July 2026 On the Pegs Magazine

GARCIA UNSTOPPABLE IN FAFE

PLUS

• HEWC Silver Kings

• Squamish Hard EnduroBritish Columbia, Canada

• A Tale of Two Baylors

• 20 Years of Highland Trials Tradition ... and much more!

OWN THE WOODS

Experience immediate, crisp throttle response on the trail with the new Beta 250 and 300 RR X-PRO 2-stroke models. Tackle the toughest terrain with absolute confidence thanks to a lower 36.6-inch seat height, fatigue reducing softer grips, and an SHC front fork specifically tuned for single-track plushness. Designed for ultimate rider convenience, these versatile machines also come fully equipped with variable oil injection to eliminate fuel pre-mixing and a new toolless rear shock for easy, on-the-fly adjustments.

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF // ADVERTISING MANAGER:

Steph Vetterly: stephanie@onthepegsmagazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Brian Pierce // Seat Time

Nigel Parker

Josh Roper

Alex Niederer

Ryan McCasland // Calafia Concepts

Pep Segales

Future7Media

Mack Faint

Matt Musgrove

Owen Gorsuch // O.GoIllustrated

John Moffat

Iain Lawrie

Tyler Shepardson

Art Pepin

Josh Shucker

Lost in a Photograph

Paula Kyle-Stephens

Emily Reichart

On the Pegs is covering the events, personalities, and machinery of GNCC, enduro, trials and more with beautiful photography in a free monthly digital magazine.

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On the Pegs is published monthly by On the Pegs, LLC On the Pegs considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. On the Pegs is printed in the USA and all rights are reserved. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. The articles contained in this magazine are works of journalism and do not represent the opinions or ideas of On the Pegs On the Pegs and the publisher assume no responsibility for the content of advertisements. Print copies of this publication are available via www.on-the-pegs.com; price will vary due to issue length and printer service utilized. check

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DIRT BIKE ROAD TRIP! AWESOME ALABAMA SINGLE TRACK

WORDS & PHOTOS

My son and I trekked from North Texas to Huntsville so he could attend Aviation Challenge at Space Camp. We had a good time traveling across the southern states together, taking the time to smell the roses. Once he was settled, I headed south from Huntsville to Birmingham to meet up with a friend I met last year traveling the National Enduro Series.

I wish I could tell you where we rode, but I have no idea. I was told to meet him at a gas station and then I followed him to where we unloaded. Now that I type that, it’s a good thing I didn’t wind up dead in a ditch somewhere, haha!

As the story goes, Lee has been riding in this area since the 80’s. He said a lot of the trails are the same as when he rode them at a younger age. That’s some pretty cool history for him, as well as his sons that have also ridden there over the years.

We were riding in the late afternoon, and the heat did it’s number on us. We rode for a few hours, and loaded up as the sun was setting. This was an epic dirt bike road trip experience that I wish I could make happen more often.

ALABAMA SINGLE TRACK IS TECHNICAL

For those who don’t know, I grew up racing the SERA Series with my dad Stephen Pierce. I have ridden and raced at a few different Alabama properties from the 80’s and 90’s (until college of course). I always thought Maplesville and Clanton were the harder enduros on the circuit. We were based out of New Orleans, so we had zero elevation or rocks to ride and practice on.

Now that I got a taste of some of the fun trails the Alabama riders get to practice on, I understand why they were, and still are, so good in the tighter, more technical terrain. Now a days in North Texas we have some technical riding, but the elevation and the twisty nature of these trails is something special. Don’t take it for granted y’all!

RYAN SIPES AND CAIRO, GA

After a few hours of work online I rolled south to Cairo, GA to meet up with Ryan Sipes. We did some riding

and we did some training. I’ll have some footage from that out after I get home, some time next week; be on the look out!

Don’t take the time we have for granted. Find a riding buddy, get on the bike, and make some memories. I’m very thankful for the time I have been given this week.

UTILITY CAN CADDY

I also wanted to drop a reminder that the Utility Can Caddy is on ebay now for purchase. The Seat Time Shop was shut down late last year due to not selling enough to make it worth it. I still have 200+ UCC’s though, and I would prefer they go to riders and racers who want to get themselves organized.

Six Days in the Scottish Highlands

STEPH VETTERLY COURTESY NIGEL PARKER, JOSH ROPER, AND ALEX NIEDERER

The Scottish Six Days Trial is one of those events that is difficult to explain with a results sheet.

The final standings will tell you where each rider finished and how many marks they collected, but they cannot show the full story. They do not capture the hours spent riding across open moorland, the long stretches of public road, the mechanical problems, the changing weather, or the exhaustion that builds after several days on the motorcycle.

For six straight days, the Scottish asks riders to manage just about everything. They need the technical ability to handle the sections, the fitness to survive the long days, and the patience to avoid turning one small mistake into a much bigger problem.

In Episode 6 of the On the Pegs Podcast, host Abigail Buzzelli sits down with Nigel Parker, Alex Niederer, and Josh Roper to talk about their experiences at the 2026 Scottish Six Days Trial. The three riders arrived in Scotland with different levels of experience, but each came away with stories that show exactly why the SSDT is unlike almost any other trials event.

Their conversation is not just about scores and finishing positions. It is about crashes, mechanical issues, long days, difficult sections, and the small victories that kept them moving forward.

Based in Fort William, the Scottish sends competitors deep into the Highlands each day. Riders may cover close to 100 miles before returning

to town, combining public roads, rough tracks, remote moor crossings, and groups of observed sections spread throughout the route.

The sections are only part of the challenge.

Before riders can attempt a rocky stream or muddy climb, they first have to get there. That can mean spending hours on the bike while carrying tools, food, fuel, and anything else they may need along the way. Once the final section is finished, the day is not necessarily over. Riders still need to return to Fort William, work on the motorcycle, eat, recover, and prepare to do it all again the next morning.

There is not much time to relax.

The SSDT also uses traditional no-stop rules, meaning riders

must maintain forward motion through each section. That adds pressure to every line choice. A moment of hesitation can quickly turn into a five, while a poor approach may leave a rider without enough momentum to complete a slippery climb or tight turn.

The terrain can change throughout the day as well. Rocks that look clean may be covered in water, mud, or moss. Streambeds become polished as more motorcycles pass through them. Early riders may find a section in relatively good condition, while later competitors face deeper holes, loose rocks, and lines that have been completely torn apart.

Nothing stays the same for long.

Parker entered the event as a first-time Scottish competitor.

Along with learning the route and daily routine, he also had to adapt to riding a rented motorcycle. That is a major task at an event where comfort and reliability are so important.

For a newcomer, even the schedule can take time to understand. Riders need to learn how quickly they must move between groups, how long they can spend waiting at a section, where to refuel, and how to manage their time without burning too much energy early in the week.

The opening days are not simply about riding well. They are also about figuring out how the Scottish works.

You can watch videos, study maps, read old reports, and talk to riders who have competed before, but there is no real substitute for experiencing the event yourself. The size of the challenge becomes clear once the riders leave Fort William on Monday morning and realize just how much ground lies ahead.

Parker’s stories capture that mix of excitement and uncertainty. Everything is new, from the route to the sections to the evening routine. Every day brings another lesson.

Niederer came into the week with previous SSDT experience, giving him a better understanding of how the event develops over six days. Experience does not make the Scottish easy, but it does help a rider know when to push and when to protect the bike.

It also helps riders recognize which days may have the biggest impact.

During the podcast, Niederer highlights Thursday and the Loch Shiel groups as an important part of the week. By Thursday, riders have already completed three long days. Bodies are tired, motorcycles have taken a beating, and small mistakes become harder to recover from.

That is often when the Scottish begins to separate riders who still have the energy to attack from those who are simply trying to keep their week together.

A rider may be brilliant in a single section, but the SSDT rewards something different. It rewards consistency. The rider who keeps moving, limits mistakes, and stays calm through six days is often in a much stronger position than someone who rides perfectly one moment and struggles the next.

Roper returned to Scotland with experience, high expectations, and a new Beta beneath him. He finished 31st overall on 91 marks, producing a strong result against an international field filled with riders who understand the Scottish’s unique demands.

Still, his finishing position only tells part of the story.

As Roper explains in the episode, plans can change quickly at the Scottish. A crash, a mechanical issue, or a delay on the road can completely reshape the day. A rider may start the morning focused on improving their result, only to spend the afternoon fighting to reach the finish before time runs out.

That ability to reset is a huge part of the event.

Trials riders are used to moving on from mistakes, but the Scottish gives them very little time to think about what went wrong. A five in one section cannot be carried into the next group. A crash on the moors has to be assessed, dealt with, and put behind them.

Even after a difficult day, riders still need to wake up and start again the following morning.

Parker, Niederer, and Roper are honest about the difficult moments, but they also bring plenty of humor to the conversation. Crashes that were frustrating at the

time become funny stories. Mechanical problems turn into shared memories. Moments that felt overwhelming during the week become part of what makes the experience unforgettable.

That is one of the best parts of the podcast episode. The riders do not pretend the Scottish is easy, but they also do not describe it as six days of misery. There is a clear sense that the challenge is exactly what draws people back.

The SSDT demands preparation, but there is no way to prepare for every possible problem. A motorcycle can be carefully built and still break. A rider can feel strong in the morning and completely drained by the afternoon. Weather, starting order, traffic, and changing section conditions can all affect the week.

Success often comes down to how well a rider responds when things stop going according to plan.

For American competitors, the Scottish also offers a chance to experience a very different style of trials. The long routes, no-stop rules, and natural section groups are far removed from the shorter loops and more controlled schedules found at many U.S. events.

