate pick, something he missed out on in round two. He rode a very clean and consistent race avoiding major mistakes. He chose the less risky lines which in the end gave him moto scores of p5-p3-p4 which was good enough for a p3 podium finish.

Coran Calvert with his Post Race Win Interview

Photo: Jack Jaxson

2,607 miles to the east, the FactoryONE trials team was prepped and ready for the final two rounds of the AMA Mototrials season. Pat Smage still had an outside chance at what would be his 15th AMA title, but he was going to have to have a little help to be able to outduel world-ranked rider Toby Martyn.

Unfortunately for Smage, things wouldn’t get started the way he would have liked taking a five in section two of the first loop. He would add single markers in sections four, five, six, nine, and 11. He would finish the loop with a pair of dabs to finish loop one with an eight. This would have him in a rare p3 through loop one. Teammate Alex Myers on the Scorpa 300 would have four more marks against him than Smage and would sit p4 for the first loop. In the end, that is where they would both finish the day with Smage on 21 and Myers on 28. This would dash Smage’s chance for another title.

Smage on Day One

Photo: Stephanie Vetterly

Later that same evening the enduro team was back in action for the second leg of their doubleheader in Idaho. Cooper Abbott was able to lay down a fast time in the qualifier finishing p3 by a mere .04 seconds behind second place Jonny Walker. Moto one started off well for Abbott as he was battling for the top spots but ultimately settled for a p4 finish. Moto two was not as kind to him as a mistake put him back in the field early on and he was never able to fully recover. He would finish p7 leaving him with an outside shot at back-to-back podiums, but he would need some help from the rest of the field. Abbott did all he could do in moto three riding very clean. He would finish the moto in p3 but it wasn’t good enough for the final podium spot. He had to settle for p4 on the night.

In the EX women’s pro final, it would be Gutish flip-flopping positions with Mark’s after the two would battle the field. It would come down to a last lap pass by Gutish that would give her p2 with Mark’s not far behind in p3.

Coran Calvert would have a great night with a win in the intermediate class where again, his trials skills would shine through in the rearranged rock garden. In the Jr. class he would have an early mistake but would fight back for a p3 finish giving him his second podium for the night.

Abbott in Action

Photo: Jack Jaxson

Sunday was the final round of the AMA Mototrials season. A championship was out of grasp for Smage but this did not deter him. He would battle with Toby Martyn and Josh Roper on a course that had a bit of everything from swamps to giant rocks to palm trees.

Smage would find himself down seven markers to Martyn after loop one which would seem like a big hole to climb out of. After loop two, the gap would narrow with Smage on 23 to Martyn’s 18. A thrilling third loop had Smage with eight more markers but it was Martyn who had 13 on the final loop giving both competitors 31 for the day. The tiebreaker would come down to the most “cleans” which is the number of times a rider went through a section without a single marker. The tiebreaker would go the way of Smage with 26 total cleans to Martyn’s 23.

Smage in Action

Photo: Stephanie Vetterly

Scorpa Pro Alex Myers would finish p5 for the day giving him a p4 finish in the championship.

Of note, section 11 was “fived” by every pro rider on each loop on day two. The section was mostly underwater in a swampy section so most of the pros decided to “punch” the section which means they decided to take max points to avoid riding the section.

Smage with the Final Round Win

Photo: Stephanie Vetterly

Photo Link EnduroCross

Credit Jack Jaxson

Photo Link Trials – Link will be continually updated

Credit Stephanie Vetterly

Race Results Link EnduroCross Rd 3

Race Results Link EnduroCross Rd 4

Race Results Link Trials Rd 7

Race Results Link Trials Rd 8

Final Standings Link Trials