Cycle News Staff | May 18, 2022
FMF/KTM’S Trystan Hart is undefeated after two rounds of the U.S. Hard Enduro Series after taking the win on the steep slopes and deep canyons of the Billings Motorcycle Club (BMC) property in Billings, Montana at the Bentonite Brawl, April 30-May 1.
Hart was hounded for much of the race by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker, hitting his first round of the series after an illness. Haaker and Hart battled hard with the leaders, swapping positions multiple times through the checkpoints before Haaker became stuck in a mud hole, allowing Hart to pull a gap.
It wasn’t an easy win for Hart from there due to the incredibly challenging hillclimbs that made up much of the obstacles on course. On one of the final hills, Hart needed more than 10 attempts at one climb, getting ahead of a group of six behind him. That group battled it out with SRT Racing’s Cory Graffunder getting over the hill in second, followed by FactoryONE Sherco’s Cooper Abbott. Then, the top racers headed to the final hill on the course: The Great American—a hillclimb raced on in Billings for over 100 years, and had never been conquered on a stock enduro machine. Hart, however, made it over and back down to the finish.
Abbott made a spectacular uphill pass over Graffunder to get up, over, and down to the finish in second. Graffunder finished in third.
FactoryONE Sherco’s Louise Forsley won the Women’s Pro class, it was her second win, as well, in the 2022 series, even though she suffered a wrist injury that forced her out of the race. She went the furthest on the lap at the cutoff time.
Second place went to Beta’s Morgan Tanke, with third going to 17-year-old Sherco rider Hallie Marks, a local Montanan.
The Brawl was put on by local promoters Evan Ask and Casey VonOlnhousen in partnership with the BMC. The race format was one lap with a four-hour cutoff time over a 30-mile loop. More than 160 racers lined up with only 11 riders completing the lap before the cutoff. Traction was the theme of the event with a lot of rain prior to the event, a day of decent drying, and then progressively falling rain during race day, making the bentonite clay hills ultra-challenging for all riders out on the course.CN
PRO
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Cooper Abbott (She)
- Cory Graffunder (Hus)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- Keith Curtis (She)
- Colton Haaker (Hus)
- Daniel Lewis (Hus)
- Spenser Wilton (GG)
- Tim Apollo (Bet)
- Branden Petrie (She)