Riders return home with a better understanding of machine preparation,

energy management, and the importance of staying patient during a long competition.

They also return with stories that would be almost impossible to create anywhere else.

The 2026 Scottish Six Days Trial tested Parker, Niederer, and Roper in different ways, but each became part of the same journey through the Highlands. Their experiences show why reaching the finish is such a meaningful achievement, no matter where a rider lands in the final results.

The Scottish is part trials competition, part endurance event, and part mechanical survival test. Talent matters, but resilience matters just as much.

For listeners, the episode offers a friendly and honest look at what happens beyond the section boundaries. The real story of the Scottish can be found on the roads, across the moors, in the evening maintenance sessions, and in the decision to get back on the motorcycle each morning.

The result matters, but finishing the week is a victory of its own.

WORDS

PHOTOS

STEPH VETTERLY RYAN MCCASLAND // CALAFIA CONCEPTS

JUNE 18-20, 2026

LOCATION: Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho

For more than two hours, the Thunder Bowl refused to choose a winner. Mitch Brightmore, Trystan Hart, and Manuel Lettenbichler traded the lead through the rocks, climbs, and off-cambers of Silver Mountain, each waiting for the mistake that might finally break the other two. It never came. Instead, the 2026 Silver Kings Hard Enduro was decided on the final approach to the King Slayer hillclimb.

Hart made the first decisive move. Just before the finish, the Canadian caught Brightmore and forced his way past, briefly putting himself in position to close the weekend with a second victory. Roughly 50 feet later, Brightmore answered. The young British rider found a way back by Hart, cleared the final climb, and crossed the line only 5.55 seconds ahead to claim his first FIM Hard Enduro World Championship victory.

It was the kind of finish Silver Kings had promised from the beginning: physical, unpredictable, and almost impossibly close.

Round three of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship brought the series to Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, Idaho, for three days of racing that demanded a completely different skill set each time the riders lined up. Thursday rewarded explosive SuperEnduro speed. Friday stretched the field across a single, massive mountain loop. Saturday compressed the survivors into a multi-lap fight where traffic, fatigue, line choice, and the looming King Slayer could change the race in seconds.

With 33 championship points available across the weekend, there was no harmless day and no easy route through Idaho.

The transatlantic trip added another layer. European teams worked from temporary setups

and, in some cases, relied on rental motorcycles and vehicles. Around them, Silver Kings carried the energy of a major American hard enduro, with a downtown bike parade, autograph session, and a crowd eager to see the championship regulars matched against North American standouts such as Hart, Ryder LeBlond, and Jonny Walker.

Walker was the first rider to take control.

Thursday’s Super Kings

Prologue placed the field on a short SuperEnduro-style circuit filled with man-made obstacles and sprint-race consequences. Riders received two qualifying attempts before the fastest 20 advanced into the evening final. The laps were short, traffic arrived

quickly, and every hesitation cost ground.

Walker looked completely at home. The Triumph rider set the standard and carried that speed into the final, taking the prologue win in front of a packed crowd. Mitch Brightmore finished second, Hart took third, and Ashton Brightmore followed in fourth.

Championship leader Lettenbichler endured a much less comfortable opening and finished 10th, leaving himself with work to do when the race moved from the stadium-style course to the mountain.

Friday changed everything.

The Big Mountain Race sent the Gold riders onto a single 20-mile loop featuring more than 12,000 feet of climbing and over 11,500 feet of descent. Twelve checkpoints carried the field from muddy creek beds near the valley floor to steep, broken climbs higher on Silver Mountain.

Unlike a multi-lap race, there was no later opportunity to recover from a poor line or a mechanical delay. One pass through the mountain would determine the result.

Hart attacked it with authority.

The five-time U.S. Hard Enduro champion completed the course in 1:51:45, winning by 2 minutes, 46 seconds while avoiding the costly problems waiting throughout the course.

Lettenbichler produced the response expected from a championship leader. Starting from a less favorable position after the prologue, the German steadily worked forward and finished second in 1:54:32. He did not erase Hart’s advantage, but he transformed a difficult Thursday into a strong mountain result and placed himself directly into the center of Saturday’s fight.

Brightmore’s Friday was less straightforward. He started aggressively and briefly led the field before a minor technical issue forced him to surrender time. Once the bike was adjusted, he returned to pace, but Hart and Lettenbichler were already gone.

Brightmore reached the finish third, 12 minutes behind Hart, with Ashton Brightmore only 38 seconds farther back in fourth. Teodor Kabakchiev placed fifth, followed closely by LeBlond, Mario Roman, and prologue winner Walker.

Hart had won the mountain and entered the finale as the rider with the clearest momentum. Brightmore, however, had already shown enough speed to suggest Friday’s gap did not tell the full story.

Saturday’s Thunder Bowl

Finale made that clear almost immediately.

The final used a two-hour, multi-lap format over a course built to accumulate damage. Instead of one long journey across the mountain, riders repeatedly faced the same technical problems while the terrain deteriorated beneath them. Rocks moved. Holes deepened. Lines that worked

early became crowded or destroyed.

At the front, Brightmore, Hart, and Lettenbichler separated from the rest and turned the race into a private contest.

Brightmore frequently set the tone, but he could never escape. Lettenbichler remained close enough to pressure every decision, while Hart often settled behind the two championship contenders, watching their lines and preserving the option to attack late. The order changed repeatedly, yet the trio remained locked together as the race passed the two-hour mark.

Their pace was extraordinary. Kabakchiev, one of the most consistent riders in the championship, was the closest challenger behind them, but even he could not stay attached. By the finish, the Sherco rider was nearly 13 minutes behind the winner. At the front, victory was still measured in bike lengths.

Hart described his approach afterward with characteristic simplicity.

“We had a three-way battle for pretty much the whole two hours, going back and forth—I was more sitting at the back, just chilling, watching the boys do work.”

That patience nearly won him the race.

On the run toward King Slayer, Hart caught Brightmore and made the pass. For a few seconds, the weekend appeared ready to belong to the Canadian. Brightmore refused to let it go. He countered almost immediately, reclaimed the position, and reached the summit first.

“I am speechless to be honest," Brightmore said after the finish. "My first win of the World Championship. What more can I say.”

Hart crossed the line five seconds later. Lettenbichler

completed the podium just over one minute behind Brightmore, a margin that reflected how decisively the three leaders had broken the rest of the field.

For Lettenbichler, third was not the win, but it was another valuable result on a weekend that began with a 10th-place prologue.

“The racing was good, and I’m stoked with third place,” Lettenbichler said. “That was probably one of the tightest races we have had in the last two or three years.”

Kabakchiev finished fourth and continued to build a championship campaign based on consistency. Ashton Brightmore completed the top five, giving the X-GRIP GASGAS team two riders inside the first five and strengthening his Junior championship position.

LeBlond was the final rider to complete all six laps and the finish in sixth, with Matthew Green seventh. Lorenzo Gandola finished ninth despite injuring his shoulder during the prologue and managing the pain throughout the remainder of his first race in the United States.

Beyond the Gold race, Silver Kings delivered deep competition across its supporting divisions.

Makana Barger won the Knights A class on the opening off-road day, then returned to lead the combined Silver field on day two by more than eight minutes. Sandra Gómez dominated the Silver Queen division on the first mountain stage and finished sixth among all Silver-course riders the following day.

In Bronze competition, Cooper Arave led the opening day’s Barbarians class, while Leed Lulis turned the tables on day two, taking the combined Bronze victory by just over 10 seconds. Alice Albrecht won Valkyries, and Casey May topped the Youth Lites field.

Across every class, riders faced the same equation: manage the terrain, protect the motorcycle, and keep moving when the course began taking more than it gave back.

For the world championship, Brightmore’s breakthrough changed the shape of the season. Lettenbichler left Idaho still leading with 88 points, but Brightmore moved to 75 and reduced the gap to 13. Kabakchiev remained third

with 68, Ashton Brightmore climbed to 49, and Roman held fifth with 48.

What had begun to look like a controlled title defense after Lettenbichler’s perfect weekend in Portugal now carried fresh tension into the second half of the year.

Silver Kings asked the championship to adapt to American terrain, American scale, and three dramatically

different forms of racing. Walker mastered the sprint. Hart conquered the mountain. But when the weekend narrowed to one final hill and one last exchange, Brightmore found the answer.

The next round takes the series to Sweden for the inaugural Forza Orza Hard Enduro on

August 20–22. Idaho will be difficult to follow. Silver Kings did not simply produce a firsttime winner. It delivered a race that remained alive until the final feet—and a championship fight that suddenly feels just as close.

