The 2026 AMA NATC National MotoTrials Championship, presented by TrialStoreUSA.com, returned to Toronto, Ohio, October 10-11 for its final two rounds, bringing the championship back to Cable Creek, a property that hadn’t hosted a national since 2015. With creekbeds, waterfalls, rock outcroppings and steep hillsides spread across a 3.5-mile loop, the venue offered everything needed for a challenging weekend at the Ohio Buckeye National. However, riders would soon discover that the difference between Saturday and Sunday was as dramatic as anything the championship had seen all season.
Words and Photography By Steph Vetterly
Saturday’s dry conditions produced some of the year’s lowest scores, including a perfect tie between TRRS’s Jorge Casales and Trials Superstore GasGas’s Sondre Haga. By Sunday, overnight rain had turned the property into a slippery traction battle, creating an entirely different test for the championship’s final day.
For Casales, the weekend carried championship implications. The defending Pro champion entered Ohio having won five of the previous six rounds, his only defeat coming against Haga at April’s season opener in Virginia. Since then, the Spaniard had dominated the series, sweeping New Mexico and Colorado, including a perfect ride on Sunday at Turkey Rock.
Saturday looked set to deliver another flawless performance, but Casales wasn’t alone.
Both Casales and Haga completed all three loops without a single penalty, recording 36 cleans apiece. With neither rider able to separate himself from the other, organizers set up a three-section shootout that ultimately had to be ridden twice before a winner emerged.
“It was a crazy last event of the season,” Casales said. “I started the race section by section. I knew I could win the championship, but I just tried to enjoy every section.”
With Haga making the decisive mistake, Casales emerged victorious, securing his sixth win of the season and successfully defending his NATC Pro Championship.
For Haga, the shootout came under less than ideal circumstances. The Norwegian had been battling illness, including a fever, but still managed to complete the regulation trial without losing a mark.
“We started out cleaning all three loops, which for me personally was a bit surprising after being a bit ill last night and this morning with some fever. I was just happy to be competitive,” Haga said.
Behind the leaders, Alex Myers returned to the national paddock and delivered an impressive third-place finish with just two marks. Myers had missed the Western rounds and approached Ohio without the championship pressure facing some of his competitors.
The venue also held personal significance. Myers made his national debut there in 2015, when relentless rain turned the event into a muddy survival test.
“This was actually the site of my first national ever in 2015, and it rained all weekend long and it was a mud bath; it was brutal!” Myers said.
Ryon Land finished fourth with seven marks, followed by Trials Superstore’s Murphy Aaron and TrialStoreUSA’s Alex Niederer.
In Women’s Pro, GasGas’s Maddie Hoover continued the dominance she had established throughout 2026. After sweeping Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado, Hoover arrived in Ohio undefeated and extended that streak with a 21-mark win Saturday.
Her closest challenger was returning Beta USA rider Louise Forsley, competing in her first NATC national since 2019. Forsley finished second with 36 marks as she adapted to both the demanding Expert Sportsman line and her new Beta Sincro Factory.
“I was pushed today, which is good. I needed that, and I proved to myself that I’m still capable of that,” Forsley said. “I’m still happy with my riding because I didn’t have many expectations, so being able to exceed those expectations is a good feeling.”
Forsley’s Massachusetts upbringing gave her familiarity with the Eastern terrain, although years spent riding out West had influenced her technique. Her return also added another experienced competitor to a Women’s Pro field that had seen Abigail Buzzelli step up to the premier Women’s class for 2026.
Buzzelli finished third Saturday with 119 marks, continuing her development against some of the country’s most accomplished female trials riders.
The weather changed everything overnight.
Rain arrived Saturday evening and continued through the night, soaking the previously dry soil and stripping traction from hillsides and rocks. Sections that had been manageable Saturday suddenly required careful line selection, momentum, and a willingness to commit when the motorcycle began to slide.
Even the previously straightforward loop became challenging.
Haga, now facing considerably tougher conditions, returned determined to finish the championship on a high note. The Norwegian responded with a commanding Sunday win, scoring 51 marks across three loops to beat Casales by 14.
Casales finished second with 65 marks, ending his championship-winning campaign with six victories from eight rounds. Haga’s win gave him his second victory of the season and brought the championship full circle, after he also won the opening round at Kairos.
Land delivered one of Sunday’s strongest performances, finishing third with 66 marks, just one behind Casales. The Sherco rider had struggled with concentration Saturday but found the more challenging conditions suited his riding.
“The conditions changed dramatically. It rained all night and left us with a very muddy trials,” Land said. “The sections were a lot tougher today, which actually made us take points. It was nice because we didn’t have to worry about tricky little mistakes happening.”
Myers finished fourth with 82 marks, followed by Aaron, Niederer and TrialStoreUSA’s Josh Roper.
The Women’s Pro class experienced an even more dramatic increase in scores. Hoover, who surrendered just 21 marks Saturday, finished with 111 Sunday as conditions deteriorated. Nevertheless, she remained comfortably ahead of Forsley, who finished with 136.
The victory completed Hoover’s perfect season: eight wins from eight rounds, spanning everything from Virginia’s challenging opener to Colorado’s exposed granite and Ohio’s slippery hillsides.
Forsley’s two runner-up finishes marked an encouraging return to national competition, while Buzzelli’s weekend ended with a Sunday DNF.
The changing conditions also shuffled the Expert standings. Beta USA’s Cole Cullins won Saturday with 18 marks, well ahead of Seth Vorseth and Tyler Mumford. Sunday proved considerably more difficult, with Mumford winning with 137 marks ahead of Vorseth and Thomas Keady.
After eight rounds across four states, the 2026 NATC championship had tested nearly every aspect of trials riding. Virginia demanded endurance and precise time management. New Mexico rewarded consistency on unfamiliar terrain. Colorado combined altitude, heat and intimidating granite obstacles. Ohio brought the season to a close with both a perfect-score shootout and a rain-soaked finale.
Through it all, Casales and Hoover emerged as the championship’s defining competitors, each securing six and eight victories, respectively. But Haga’s final-day triumph reminded everyone that even the most dominant championship campaigns can end with a challenger on the top step.
For the NATC paddock, the Ohio Buckeye National was a fitting conclusion to a season where conditions rarely stayed predictable, and success required more than knowing how to clear an obstacle. It demanded adaptability, patience and the ability to make the right decision when everything beneath the tires changed.CN
2026 AMA NATC National MotoTrials Rounds 7-8 Results
DAY 1 (Top 5)
- Jorge Casales (TRS) 0
- Sondre Haga (GG) 0.5
- Alexander Myers (TRS) 2
- Ryon Land (She) 7
- Murphy Aaron (GG) 24
DAY 2 (Top 5)
- Sondre Haga (GG) 51
- Jorge Casales (TRS) 65
- Ryon Land (She) 66
- Alexander Myers (TRS) 82
- Murphy Aaron (GG) 108
