Triumph Factory Racing’s Jonny Walker debuted his full-time return to the 2025 Slavens AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance in emphatic fashion Saturday night, claiming the overall victory at round one of the 2025 Championship at Findlay Toyota Center, October 18. The 2022 AMA EnduroCross Champion from Keswick, England, overcame a challenging third-place finish in moto one to dominate the final two motos, securing the win with a 3-1-1 scorecard under the series’ Olympic-style scoring format.
Photos by Jack Jaxson
Two-time defending champion Trystan Hart (Red Bull FMF/KTM Factory Racing) demonstrated championship resilience with a hard-fought second-place finish despite significant adversity, while Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder LeBlond rounded out the podium in third.
In the opening moto, Hart wasted no time establishing his intent to defend his title. The Canadian from Invermere, British Columbia, took an early lead and maintained a seemingly flawless ride to claim the moto-one victory. LeBlond secured second place, demonstrating a strong pace from the drop of the gate, while Walker rounded out the podium in third after overcoming early race tightness.
“My first one, I was just a bit of a disaster,” Walker said. “I think because it was the first race, you know, a bit tight and stuff like that, so I managed to come through.”
Five-time former EnduroCross Champion Colton Haaker (Kawasaki), making his highly anticipated return to the series, finished fourth. Max Gerston (Beta) completed the top five, while Cooper Abbott (Kawasaki), the FIM SuperEnduro competitor returning on Kawasaki machinery, finished fifth after dealing with mechanical issues that plagued him during the hot laps.
Nick Thompson (KTM), the veteran racer who won the Expert-class main event to qualify for the Pro ranks, finished a strong sixth in the first moto.
Remarkably, Hart had been dead last in practice earlier in the day, making his moto-one dominance more impressive.
The second moto featured an inverted start based on moto-one results, placing the top-eight finishers on the second row. What followed was one of the most dramatic races of the night.
James Flynn grabbed the early lead while Hart and Webb battled from midpack. Cody Webb (Yamaha) surged to second by the end of lap one, with Hart climbing to third. Walker, starting from the second row, began his methodical march forward.
By lap two, Webb had seized the lead from Flynn, with Hart following through into second. Walker made quick work of Flynn as well, setting up a three-way battle between Webb, Hart and Walker for the lead.
At midrace, Hart made his move, passing Webb to take the lead. Walker followed suit moments later, and the 2022 champion set his sights on the defending titleist. The two went wheel-to-wheel in an intense battle, with Walker showing Hart his front wheel on multiple occasions before finally making the pass stick.
The power advantage of Walker’s 450cc Triumph—upgraded from the 250cc four-stroke he campaigned in limited appearances last year—proved decisive as he pulled away to a commanding victory.
“The second race was a good confidence boost coming from last to first,” Walker said.
Hart held on for second, while Webb claimed third. Max Gerston continued his strong ride with fourth, and LeBlond fell back to fifth after his second-place moto-one finish. Haaker recovered from early struggles to finish sixth.
LeBlond grabbed the Acerbis Holeshot to start moto three, with Walker and Hart in close pursuit. Walker wasted little time, quickly dispatching LeBlond to take the lead, with Hart following into second.
But drama struck on lap two. Hart encountered trouble, first making contact with LeBlond and going over the bars, which knocked his breakaway visor off of his helmet. Then, in a scene Hart described as coming “out of the Matrix,” Nick Thompson and Hart collided mid-air, with Hart T-boning Thompson. The impact sent Hart tumbling back to ninth place.
“Jonny and Ryder both got the jump on me,” Hart said. “I came into Ryder, went over the bars, broke my visor off. Then Thompson comes out of the Matrix while I’m in the air, and I just T-boned the crap out of him. I went way back, almost last, I’m sure.”
Up front, Walker extended his lead to 13 seconds, setting a blistering pace that no one could match. LeBlond held second through the middle portions of the race, while Haaker charged hard into third, hunting down his former Husqvarna teammate.
Behind them, Hart mounted an incredible comeback charge. Despite the broken visor and significant deficit, the defending champion clawed his way back through the field, picking off riders one by one in the closing laps.
“I went like a bat out of hell those last five laps and went from like 14th up to 5th,” Hart said. “Some of the guys didn’t know if I was lapping them or racing them, so some of them were a little bit nice to me, I think.”
Walker took the checkered flag with a commanding 13-second margin of victory, clinching the overall win. LeBlond held on for second in the moto, with Haaker claiming third after his determined charge. Max Gerston finished a career-best fourth, while Hart’s miraculous recovery netted him fifth—just enough to secure second overall on the night.
“I got a good start and managed to get around Ryder in the rocks, and then I put the hammer down for the first three laps to break a little bit of a lead, and then could kind of take it easy from there,” Walker said. “Super happy with how tonight’s gone.”
The evening featured thrilling action across all seven classes, with one of the most remarkable performances coming from 13-year-old Max Eppelmann of Stadecken-Elsheim, Germany.
In a stunning display of youth talent, Eppelmann swept both the Intermediate and Junior classes, announcing himself as a rider to watch throughout the 2025 season.
“The intermediate race was really, really tough,” Eppelmann said. “I had a start crash…but this race was really good. Holeshot, kept it clean. I’m just trying to not do any mistakes. Keep it clean, and that’s also what I train [to do] a lot with Tim Apolle. He’s my trainer, and we try to work on the consistency, ’cause I’m pretty good at hitting stuff, but the consistency just wasn’t there last year, but this year it is.”
The young German confirmed he’ll be competing in both classes for the entire 2025 season and has his sights set on the Expert class in 2026.
Nick Thompson (KTM) won the Expert main event, earning his qualification to the Pro class along with the other top-six finishers. Thompson, a veteran of the sport who has battled injuries over recent seasons, came out strong by winning the Expert class and finished sixth in Pro Moto 1 before mechanical issues hampered his final two motos.CN
2025 EnduroCross Round 1 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Jonny Walker (Tri) 3-1-1
- Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2-5
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 2-5-2
- Colton Haaker (Kaw) 4-6-3
- Max Gerston (Bet) 11-4-4
- Cody Webb (Yam) 10-3-8
- Cooper Abbott (Kaw) 5-10-7
- Braxton Hintze (Fan) 8-11-6
- Tim Apolle (Bet) 7-9-12
- James Flynn (Bet) 12-8-9
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