EVENT RESULTS

1. Jonny Walker - 7:44.44

2. Mitch Brightmore - 7:49.73

3. Trystan Hart - 7:50.75

4. Ashton Brightmore - 7:54.64

5. Ryder LeBlond - 8:01.51

6. Eddie Karlsson - 8:03.77

7. Toby Martyn 0 8:05.53

8. Braxton Hintze - 8:07.05

9. Teodor Kabakchiev - 8:13.16

10. Manuel Lettenbichler - 8:20.67

1. Mitch Brightmore (GG) - 2:1641

2. Trystan Hart (KTM) - 2:16:47

1. Trystan Hart - 1:51:45

2. Manuel Lettenbichler - 1:54:32

3. Mitch Brightmore - 2:03:47

4. Ashton Brightmore - 2:04:25

5. Teodor Kabakchiev - 2:04:41

6. Ryder LeBlond - 2:04:43

7. Mario Román - 2:05:06

8. Jonny Walker - 2:06:15

9. Matthew Green - 2:07:12

10. James Moore - 2:15:06

3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) - 2:17:45

4. Teodor Kabakchiev (SHR) - 2:29:34

5. Ashton Brightmore (GG) - 2:31:43

6. Ryder LeBlond (HSQ) - 2:39:08

7. Matthew Green (KTM) - 2:41:07

8. Eddie Karlsson (STK) - 2:45:23

9. Lorenzo Gandola (SHR, -1 lap) - 2:10:42

10. Huddy Kawelo (KTM, -1 lap) - 2:13:43

Gear: helmets, jerseys, pants & protectors

Parts: Jitsie, OEM plus various aftermarket parts

Bikes: Beta, Electric Motion, Vertigo & TRS

BOU'S Perfect Run Rolls Through Europe

ROUND 2 - Andorra

LOCATION: Sant Julià de Lòria

WORDS PHOTOS

The 2026 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship left Japan with a new rulebook, a familiar championship leader and more than a few unanswered questions. Two rounds later, after the series climbed into the thin air of Andorra and then baked beneath the Italian sun, one answer had become painfully clear for the rest of the TrialGP field: Toni Bou had not lost a step.

Rounds two and three could hardly have looked more different. Sant Julià de Lòria offered towering rocks, steep wooded slopes and a course rising beyond 1,600 meters above sea level. Camerino followed one week later with extreme heat, polished rock and loose shale that offered about as much grip as a box of marbles. Yet Bou solved both

ROUND 3 - Italy

LOCATION: Camerino

STEPH VETTERLY PEP SEGALES

tests with the same ruthless precision, winning all eight TrialGP races across the two weekends and extending his perfect start to 12 victories from 12 races.

The result was another chapter in Bou’s long reign, but these two rounds were about more than one rider’s dominance. Gabriel Marcelli rebuilt his season with four secondplace finishes in Andorra, Jack Peace earned the first TrialGP podium of his career, Miquel Gelabert continued to push Honda’s electric RTL into the fight at the front, and the women’s championship swung back and forth between Berta Abellan and Andrea Sofia Rabino. Behind them, Trial2 remained wonderfully unpredictable, with a rotating cast of winners and a breakthrough weekend for Harry Turner in Italy.

Following the opening round in Japan, the FIM made several adjustments to the new TrialGP format. All premier-class riders would now advance into the Final and Super Final, scores would carry from the Final into the Super Final, and Super Pole would help determine starting position while also serving as an additional tie-breaker. Trial2 and Trial3 Junior riders also joined the Friday Super Test. The changes did not simplify the racing, but they gave each day a clearer rhythm and ensured that one early mistake did not automatically end a rider’s challenge.

Andorra was the first opportunity to see the revised system at work. The Pyrenean round returned after a year away, and the terrain was every bit as severe as expected. The altitude robbed engines of power and riders of oxygen, while the steep mountainside sections demanded total commitment. For Bou, who lives in Andorra, the event

carried the added pressure of performing at home.

Bou dropped only five marks in Saturday’s opening race, winning by 15 over Repsol Honda HRC teammate Marcelli. Matteo Grattarola and Peace both finished on 25, with the Italian taking third on the tie-break, while Jaime Busto completed the top five. Bou’s only real stumble came in Super Pole, where an untidy ride pushed him forward in the starting order instead of allowing him to watch the full field.

It made no difference.

The opening hazard of the Final stopped nearly everyone. Marcelli was the only rider to match Bou’s clean, and the pair immediately separated themselves from the field. Bou completed the Final without a mark, then carried that control into the Super Final. One observation mark and two time penalties left him on three, eight clear of Marcelli. Busto took third, but the gap to the leading Honda pair showed how completely Bou

and Marcelli had controlled the day.

Marcelli’s result was especially important. Two early fives in the first race could have unraveled his afternoon, but he regrouped, climbed back to second and then won Super Pole. It was the kind of recovery that had been missing during a difficult opening weekend in Japan. Rather than allowing the mistakes to compound, he reset and returned to the front.

Sunday took Bou’s performance from dominant to almost absurd. He lost one mark in the opening 12-section race and none in the Final or Super Final. Across both points-paying races, the reigning champion surrendered a single dab. Marcelli again finished second in both, while Peace delivered the ride of his young TrialGP career.

Peace placed third in Sunday’s opening race on 18, only two marks behind Marcelli. In the second race, he produced a determined three on the opening section when most of

the field failed, then stayed in the fight through the Final and Super Final. Miquel Gelabert ultimately beat him on a tiebreak for fourth in that race, but Peace’s combined results were enough to secure third overall for the day—his first TrialGP podium.

“The Andorra and Italy rounds were a positive step forward for me,” Peace later said. “Securing my first-ever TrialGP podium in Andorra was a special milestone, and although Italy proved more challenging, I was able to stay competitive and fight close to the podium once again.”

Gelabert’s fourth-place Sunday finish was another reminder that the RTL Electric project is no longer simply an experiment. After a difficult Saturday, he changed his approach, rode with more confidence and stayed in the podium fight throughout Sunday. The electric Honda still faced the same towering steps and steep climbs as every combustion-powered machine, but Gelabert was beginning to make top-five finishes feel normal rather than exceptional.

While Bou owned TrialGP, Rabino seized control of the women’s competition. She split Saturday’s race wins with defending champion Abellan, taking the overall on a tie-break, then swept both races Sunday. Rabino’s fourrace run in Andorra—second, first, first, first—cut Abellan’s championship advantage from 17 points to 11 and sent the Italian toward her home round with real momentum.

Trial2 was far less orderly. Billy Green won Saturday’s opening race and the day’s overall, while Benoit Bincaz put the Electric Motion on top in race two. On Sunday, Gerard Trueba became the fifth different Trial2 race winner of the season, but Bincaz recovered from seventh to win race two and the overall. Alex Canales left Andorra still holding the championship lead, though the depth of the class made consistency nearly impossible.

The Trial3 Junior championship also began in Andorra. Fabio Mazzola took Saturday’s overall after winning race one, while Harison Skelton answered Sunday with a race win and the overall to move into the points lead. American Ryon Land, the 2025 Trial3 champion, continued his adjustment to Trial2 with 17th on Saturday and a much stronger 10th on Sunday. There was no time to rest. One week later, the paddock arrived in Camerino for the first World Championship trial held there since 1992. If Andorra rewarded balance, altitude preparation and commitment on massive rock, Italy demanded patience. The

hillsides were steep, loose and almost gripless. Rear tires spun against polished rock and shale, and soaring temperatures added another layer of fatigue.

Bou entered Italy with 160 points and eight consecutive race victories. Saturday’s opening race showed that his perfect run could still be threatened. He lost five marks in the loose gully of Section 6 and another five in Section 12, but his total of 16 was still 11 better than home favorite Grattarola. Gelabert placed third on 29, putting the electric Honda onto a premier-class race podium, while Busto and Luca Petrella completed the top five. Marcelli struggled late and finished sixth.

The second race was the closest Bou came to defeat across the two rounds.

Grattarola, pushed by a loud Italian crowd, matched him through the middle of the course and briefly moved ahead. A brilliant single dab in Section 6 pulled the Beta rider level as Bou took a five, and Grattarola then cleaned the next two hazards while Bou added six more.

For a few sections, the impossible looked possible.

Then the final sequence arrived. Both riders failed Section 9, but Bou closed with a one, a clean and another one. Grattarola added 12 marks over those final three hazards. Bou finished on 22 after time

penalties, only two clear of the Italian, but the result preserved the streak. Busto took third, while Marcelli recovered to win the tie-break for fourth over Gelabert.

Sunday began with Bou again applying pressure from the opening section. He stayed clean through the first five hazards and completed the race on six, nine clear of Busto. Gelabert took third, Peace improved to fourth and Grattarola finished fifth.

Marcelli’s race was compromised almost immediately. A crash in the opening section injured his hand, and he battled through the pain to finish sixth. With little time before the second

race, he and the team changed strategy. Instead of protecting the result, Marcelli attacked.

He led after the opening five sections and kept Bou under pressure through the middle of the course. Bou drew level with a clean in Section 8, then found another gear as the remaining contenders began to unravel. The champion finished on eight. Two late maximums pushed Marcelli to 19, but he still secured second, three marks ahead of an impressive Hugo Dufrese.

“It was a positive result today, despite the problems at the start,” Marcelli said. “I had a pretty bad crash at Zone 1, right at the beginning of the first lap. I hurt my hand, but despite that, I managed to pull through. On the second lap, we

opted for a different strategy. I felt much better, and I was able to dig deep.”

Italy also flipped the TrialGP Women story. After losing three of four races to Rabino in Andorra, Abellan responded with a clean sweep in Camerino. She won both Saturday races with totals of six and seven, then repeated Sunday with scores of six and four. Rabino remained a clear second throughout the weekend, but Abellan’s precision on the pivotal loose sections restored her authority at the front.

Trial2 produced another dramatic shift. Bincaz won Saturday’s overall after taking race one, while George Hemingway claimed race two with only four

marks. On Sunday, Turner delivered the breakthrough of the weekend. The Sherco rider won race one on four and race two on three, earning his first Trial2 podium and first overall victory at the same time.

“It felt amazing today,” Turner said. “It’s not only my first-ever win in Trial2, it’s my first-ever podium, so I’m very, very happy.”

Mazzola made Camerino his own in Trial3 Junior. Racing in front of his home crowd, the Italian swept both Saturday races, then finished first and second Sunday to strengthen his championship lead. Trial2 Women also joined the series in Italy, where Queralt Fontdevila used four consecutive second-place finishes to win both daily overalls. Matilda Arbon, Abril Montserrat Junque and Justyna Lonycz split the individual race victories, but Fontdevila’s consistency put her at the top of the early standings.

