Round three of the AMA National Hard Enduro Championship, sponsored by IRC Tire, took place at the renowned Grinding Stone Hard Enduro in Page, Arizona, on March 20-22. The event moved from the Hawaiian jungle to the sandstone mesas above Lake Powell, pushing racers to adjust to the varied terrain typical of U.S. Hard Enduro events.
Photos by Calafia Concepts
Last year, Rockstar Energy’s Husqvarna rider Ryder LeBlond won, and FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart and Rocky Mountain ATV Yamaha’s Cody Webb each have two wins here as well. Now in its sixth year, the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro is hosted by the Rockstars Motorcycle Club, which added a third day of racing with a new format this year. This knockout-style event included a new Amateur race on Friday, drawing a record-breaking 300-plus entries for the first time. Along with the increase in amateur competitors, the race is gaining international attention, with challengers like Mario Roman, Alfredo Gomez and Matt Green coming to take on the course.
Race one started on Friday, with all Amateur classes racing three laps on a course advertised as “B/C-class” level. This race was the first knockout, reducing about 260 Amateurs to 200 for the next race. It featured a more flowy layout with several challenging sections added. Boogie Rivera of Team Bullet Proof Designs KRD, an A-class racer, won race one. Race two took place Saturday morning, with the top 200 finishers from race one competing in a more difficult two-lap race. This course, labeled as “A/B class,” provided most amateurs with a full weekend of riding. The top 50 advanced to race three in the afternoon. Makana Barger of Champion Brick Racing, an A-class rider, won this race. Race three, Saturday afternoon, was the first for the Pro class, with 20 racers qualifying for Sunday’s race four. This two-lap race posed even greater difficulty on a course rated at “Pro/A-class” level. The scorching sun and 90-degree heat made it even more challenging. Hart finished first, earning the first gate pick for the main race on Sunday.
Before race four on Sunday, the Rockstars MC hosted a kids’ hard enduro race, with ages 6-11 trying their hand at the sport on a course with smaller sandstone obstacles. The future of this sport is bright, as these young kids showed a lot of passion while going through the tough sections on their minibikes!
Race four of the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro is one of the most prestigious races of the year, with the top Pros racing around an extremely technical short course in front of a lot of spectators. The mass started on a mesa, then went into a steep hillclimb on the side of the mesa, into a desert section, and then jumped onto Mesa Three. Trystan Hart grabbed the holeshot but made an error on one of the first obstacles, letting Mario Roman take the lead going into Stairway to Heaven. The field started to spread out after a few sections, with 2025 winner Ryder LeBlond taking the lead from Trystan Hart on lap two, after Hart derailed his chain. The steep ups and downs on Mesa Three make it a high-consequence race, where one mistake can make or break a race. Hart and LeBlond battled for several laps, averaging 17-minute laps around the three-mile course, with Roman close on their heels. Webb and IRC Beta’s James Flynn were about 10 minutes behind, but were battling back and forth throughout the race.
The moment of the race was when Hart derailed his chain for a second time on Stairway to Heaven, with LeBlond waiting below to make a pass for the lead. While Hart was fixing his chain, LeBlond had two chances to make it over the hill clean for the lead, which would have set him up for another win, but he could not make it on both attempts. Hart fixed his chain, reset himself on the bottom of the hill, and climbed over without putting his foot down, securing his lead and not looking back on the field. After that, Roman gained significant time, eventually passing LeBlond and settling into the second position.
Hart won the 2026 Grinding Stone Hard Enduro for the third time with a seven-minute lead over Roman, with LeBlond finishing in third. Webb and Flynn rounded out the top five, respectively. In the A-class division, Ayden Marinchek battled Makana Barger throughout the race but eventually came out on top for the win. In the Pro Women’s class, Get Dirty Dirt Bikes TM Racing’s Katie Hall-Lead won for her first time this season.
The AMA National Hard Enduro season returns to the Moab Hard Enduro in Moab, Utah, on April 18-19.CN
2026 AMA National Hard Enduro Round 3 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Mario Roman (KTM)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- Cody Webb (Yam)
- James Flynn (Bet)
- Braxton Hintze (KTM)
- Kawelo Huddy (KTM)
- Branden Petrie (Bet)
- Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna (KTM)
- Matthew Green (KTM)
Click here to read the 2026 AMA National Hard Enduro Round 3 Results in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
