Cycle News Staff | October 14, 2021
Trystan Hart came out on top of an exciting night of racing at round three of the 2021 GEICO AMA EnduroCross series in Reno, Nevada, October 9.
Photos by Jack Jaxson
It was the first win of the season for the FMF KTM factory rider, and he did it with perfect 1-1-1 moto finishes. Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker finished second overall with 2-2-3 scores and RPM KTM’s Cooper Abbott rounded out the podium with 3-3-2 for third on the night.
The top 14 pro riders ran hot-laps during the opening of the evening program to earn their gate picks for the first of the three motos, and Haaker set the fastest time of 56.129, followed by Abbott, Will Riordan (RPM KTM), Max Gerston (GasGas) and Tim Apolle (Beta).
Hart had a fall that held him back to seventh fastest time, just enough to get onto the front row of eight riders.
Haaker, Hart and Gerston blasted to the front to start the first moto, and Abbott had to fight his way up to fourth after a mediocre start. Haaker ended up going down which allowed Hart into the lead, and then Haaker had a second fall that allowed Hart to open a safe gap. Haaker was able to hold onto second place in the moto, while Abbott made a late-race pass on Gerston for third. Gerston finished fourth and Cory Graffunder was fifth.
With the second moto gate picks in reverse order of the moto-one finishing positions, the top riders started on row two. Utah’s Nick Thompson took the lead and led the first lap with Spencer Wilton and Ty Cullins chasing in second and third, respectively.
Hart was the first of the top riders to work through the pack and was up to third by the end of the first lap. Hart took the lead on the second lap, while Haaker took another lap to work his way into second. Hart held a safe gap over Haaker to take his second moto win of the night.
Abbott, who crashed on the first lap, worked his way through the field to take another third place. Gerston finished fourth again, and Cullins a strong fifth.
In the third and final moto, Hart, Haaker and Riordan exited the first turn in the top three. Abbott was fourth and quickly around Riordan to join the battle for the moto win. Those top three riders were close for several laps, and Abbott made a move past Haaker to take over second and then applied heavy pressure on Hart for several laps. Haaker closed back in but got stuck at the bottom of the Rocky Mountain ATV-MC rock garden and lost touch with the top two.
Abbott was the fastest rider on the track and pressured Hart for a few laps before a mistake in the firewood pit allowed Hart to get away for this third moto win of the night.
Riordan finished fourth in the moto and Gerston rounded out the top five.
Hart’s perfect night ensured the KTM rider the overall.
Haaker’s 2-2-3 was good enough for second overall, and Abbott’s 3-3-2 was his ticket to the podium.
Gerston’s 4-4-5 earned him fourth overall, while Graffunder (SRT Yamaha) had a quiet night for fifth overall with 5-6-6 finishes.
Riordan was sixth overall with 8-8-4 moto finishes, and for the third race in a row, he was the top finishing rider in the Junior standings, which recognizes riders that are 21 and under.
Cullins (TM) finished seventh overall with 10-5-7 scores.
Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna) was eighth overall (14-7-9), while Thompson (KTM) was ninth overall (11-10-10), and Anthony Johnson (Sherco) rounded out the top 10 (7-13-11).
Hart was happy and relieved to get his first win of the season. “I don’t take losing very well and my team manager was putting some pressure on me to get it done,” he said. “This track was technical and suited my style, and I just rode really good. I had a lot of pressure on me from Colton and Cooper in that last moto, but I was steady, and it feels so good to win all three motos.”
Haaker said it just didn’t go his way in Reno. “I just had a few too many mistakes tonight,” he admitted. “That’s just EnduroCross because I had the speed but sometimes the track bites you. It is hard to be 100 percent perfect at EnduroCross, and I tried my best.”
Abbott had another strong night for third overall. “The first two motos were pretty tough, and I had to work hard to get up to third in both of those,” he said. “In the final moto, I got up to Colton and Trystan, and we were pushing the pace. That was the first time I have ever passed Colton straight up, so that felt great, and I am happy with third but want more.”
Louise Forsley (Sherco) won the Women’s main event after leading wire-to-wire. It was her first win since returning to EnduroCross last season after several years away from the sport.
Shelby Turner (KTM), the winner of the first two rounds, put up a good fight but finished second. Morgan Tanke (Beta) rounded out the podium.
Nathan Rector (KTM) made a long drive from Missouri pay off with the Intermediate-class win.
Parker Smith (KTM) won the Amateur division.
Craig Thompson (Husqvarna) took his second win in a row in the Vet 35+ class, while Riley Bender (Electric Motion) won the Junior Trials class, which is limited to riders ages 12-17.
Round four of the 2021 GEICO AMA EnduroCross series will take place on Saturday, October 23, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. CN
- Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-1-1
- Colton Haaker (Hus) 2-2-3
- Cooper Abbott (KTM) 3-3-2
- Max Gerston (GG) 4-4-5
- Cory Graffunder (Yam) 5-6-6
- Will Riordan (KTM) 8-8-4
- Ty Cullins (TM) 10-5-7
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 14-7-9
- Nick Thompson (KTM) 11-10-10
- Anthony Johnson (She) 7-13-11