Land continued to make progress in Trial2, moving

from 16th on Saturday to 11th Sunday. The results did not tell the entire story. Italy exposed every weakness with its loose climbs and time pressure, yet the American finished the weekend stronger than he started it—a valuable step during his first season in the class.

After three rounds, Bou holds 240 points and remains perfect in every TrialGP race. Marcelli sits second with 170, while Gelabert leaves Italy fifth with 142 after recording three fourth-place daily finishes across his final three days in Andorra and Camerino. The numbers suggest a championship already leaning heavily in Bou’s direction, but the details offer reasons to keep watching. Marcelli is recovering from mistakes faster, Peace has broken through, Gelabert’s electric Honda is regularly fighting at the front, and Grattarola proved in Italy that Bou can still be pushed to the final section.

EVENT RESULTS*

ROUND 2 - ANDORRA (TOTAL DABS)

SATURDAY - TRIALGP

1. Toni Bou - 8

2. Gabriel Marcelli - 31

3. Jaime Busto - 60

4. Matteo Grattarola - 65

5. Jack Peace - 62

6. Miquel Gelabert - 65

7. Harry Hemingway - 64

8. Hugo Dufrese - 89

9. Sondre Haga - 90

SATURDAY - TRIALGP WOMEN

1. Andrea Sofia Rabino - 33

2. Berta Abellan - 34

3. Alycia Soyer - 47

4. Denisa Pechackova - 65

5. Alica Minta - 68

6. Kaytlyn Adshead - 75

7. Alessia Bacchetta - 74

8. Nikita Smith - 84

9. Alicia Robinson - 98

10. Sophie Bailey - 116

SUNDAY - TRIALGP

1. Toni Bou - 1

2. Gabriel Marcelli - 33

3. Jack Peace - 48

4. Miquel Gelabert - 50

5. Matteo Grattarola - 48

6. Jaime Busto - 62

7. Hugo Dufrese - 77

8. Harry Hemingway - 71

9. Sondre Haga - 88

SUNDAY - TRIALGP WOMEN

1. Andrea Sofia Rabino - 23

2. Berta Abellan - 32

3. Alycia Soyer - 40

4. Denisa Pechackova - 41

5. Alice Minta - 40

6. Alessia Bacchetta - 48

7. Kaytlyn Adshead - 65

8. Nikita Smith - 83

9. Alicia Robinson - 83

10. Sophie Bailey - 94

ROUND 3 - ITALY (TOTAL DABS)

SATURDAY - TRIALGP

1. Toni Bou - 38

2. Matteo Grattarola - 51

3. Jaime Busto - 62

4. Miquel Gelabert - 61

5. Gabriel Marcelli - 72

6. Luca Petrella - 76

7. Jack Peace - 86

8. Sondre Haga - 79

9. Harry Hemingway - 80

10. Hugo Dufrese - 86

SATURDAY - TRIALGP WOMEN

1. Berta Abellan - 13

2. Andrea Sofia Rabino - 33

3. Alice Minta - 52

4. Kaytlyn Adshead - 52

5. Denisa Pechackova - 54

6. Alycia Soyer - 57

7. Alessia Bacchetta - 64

8. Sophia Ter jung - 72

9. Alicia Robinson - 79

10. Nikita Smith - 83

SUNDAY - TRIALGP

1. Toni Bou - 14

2. Gabriel Marcelli - 51

3. Jaime Busto - 42

4. Miquel Gelabert - 45

5. Jack Peace - 50

6. Matteo Grattarola - 54

7. Hugo Dufrese - 54

8. Harry Hemingway - 63

9. Sondre Haga - 74

10. Luca Petrella - 77

SUNDAY - TRIALGP WOMEN

1. Berta Abellan - 10

2. Andrea Sofia Rabino - 17

3. Alessia Bacchetta - 31

4. Denisa Pechackova - 34

5. Alice Minta - 35

6. Kaytlyn Adshead - 40

7. Alycia Soyer - 48

8. Sophia Ter Jung - 51

9. Alicia Robinson - 62

10. Nikita Smith - 73

Garcia doubles down in fafe

ROUND 5

LOCATION: Fafe, Portugal

F or the second straight weekend, the EnduroGP paddock woke beneath the Portuguese sun in Fafe. The trucks had not moved, and the dust from round four still seemed to hang over the city. Yet round five was no repeat. Organizers sent the 113-rider field onto an entirely new course southeast of Fafe, with fresh Cross, Enduro, and Extreme Tests. Only Friday night’s Akrapovic Super Test

remained in the city center, and even that was reversed.

The unchanged paddock offered teams a welcome break from travel, but the racing gave no one time to relax. The heat remained, and as the ground broke apart through the weekend, speed alone was not enough. Riders needed precision, patience, and the ability to keep attacking when visibility disappeared into clouds of powder.

Josep Garcia arrived with a 22-point EnduroGP lead after sharing round-four victories with Zach Pichon. Andrea Verona needed to rebound from a difficult 3-5 weekend, while Steve Holcombe was looking for redemption after a technical problem cost him a likely podium. In Women’s Enduro, Rachel Gutish carried a 28-point advantage and stood within reach of a second consecutive world title.

STEPH VETTERLY FUTURE7MEDIA WORDS PHOTOS

Friday night offered the first indication that Garcia had no interest in protecting his advantage through caution. With the Super Test running in reverse, the Red Bull KTM rider again found the fastest line. Pichon placed second, while Julien Roussaly produced an impressive run to take third ahead of Sherco teammate Holcombe. Verona completed the top five.

Gutish topped the Women’s Super Test by 2.76 seconds over Lorna Lafont, with Nieve Holmes third. Will Dennett led Junior, while less than two seconds covered the top five in Youth. Yago Dominguez took that win by 0.53 seconds.

Saturday’s 8 a.m. start brought no easing into the day. Garcia attacked the opening Polisport Extreme Test and immediately led Hamish Macdonald and Holcombe by 2.79 seconds. It

was a small margin, but it put everyone else into chase mode before the first lap had taken shape.

Verona answered in the GMOTO Enduro Test and again in the Expotrade Cross Test. By the end of the lap, the Italian had climbed into second and reduced Garcia’s lead to 1.14 seconds. He was matching Garcia test for test and forcing the championship leader to keep taking risks.

Pichon joined the fight on the second Extreme Test. Holcombe then won the second Enduro Test, while Verona answered with another Cross Test victory. Entering the third and final lap, only 11 seconds separated Garcia, Verona, Holcombe, and Pichon.

Garcia responded before any of his rivals could land another blow. He won the final Extreme Test and built the

buffer he needed. Behind him, Pichon launched the strongest late charge, winning the final Enduro and Cross Tests.

Garcia stopped the clock at 54 minutes, 57.49 seconds to

PREVIOUS: Josep Garcia (26)

THIS PAGE: Andrea Verona (99), Krystof Kouble (123), Albin Elowson (195)

win by 8.64 seconds. Verona held second, but Pichon finished only 0.20 seconds behind him. After nearly 55 minutes of timed racing, the gap between second and third was barely more than a blink. Holcombe finished fourth, while Macdonald completed the top five.

Garcia’s victory was his ninth consecutive win in Enduro1. Morgan Lesiardo beat Jeremy Sydow by 10 seconds for second in class. Verona claimed Enduro2 by the same 0.20-second margin separating him from Pichon overall, with Macdonald third. Holcombe won Enduro3 ahead of Roussaly, giving Sherco a one-two, while Albin Norrbin took third.

Saturday also produced one of the weekend’s defining performances in Women’s Enduro. Shelby Turner had arrived in Fafe one week

earlier as a wildcard with no prior EnduroGP experience. Her résumé included seven AMA EnduroCross championships, an AMA Hard Enduro title, and eight FIM 6 Days gold medals, but EnduroGP still required an adjustment. Two runner-up finishes at round four proved she belonged at the front. At round five, she became the rider everyone else had to chase.

By the end of Saturday’s first lap, Turner had built a oneminute lead over Portugal’s Joana Goncalves. Gutish sat another 20 seconds behind in third. Gutish worked her way into second, but Turner’s pace had already created a huge cushion.

Gutish fought back across the final two tests, reducing the gap to 28 seconds, but Turner had done enough. She became the first Canadian

rider to win an EnduroGP race and delivered Triumph its first Women’s Enduro victory. Gutish’s second place moved her closer to the title, while Goncalves gave the home crowd a podium in third. Elizabeth Tett finished fourth overall and won Junior Women.

Junior followed a similar story of momentum carried from round four. Leo Joyon had earned his first Junior victory the previous Sunday and immediately looked ready to repeat it. After finishing fifth in Friday’s Super Test, he won Saturday’s opening test by more than two seconds.

Joyon ran second at the end of lap one, then increased the pressure through the middle of the day. He moved into the lead on lap two and avoided the mistakes that trapped rivals as the ground became rougher.

Joyon won by more than 14 seconds for his second overall Junior victory of the season and also took Junior1 by 20 seconds. Romain Dagna rebounded from a difficult round four to finish second, holding off Alberto Elgari by

six seconds. Kevin Cristino placed fourth, with Alex Puey fifth.

In Youth, Pietro Scardina continued the run that had carried him into the championship lead. By the midpoint he held an 11-second advantage over Valentin Mersin. Scardina eventually won by nine seconds, with Simone Cagnoni third.

Sunday began with the same heat and dust, but the tests had changed. Two weekends of racing and almost no moisture had pulled the lines apart. Ruts deepened, bumps sharpened, and dust hid holes that had not

existed on Saturday morning. Conditions deteriorated far enough that officials cancelled the final Cross Test.

Garcia did not lead every test, but he controlled the day by building speed as the course worsened. Holcombe opened with the fastest Extreme Test, Garcia took the first Enduro Test, and Pichon led the opening Cross Test. Garcia then won the second Extreme and Enduro Tests while the riders behind him traded positions and mistakes.

By the final lap, Garcia had created a margin that allowed him to focus on clean execution. He finished at 48 minutes, 20.89 seconds, winning by 31.58 seconds. The victory completed an EnduroGP sweep in Fafe and extended his perfect Enduro1 season to 10 victories from 10 starts.

Behind him, Macdonald delivered one of his strongest rides of the year. Fifth after lap one, the New Zealander steadily worked through the order and entered the final lap in second. He then won the last Extreme Test before the cancellation of the final Cross Test locked in the result. Macdonald finished second overall and won Enduro2 for the second time in 2026.

Pichon secured third, finishing 10.14 seconds behind Macdonald and only 3.25 seconds ahead of Holcombe. Verona ended Sunday fifth, followed by Norrbin, Brad Freeman, and Kyron Bacon. Only 17 seconds separated Verona from Bacon. Lesiardo placed ninth, while Roussaly completed the top 10.

Holcombe’s fourth overall brought another Enduro3 win and completed a perfect Portuguese double-header in class. Across rounds four and five, the Sherco rider won all four Enduro3 race days. Norrbin finished second in class Sunday, with Freeman third. Freeman left Fafe leading Norrbin by one point and Holcombe by two with two rounds remaining.

Lesiardo completed another double runner-up weekend in Enduro1, while Sydow finished third for the second day in a row. Sydow briefly threatened the overall top 10 before mistakes dropped him to 11th, just over one second from 10th. Still, the result marked his fifth consecutive Enduro1 podium since returning from injury.

The Women’s race delivered an even more direct showdown Sunday. Gutish started fastest, winning the opening two tests and appearing ready to

close the championship with a victory. Turner changed the race in the first Cross Test, gaining 22 seconds on Gutish and turning a deficit into a 12-second lead as they began the second lap.

Gutish refused to settle for a safe championship ride. She won the next Extreme and Enduro Tests and reduced Turner’s advantage to 2.53 seconds before the final Cross Test. With the race resting on one last run, Turner again found the speed she needed. She topped the final test and completed a perfect 1-1 weekend.

Turner’s sweep was historic, but Gutish’s runner-up finish carried the larger championship consequence. The RIEJU Factory Team rider had done enough to clinch the Expotrade FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship with one round remaining. It was her second consecutive world title and continued a campaign built on recovering from early mistakes, winning when opportunities appeared, and remaining consistent when others encountered trouble.

Rosie Rowett completed Sunday’s Women’s podium, beating Goncalves by 1.34 seconds. Tett finished fifth overall and again won Junior Women.

Junior remained unsettled until officials cancelled the final Cross Test. Elgari led Joyon by eight seconds after the first lap and increased the margin to 10 after lap two. Joyon began another late attack, winning the final Extreme Test and taking more time back in the Enduro Test. The cancellation removed his final chance to continue the charge, leaving Elgari with the win and Joyon second. Thibault Giraudon finished third, only three seconds ahead of Cristino.

Joyon’s win and runner-up finish moved him to third in the Junior standings, only five points behind second. More importantly, the Portuguese double-header showed that his first victory was not an isolated breakthrough. He had become a consistent threat at the front.

Youth belonged to Scardina once again. He beat Mersin by 44 seconds Sunday, completing a clean sweep of all four race days across the two weekends in Fafe. Mersin took second, seven seconds ahead of Cagnoni, while Dominguez and Mille Soderblom completed the top five.

Round five ended with several championship stories moving in different directions. Garcia tightened his grip on EnduroGP and remained perfect in Enduro1. Gutish completed the biggest task of the weekend by securing her second world championship. Turner turned a wildcard appearance into two victories and a place in Canadian racing history. Macdonald left with renewed momentum, Holcombe transformed Enduro3 into a three-rider title fight, and Joyon proved he had become a genuine Junior contender.

EVENT RESULTS

1

2 1. Josep Garcia - 54:57.49

Andrea Verona - 55:06.13 3. Zachary Pichon - 55:06.33

Steven Holcombe - 55:28.32 5. Hamish MacDonald - 55:47.35 6. Julien Roussaly - 56:16.92 7. Albin Norrbin - 56:23.23 8. Brad Freeman - 56:41.40 9. Max Ahlin - 56:15.64 10. Morgan Lesiardo - 56:48.25

1. Josep Garcia - 48:20.89

2. Hamish MacDonald - 48:52.47

3. Zachary Pichon - 49:02.61

4. Steven Holcombe - 49:05.86

5. Andrea Verona - 49:32.44

6. Albin Norrbin - 49:39.23

7. Brad Freeman - 49:47.18

8. Kyron Bacon - 49:49.77

9. Morgan Lesiardo - 50:01.07

10. Julien Roussaly - 50:11.35

A Tale of Two

BAYLORS

ROUNDS 8 & 9

STEPH VETTERLY MACK FAINT WORDS PHOTOS

The 2026 Progressive Grand National Cross Country season reached its summer break with the Baylor brothers standing at the center of two very different races. At Watkins Glen International, Grant Baylor delivered a late-race charge and a finish measured in fractions of a second. Three weeks later, Steward Baylor conquered Snowshoe Mountain, checking off one of the few major GNCC victories still missing from his career and dragging himself back into the championship conversation after a brutal opening half of the season.

Together, rounds eight and nine showed the full range of GNCC racing. Watkins Glen was new, fast-moving, and unpredictable, a first-time stop filled with fresh lines and a frantic three-rider sprint to the flag. Snowshoe was the opposite: familiar, feared, and unforgiving. It asked riders to survive slick rock, loose climbs, tire changes, elevation, and fatigue. One round rewarded the rider who stayed close enough to strike. The next demanded a plan built before the green flag ever fell.

Watkins Glen carried history before the bikes even left the line. GNCC had not visited New York since 2019, and the series had never raced at the legendary facility. The inaugural event drew 2,430 competitors and wrapped an off-road national around one of American motorsports’ most recognizable venues.

Ben Kelley took control through the middle of the pro bike race and looked capable of turning the new stop into a statement win. The FMF KTM Factory Racing rider found his rhythm, moved to the front, and dictated the pace for several laps. Behind him, Grant Baylor, Liam Draper, and Steward Baylor remained close enough to keep the race unsettled. No one could afford to relax, and no gap ever felt secure.

Grant Baylor had spent much of the season fighting more

than the riders around him. He entered 2026 without a confirmed ride and had struggled to put himself where he wanted in the opening laps. Watkins Glen finally gave him the terrain, confidence, and opportunity to turn that frustration into something tangible. As the race moved toward its final laps, he came through the pack and into the fight for the win.

Kelley’s time at the front ended when the pace sharpened late. Draper and both Baylor brothers closed in, and the battle became less about controlling the race than surviving the final exchange. Grant found himself in the right position when it mattered. Draper stayed attached. Steward refused to let the two in front escape.

The result was one of the closest finishes of the season. Grant Baylor crossed the line first, with Draper second and Steward third, all three separated by less than one second. There was no room for celebration until the timing confirmed the order. For Grant, the victory was more than the first pro bike overall at

Watkins Glen. It was proof that he could still close a GNCC race against the strongest riders in the field.

His reaction carried the weight of the months that came before it. Baylor spoke openly about beginning the year without a ride and wanting to answer those who doubted whether he still belonged at the front. Watkins Glen gave him that answer. He had worked forward, trusted the course, and finished the job in the final moments.

Kelley finished fourth after leading much of the race, while Grant Davis completed the top five. Angus Riordan finished sixth overall and collected his third XC2 250 Pro victory. Ryder Lafferty took seventh, followed by XC2 riders Jason Tino and Jhak Walker. Josh Strang completed the top 10, while Cooper Jones earned top amateur honors in 16th overall and won 250 A.

The WXC race belonged to Danielle McDonald. The AmPro Yamaha rider controlled the 10 a.m. event and took the class victory ahead of Brandy Richards.

Korie Steede’s third-place finish came after an early crash forced the defending champion to regroup and charge back through the field. In the youth race, Phillip Arnold and Bentley Saxon traded the lead before Arnold secured his sixth overall youth victory of the season.

Watkins Glen sent the series toward Snowshoe with momentum moving in several directions. Grant Baylor had his breakthrough. Riordan had another XC2 win. The premier-class championship remained unsettled. Then the paddock arrived in West Virginia, where momentum matters only as long as a rider can keep a motorcycle moving up the mountain.

Snowshoe has never cared about reputations. Its rocks, roots, mud, elevation changes, and long climbs have a way of reducing every plan to the next few feet of trail. Riders can be fast everywhere else on the schedule and still leave the mountain beaten. Steward Baylor knew that better than most. He had been close before, but the overall win had remained out of reach.

This time, Baylor arrived with a detailed plan and the speed to make it work.

His race started with frustration after an early mistake, but the larger concern was already in the back of his mind. Baylor and his team knew they would need to change a rear tire. The strategy required him to build enough of a gap to absorb the stop, and for much of the race he did exactly that. He led, found speed on the technical backside of the course, and forced the rest of the field to chase.

By lap three, the advantage began to disappear. The worn tire stopped giving him what he needed, and the riders behind closed in. Baylor reached the pits with the race tightening, handed the motorcycle to a crew that had practiced tire changes

PREVIOUS: Steward Baylor Jr

LEFT: Jordan Ashburn (3)

repeatedly during the week, and returned to the course with fresh rubber for the final push.

The gamble worked. With traction restored, Baylor attacked the final two laps and earned his first Snowshoe overall victory. It was a milestone result, but its championship meaning was just as important. Three DNFs had threatened to bury his season. Instead, he entered the summer break only 12 points from the lead, carrying the kind of momentum that can reshape the final four rounds.

Behind him, Angus Riordan produced one of the strongest rides of his GNCC career. The XC2 rider finished second overall, beating nearly the entire XC1 field while taking the 250 Pro class victory. Riordan’s season had begun unevenly, but he had set a goal of reaching the summer break

THIS PAGE : Gus Riordan (6), Jason Tino (226), Grant Baylor

with the XC2 points lead. Snowshoe allowed him to do exactly that.

Riordan put himself in the lead train and stayed composed as the course deteriorated. His second overall confirmed that his XC2 championship lead was supported by outright speed, not simply class consistency.

Jordan Ashburn completed the overall podium and reclaimed the GNCC overall championship lead. The Phoenix Racing Honda rider came into Snowshoe after two difficult rounds and with a sore shoulder, yet he stayed patient in the slick, technical conditions. Steward Baylor escaped early, but Ashburn

EVENT RESULTS - WATKINS GLEN

OVERALL XC1 PRO

Grant Baylor (KAW)

Liam Draper (YAM)

Steward Baylor Jr (KAW)

Ben Kelley (KTM)

Grant Davis (KTM)

Ryder Lafferty (HON)

Strang (BET)

Delong (HSQ)

Kailub Russell (YAM)

Ashburn (HON)

OVERALL - WOMEN WXC

Danielle McDonald (YAM)

Brandy Richards (KTM)

Korie Steede (HSQ)

Jocelyn Barnes (HSQ)

Carly Lee (KTM)

Lilley Sheets (YAM)

Emma Smith (GG)

Addison Harris (KTM)

Taylor Johnston (TRI)

Elizabeth Allen (TM)

kept charging. When Riordan arrived, the pair pushed one another through the closing stages.

Third overall gave Ashburn the result he needed before the break. It also put both major GNCC points leads under the Phoenix Honda tent, with Ashburn leading the overall championship and Riordan on top in XC2. The advantage remains narrow, but the team will return in September carrying two reverse number plates.

Jhak Walker finished fourth overall and second in XC2. Grant Baylor followed in fifth and took third in XC1, putting both Baylor brothers on the premier-class podium. Joshua Toth, Grant Davis, Josh Strang, Craig DeLong, and Kelley completed the top 10. Cole Whitmer earned top

amateur honors in 11th overall, ahead of his brother Lane and Watkins Glen top amateur Cooper Jones.

Rain and changing conditions shaped the morning program. Gavin Abboud won the AM bike overall and the 150 B Schoolboy class, while Steede rebounded from her Watkins Glen third to win WXC at Snowshoe. Richards took second and McDonald, the Watkins Glen winner, finished third. Snowshoe’s youth race unfolded in rainy, slick conditions, and Ace Tokar fought back to take the overall and YXC1 victory ahead of Arnold and Gavin Harwell.

The two rounds left the championship in a much different place than it had been entering June. Grant Baylor used Watkins Glen to remind the paddock that he could still win from a crowded lead group. Steward Baylor used Snowshoe to prove that three DNFs had not ended his title hopes. Ashburn reclaimed the points lead. Riordan took control of XC2. Walker, Tino, Davis, Kelley, and the rest of the front pack remained close enough to matter when racing resumes.

GNCC now pauses until September 18-20, when the series returns at the John Penton in Millfield, Ohio. Four rounds remain. After a photo finish in New York and a survival test in West Virginia, the season enters its final stretch with no clear margin for comfort.

SERIES STANDINGS

OVERALL - WOMEN WXC

Steward Baylor Jr (KAW)

Jordan Ashburn (HON)

(KTM)

68 pts

Mar 6-8: Downhill Southeast Mtn Bike Race

Mar 28-29: Trials Training Days

May 16-17: Spring Splash Trial (STRA)

Jun 15-18: Family Camp

Jun 19-21: AMA/NextGen Mototrials Youth & Women's Eastern Regional Championship

Jun 22-25: Invitiational Teen Camp

Aug 28-30: 16th Annual Red Bull Tennessee

Knock Out Extreme Enduro

Oct 24-25: 34th Annual 58K Fall Trial (STRA)

Dec 5: 20th Annual Xmas Toy TrialFun Gate Trial

October 3-4

November 14-15

www.ryanyoungtrialsschools.com

* All dates are subject to change Ryan Young Trials Schools at TTC: February 7-8 May 23-24

HART WINS HOME RACE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

ROUND 6 - HDMR Locked-nLoaded Hard Scramble

LOCATION: Sugarloaf, PA

The inaugural Squamish Hard Enduro took place over the weekend in Squamish, British Columbia, as a US Hard Enduro Exhibition Round. Located only 45 minutes south of Whistler, Squamish is famously known for sitting along the ocean, which goes straight up into snowcovered peaks. This town is a mecca for outdoor recreation, and dirt bikes are just gaining popularity amongst the other sports in the area. The Squamish Dirt Bike Association has been building up the concept of this race for nearly a decade, and made it happen this year with the help of Carla and Matt Carey, Shane Cuthbertson of Red Bull Outliers, and a lot of passionate club members. Being a USHE Exhibition race, the event was part of our schedule and USHE racers were encouraged to check it out, while also providing media coverage all weekend.

The two-day race sold out at 300 racers, who all lined up at an enduro cross track along the Oceanfront on Friday for the first day of racing. All classes got to run practice, two qualifying laps, and were then placed into groups for their finals. Over one thousand spectators and dozens of vendors lined the edge of the gravel pit the track is inside, and toughed it out as it rained sporadically throughout the day. In the finals, Gold Creek Lodge’s Declan Mccahill won the Expert class, Sandra Gomez won the Pro Women’s class, while FMF KTM Off-Road Racing’s Trystan Hart won the final race.

Trystan Hart is a celebrity when racing in his home country, as he was constantly flocked by fans and kids to sign autographs and take photos. His US Hard Enduro peers that drove North to race were surprised they were wellknown as well, since Hart is followed so closely and those other Pros in the Top-10 are household names to many of the racers there. Even through the rain, the fanfare at the Oceanfront Prologue was impressive and the excitement was high going into the second day of racing, which took

place up the mountain only 20 minutes away.

On Saturday, the format was a 4 hour, two lap race on a longer mountain course for the Expert and Amateur classes in the morning, with a 2 hour Pro-only short course in the afternoon. The Amateurs had an epic loop that went up a big mountain and back down, mixed with existing hare scramble trails with virgin hard enduro lines. There was a split for the Amateurs, which took them even higher up the mountain. The most

difficult part of the course was this downhill that was nearly 2000 vertical feet, and featured exposed roots, rocks, and walk-only slopes. Declan Mccahill grabbed an early lead, and held that until the finish, winning the Expert class in 2 hours and 21 minutes. Sandra Gomez was riding really well and 14 minutes behind Declan, finishing in 2nd Overall in the Expert division, and also winning her class. In third was Brodie Waddell, followed by Noel Bolso and Cole Clarkson to round out the top-5.

In the Pro division, rows of 5 based on Prologue results kicked off the short course race, with hundreds of spectators flocking to the hills to watch the battles up close. On the first main obstacle, dubbed “1995”, Trystan Hart

PREVIOUS: Trystan Hart (1)

LEFT: Sandra Gomez (182)

ABOVE: Ryder LeBlond (513)

RIGHT: Matthew Green (32)

led the field up the steep, moss-covered hill by about a minute. A four-way battle took place early on between Rockstar Husqvarna’s Ryder Leblond, Bullet Proof Designs

KRD’s Ryder Guest, Niko Piazza, and Champion Brick’s Matt Green. They swapped positions multiple times, but LeBlond ended up on the exit trail first to chase Hart down. Other Pro sections brought their own challenges, such as “Hart’s Hill”, “5 Things”, and “Carla’s Cafe”, as crowds of spectators were cheering on the twenty Pros battling.

As he usually does, Hart pulled away from the pack, minimizing mistakes and

averaging a lap time of 33 minutes. “The Robot” ended up finishing four laps and winning the race in 2 hours and 13 minutes. About midrace, LeBlond pulled away and finished in 2nd, with Green finishing in 3rd. Guest and Piazza rounded out the top five.

The Squamish Dirt Bike Association built some epic courses and executed a great event for their first year. The local scene in B.C. is very talented and passionate about this sport, and with Trystan Hart inspiring the future generations, expect more toptier talent to continue emerging from this part of Canada.

EVENT RESULTS - MAIN EVENT

OVERALL PRO

1. Trystan Hart (KTM) 2. Ryder LeBlond (HSQ) 3. Matthew Green (KTM) 4. Ryder Guest (KTM) 5. Niko Piazza (HSQ)

6. Mathew Baumann (GG)

7. Everett Procter (HSQ)

8. Joseph Bartziokas (GG)

9. Logan Catonio (BET)

10. Travis Reed (YAM)

OVERALL - AMATEUR

1. Declan McCahill

2. Sandra Gomez

3. Brodie Waddell

4. Noel Bolso

5. Cole Clarkson

6. Jonathan Seabrook

7. Jack Sawatzky

8. Noah Kiewicz

9. Zak Hammond

10. Aaron Grand

TWENTY YEARS OF HIGHLAND TRADITION

EVENT - Highland Classic Two-Day Trial

LOCATION: Alvie Estate, Scotland

The twentieth annual Highland Classic TwoDay Trial took place on Alvie Estate on June 13/14 with a full entry of two-hundred riders which included the 1979 World Trials Champion, Bernie Schreiber, making his fifth appearance at the event which can trace its roots back to the early 1950s. Organised by the Inverness & District MCC, reasonably

WORDS PHOTOS

good highland weather greeted competitors, a mere four miles south of the holiday town of Aviemore.

Labelled as the ‘Friendliest Classic Trial in Scotland’ it didn’t disappoint and was voted a great weekend’s trialling by the riders as they signed off with event secretary, Mieke de Vos, a former Scottish Six Days Trial secretary. The trial piper, Donald Morrison from Inverness entertained the assembled riders to fifteen minutes of highland

JOHN MOFFAT

IAIN LAWRIE

pipe music, just prior to the welcome speech by the landowner, Laird Jamie Williamson of Alvie and Dalraddy Estates.

An electronic observing system was deployed, supplied by Fergus Gray, who is the Scottish Six Days results manager, very hi-tech.

For the first time a contingent from the Isle of Man, led by Juan Knight, took part and Juan’s son Tom, claimed the ‘Alvie Estate Award’ for the best overseas rider. Juan

himself rode a CCM 350T four-stroke, a rare beast to be seen in competition nowadays, but he was not alone as Scot, Iain Clark also rode an identical machine. Both riders entered into the spirit of the event which was the ‘British Four-Stroke Edition’ as the Highland Classic is always run with a theme plus a guest of honour. This year it was former Honda, Yamaha and CCM works rider, Nick Jefferies, who also rode his 185cc BSA Bantam in the trial.

Twenty Irish competitors also took part and for the first time, the ‘Terry Hill Memorial Award’ was up for grabs by an Irish resident, won by Terry McKee from Newtownards, Northern Ireland on his beautiful 320 Yamaha Majesty.

Best female rider was Rachel Darley from Kirkbymoorside, the daughter of former ISDT

Trophy rider, Ian ‘Tonka’ Thompson, she won the inaugural Mary Driver Challenge award for her efforts and was also best on the Under 35 Pre65/Britshock class.

The route was approximately four miles in length with eighteen sections per lap both days with sections modified for the second day’s run on an

estate which is usually used for shooting.

In the last two years, the organisers have introduced the ‘Laird Jamie’s Challenge’ named in honour of the owner of the Alvie Estate, where riders complete only one lap per day instead of the two. This allows riders who are of advanced years to compete

and still be reasonably fresh at the end. The award they compete for is the ‘Schreiber Vase’, a crystal glass vase won in 1979 by Bernie Schreiber in Czechoslovakia, during the world series that year, so a significant piece of trial history. Bernie decided to compete on the Laird’s challenge and managed a clean sheet for the weekend, winning

his own award on a borrowed 325cc Bultaco of the type he won his 1979 world title on.

BERNIE SCHREIBER: “Having ridden the Highland Classic Two-Day Trial at Alvie Estate five times, I can honestly say that it remains one of the most unique and enjoyable events in the sport. The stunning scenery of the venue, combined with a diverse range of sections, creates a riding experience that is both challenging and memorable.

The two-hundred rider limit helps preserve the friendly and social atmosphere that traditional twin-shock trials are all about, allowing competitors, spectators, and families to enjoy the event together. While the event remains welcoming and relaxed, the quality of the riders and machines ensures there is still plenty of excitement and a healthy competitive spirit.

Seeing former champions and special guests competing each year adds a sense of nostalgia and prestige that makes the Highland Classic truly special. For me, the Highland Classic is more than just a trial, it’s a celebration of classic motorcycles, great friendships, and the rich

heritage of our sport. I look forward to returning in 2027 to once again be part of what I believe is the friendliest trial in Scotland.”

All eyes however were on last year’s event winner, Gary Macdonald from Fort William on his Dave Stewart prepared BSA Bantam. The winner must compete on the harder A route and drop the lowest number of marks, any tie break is simply decided by awarding to the oldest competitor, but Gary only surrendered one solitary mark over the seventy-two sections to claim outright the magnificent ‘Ray Sangster Memorial Trophy’ for the second time.

The Derek J. Edgar trophy is awarded to the oldest finisher, and it was won for the second year in succession by none other than seven times TT winner, Mick Grant riding his BSA Bantam. The Edgar family also contribute a bottle of single malt whisky to the winner.

Definitely the event to put in your diary for next year, 12/13 June 2027 for the Highland Classic – 'The Greeves Edition’.

EVENT RESULTS

TROPHY WINNERS:

Ray Sangster Memorial Trophy – Best performance

Gary Macdonald, 1963 BSA Bantam 175 – 1 mark

Derek J. Edgar Trophy – Oldest finisher.

Mick Grant, 1963 BSA Bantam 200

Schreiber Vase – Best over 35 years of age, on the Laird Jamie’s Challenge B route.

Bernie Schreiber – 1979 Bultaco 325 – 0 marks

David Page Memorial Challenge Award - Best performance by a rider, under 35.

Brett Stein, 1983 Honda 200 – 1 mark

Terry Hill Challenge Award – best rider, residing in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

Terence McKee, 1979 Yamaha 320 – 5 marks

Mary Driver Challenge Award – Best Female.

Rachel Darley, 1961 Triumph 199 – 35 marks

The Alvie Estate Award – Best overseas rider.

Tom Knight, 1975 Bultaco 325 – 4 marks

The Peter C. Valente Quaich – Best B Route rider, over 35 years of age.

Derrick Edmondson, 1984 Honda 200 – 1 mark

CLASS WINNERS:

A ROUTE:

Pre65/Britshock Four-Stroke: Grant Smith, 1963 BSA 343 – 18 marks

Pre65 Britshock Two-Stroke: Gary Macdonald, 1963 BSA 175 – 1 mark

Post77 Twinshock: Alan Crayk, 1983 Montesa 310 – 7 marks

Under 35 Pre65/Britshock: Will Brockbank, 1961 BSA 250 – 8 marks

Under 35 Twinshock: Brett Stein, 1983 Honda 200 – 1 mark

B ROUTE:

Pre65 Britshock Four-Stroke: Kevin Chapman, 1962 Tri-field 350 – 4 marks

Pre65 Britshock Two-Stroke: Christopher Gascoigne, Ariel Arrow 250 – 2 marks

Pre72 Twinshock: Ross Edgar, 1971 Bultaco 250 – 63 marks

Pre77 Twinshock: James O’Rourke, 1976 Yamaha 175 – 18 marks

Post77 Twinshock: Derrick Edmondson, 1984 Honda 200 – 1 mark

Under 35 Pre65/Britshock: Rachel Darley, 1961 Triumph 199 – 35 marks

Under 35 Twinshock: Calum Winter, Yamaha Whitehawk 175 – 10 marks

DRAPER TAKES LITTLE RACCOON

ART PEPIN WORDS PHOTOS

TYLER SHEPARDSON

ROUND 4 - Helmet House Little

Raccoon National Enduro

LOCATION: McArthur, OH

AmPro Yamaha's Liam Draper returned to the top step of the podium as the Redline Oil American National Enduro Championship (ANEC) Presented by MSR Racing headed to McArthur, Ohio for the Helmet House Little Raccoon National Enduro.

Round five of the championship delivered one of the most traditional and demanding events of the season. Nearly 100 miles of racing and transfer sections awaited riders throughout the hills of southern Ohio, while overnight rain transformed the terrain into a slick and technical challenge that tested riders from the opening test to the final miles of the day.

After surrendering the championship points lead at the previous round in Georgia, Draper responded in impressive fashion.

The AmPro Yamaha rider navigated the treacherous conditions throughout the day and fended off late pressure from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki's Josh Toth to claim the overall victory.

"I definitely got smoked in Georgia, so I had my work cut out to get the points lead back," Draper said. "It was probably my favorite enduro so far."

Despite a crash in the final test after getting stuck in a mud hole, Draper held on for the win and reclaimed valuable

championship momentum heading into the second half of the season.

Toth battled through multiple crashes of his own but remained in contention throughout the day, ultimately finishing second overall.

"It was treacherous out there in spots," Toth said. "I had a rough day with a lot of crashes, but did my best to stay moving forward."

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki's Steward Baylor Jr. rounded out the Pro1 podium in third. Baylor struggled early after making a tire setup change before the race but found improved pace during the second half of the event.

Liam

Despite a frustrating final test that included multiple mistakes and a crash in a creek crossing, Baylor salvaged another podium finish while praising the Appalachian Dirt Riders Club for producing one of the most traditional events of the year.

The biggest surprise of the day came from the Pro 2 ranks

where Liqui Moly Factory Beta's Jhak Walker delivered one of the strongest rides of his career. Walker not only captured the Pro 2 victory but also broke into the Overall Podium with a third-place overall finish against the Pro1 field.

The Illinois native adapted perfectly to the slick Ohio

conditions and rode his twostroke to perfection throughout the day.

"The conditions were very similar to home," Walker explained. "A little slick, rooty, and offcamber, but I had a lot of fun today."

Walker dominated the Pro 2 division, sweeping all seven tests on the day en route to the class victory.

FMF Red Bull KTM's Jason Tino battled back from multiple crashes in the opening tests to secure second place in Pro 2 and valuable championship points. Tino admitted he may have pushed too hard early in the race before regrouping and charging back through the field.

Ryan Piper completed the Pro 2 podium after a consistent ride that saw him running near the top ten overall early in the event before settling into a podium position.

In the Pro Women division, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Korie Steede remained undefeated in ANEC competition this season. Steede swept all seven tests and overcame a dramatic incident in Test Five that saw her become trapped between trees after crashing on a hill climb.

"There was a five-person bottleneck on the hill," Steede

said. "It took four people to get my bike unstuck."

Despite the setback, Steede regrouped and continued her dominant season with another class victory.

Taylor Johnston finished second in the Pro Women division after battling the increasingly slick conditions throughout the afternoon.

"I feel like I needed studded tires out there to get any traction," Johnston joked after the race.

The Helmet House Little Raccoon National Enduro proved to be one of the most challenging rounds of the season, rewarding riders who could balance speed and patience across nearly 100 miles of racing. As the championship enters its second half, both the Pro 1 and Pro 2 title fights remain firmly in the spotlight heading into the next round.

EVENT RESULTS

OVERALL - PRO 1

1. Liam Draper (YAM)

2. Josh Toth (KAW)

3. Steward Baylor Jr (KAW)

4. Craig Delong (HSQ)

5. Grant Baylor (KAW)

6. Ryder Lafferty (HON)

OVERALL - PRO 2

1. Jhak Walker (BET)

2. Jason Tino (KTM)

3. Ryan Piper (KTM)

4. James Jenkins (TRI)

5. Trevor Hulin (HON)

OVERALL - PRO WOMEN

1. Korie Steede (HSQ)

2. Taylor Johnston (TRI)

AHRMA LAND GRAND OPENING 2026

MID-ATLANTIC SEASON OFF TO A THRILLING START

WORDS BY JOSHUA SCHUCKER

PHOTOS BY LOST IN A PHOTOGRAPH, PAULA KYLE-STEPHENS, EMILY REICHART

ere in the Mid-Atlantic region, the weather is starting to turn the corner from a winter too often dipping into single digits. The landscape is turning green, the temperature is rising, and folks are starting to think about spring and summer plans, trips, vacations, and all the fun to be had. Common destinations for many people are amusements parks, theme parks, whatever you choose to call them, because you know, they amuse you. My personal assistant, her name is Siri, told me that over one hundred twenty million Americans visit a theme park each year. Turns out that is a lot more attendees than your typical AHRMA race, but

HI’d wager that the AHRMA MidAtlantic (MA) region’s version of an amusement park is just as amusing, if you’re two-wheel inclined, and arguably cheaper than the standard version. The lines at “AHRMA Land” are shorter as well, and when you find yourself stuck in line, often a rev of the engine or a holler will have people moving over and letting you by! Can you imagine that working in the serpentine cattle chutes…errr, I mean, queue line of your favorite over-crowded fun-factory?

Ok, AHRMA Land it is! But what do we ride first? Taking a look at the park map (schedule) it looks

like the first thing we come to is certain to be a thrill ride. With a name like Adrenaline Ridge, how can it be anything but?

This venue is new to the MidAtlantic schedule for 2026 and serves as a one-day, motocrossonly, kickoff to the season. Always prowling the Western Pennsylvania landscape for prospective race locations, Mick Spisak identified Adrenaline Ridge as an opportunity for the MA series. To this point, the facility had served as a popular practice track in Rural Valley, a rural locale about an hour east of Pittsburgh. Mick was able to

convince the track owners to host the vintage racing crew as one of their first organized events. By all accounts, the event went quite smoothly for a first-time attempt. A Friday rain shower presented some slippery practice conditions, but the track rebounded into near perfect conditions through moto one.

Was it a thrill ride? For sure! One glance at the undulating terrain that dominates the property assured this was going to be a roller coaster for bikes. Nary a level piece of ground exists outside the parking area. The motocross course is draped swoopingly across the horizon like a sine wave interspersed with sweeping banked turns. Riders appear as they crest an airtime camelback before

vanishing into the depths of the following ravine. The designer of this loop made the best of the palette provided by nature in crafting this track and supplemented it in all the right places with man-made obstacles. Admittedly, the massive uphills and blind jumps are initially intimidating, but once you’ve learned the track and its flow, things become quite a thrill. Dave Light’s Racing Stories on YouTube, the “Larry Huffman” of the MidAtlantic, compared the track favorably with the famed Budds Creek national track in Maryland. That is high praise if you’ve laid eyes upon, or had the pleasure of roosting around, that historic venue. As you make your way to the exit, you realize that praise fits just right.

Next, we find ourselves in the water attraction section of the park. We didn’t expect to be on a water ride, only that isn’t totally true. If you’ve ever been to Sutton Station in the past or simply read about a Sutton Station event in past issues of this fine magazine, you know it has absolutely earned its “Soggy Station” nickname. Despite best wishes, hopes, prayers, date changes, and who knows what other voodoo remedies, it rains…always.

And it rained, like always, starting Friday afternoon and rather steadily through the evening and most of Saturday’s motocross action. The lay of the land is familiar by now after several years of Dale and Lori Reynolds graciously hosting the MA family at their Summerville home. The MX track is quite a cool layout using an off-camber grass field with wide twisting lanes cut up and down the hills and through the woods on either side. Saturday’s practice started out wet, obviously, but with a whiff of traction remaining as the course had yet to be churned up too deeply. With a decent turnout and fourteen races lined up in each moto, along with continuing precipitation, the constant barrage of spinning tires searching for any measurable grip was working the soil over like a

twelve-bottom plow. What was once grass field turned into eight inches of sloppy topsoil/grass paste on top of a hard base of clay that felt more like the surface of a wet bar of Dove soap. By the double-digit racers in moto one, the uphill right off the start was a Slip’N’Slide with bikes dancing hither and yon in an attempt to clear the top only to descend and try again on the next hill. Primo line selection and a healthy shot of throttle at the right place could get you sailing up, but this was the exception more than the norm. Partway through moto two, these hills were ribboned off and the track shortened to cover more level ground only. Plaques were awarded and points were tallied, but this was a tough one for all involved. We collectively feel bad

for trailbosses Jim and Jamie Reitz because they put in such an effort to please the riders each and every year, even setting up several canopies for staging riders to shelter under while waiting, only to have weather negatively dominate the conversation. There will be better days…and a bit of redemption on Sunday!

The rain paused Saturday afternoon while we stepped into the Reynolds Roadside Auditorium for one of AHRMA Land’s only musical shows. Here the host and guests captivated a standingroom-only crowd by performing a variety, in name and quality, of songs karaoke-style until late in the evening. While those tunes were echoing across the valley, Sunday’s cross-country course

Grant Reichart (731)

PHOTO COURTESY PAULA

was shedding itself of the day’s moisture.

A light mist persisted through the morning hours as riders prepared to take the green flag for the CC portion of the event. Typical Jim and Jamie fashion dictated that the course was quite unique from the prior year, yet recognizable in some areas. Primary motivation is a fun and flowing loop that utilizes the plethora of elevation changes and beautiful pine forest that Sutton Station is known for. Jamie is also well known for throwing a couple hill climb hot lines in the mix that can challenge the best riders but are easily bypassed for those less ambitious. The morning’s vintage race encountered some residual slick conditions, but once a couple laps were laid down, the dirt firmed up and the beat-in path started to flow like intended. This is the ride we hoped for when pointing the compass toward the Reynolds’ property. A mine train coaster of a course bobbing back and forth through the twisting pines, boogeying up and down the

slopes of the eastern edge of the property, and winding your way up the knob to the south. As with most woods trails, the roots began to show themselves as laps wore on, but there are very few rocks here and overall conditions continued to improve throughout the races salvaging the weekend with a great Sunday.

Next, we travel to Three Springs in Central Pennsylvania to ride the Rocket! Trust me, it’s a blast! Easily the longest operating ride in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Rocket Raceway event celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2026. While there have been a lot of changes to the available property over the years, with the usable acreage recently dwindling,

regional coordinator Dave Kutskel’s long standing experience in these Appalachian foothills still allows him to conjure up an amazing course. In fact, this year’s may have been the best yet. Even though the property has shrunk, the prominence of the event has grown. This season is the second year that the competitors for the

AHRMA National Cross Country Championship presented by Redwood Engineering have been scheduled to ride the Rocket.

Paying National and Regional points may be enough to encourage some participants to show up, but the experience is what keeps bringing them back for the last two decades. The Rocket Raceway course runs rampant over the valley, sooften volunteered by owner Mark Carlson for its yearly vintage motorcycle landscaping. A wide variety is presented to the riders as they encounter an early stretch of rocky terrain before tackling the western grade where a serpentine of tight single-track weaves through young growth trees, brush, and shallow roots sprouting from the firmly packed soil. A large rolling pasture is a joyful grasstrack interlude before dipping into the eastern woods, which are more mature and offer a forest floor covered in fallen branches, leaves, and a rich organic loam peppered with a modest amount of Pennsylvania

rock beneath. Highlights here are several freshly routed tracks up and down the incline and a quarter mile bobsled run along

Starr Road that finds you banking left and right off huge berms and moguls barely clearing the adjacent tree trunks with your handlebars. This is one of those fun at any speed sections that have populated trail rider dreams since helmets were made of leather. A long gradual downhill returns the loop back toward the start and toward another lap of bliss. And being a National event, the fun goes on for two days! The trail held up extremely well for a two-day event on the same loop. In fact, the course was arguably better on Sunday as the fresh stuff was rounding into shape with good traction and clear fast lines forming. Easy to see why this ride is so popular, can’t wait for the 21st iteration!

So, now that you’ve kept your arms inside the vehicle at all times, and properly fastened your safety equipment, I sure hope that you enjoy the rest of your stay at AHRMA Land. Check out the MA regional and National schedule at AHRMA.org to see what to ride next! And remember the next time a little brat annoys you cutting in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl…you could be at AHRMA Land instead.