| June 5, 2023
FactoryOne Sherco’s Pat Smage and GasGas’s Josh Roper split wins at rounds five and six of the NATC National MotoTrials Championship series in Tillamook, Oregon, June 3-4, causing a nail-biter of a season as the final rounds draw near.
Josh Roper closed out the weekend in Oregon with Sunday’s victory. Roper and Pat Smage tied on points at the end of both days.
Story and Photos by Stephanie Vetterly
Beautiful weather greeted riders on Saturday at the Cedar Creek OHV for the start of competition. With 12 sections situated in the woods of the Tillamook Forest, the Columbia Observed Trials Association showcased what the Oregon terrain had to offer. Sections were set a bit on the easier side to get everyone started, but in comparison with the previous weekend’s rounds in Canon City, Colorado, the setup was more technical than it was focused on big hits, and the loose terrain and moss-covered rocks proved a worthy challenge for most riders, while the tree-covered mountains provided a beautiful backdrop.
Roper and Smage both ended with a single point on the day, with the deciding factor being when that single point was taken. Since Roper took his point during the first loop, the win went to Smage. FactoryOne Scorpa’s Alex Myers rounded out the podium in third with only 13 points.
“Today went well in the end,” said Smage. “Obviously, it was very low scoring, so there wasn’t much room to work with. Josh rode awesome and only had one point. I did see him take [the point] on the first loop, and I was hoping that wasn’t going to be the decision-maker. I just tried to continue on and clean the first loop. I had a one on the second loop and didn’t really feel all that great on the first two loops, just with confidence and timing, and certain things weren’t clicking. I don’t think I was able to warm up enough this morning, so it took a bit to get going. The third loop I finally felt like I rode like myself, and everything was more on point and felt good. I had a feeling I needed to clean it to have a chance at winning, which put some pressure on. I was also riding nearly last, which isn’t normal for me. I was feeling the pressure at the end and was happy to be able to withstand that. I had no room for error, so I’m happy I was able to keep it together.”
Smage edged out Roper on the tiebreaker for the Saturday win.
Returning Sunday for round six, the promoters re-used some of Saturday’s sections, changing the gates to increase the difficulty. Once again, the top podium position came down to the wire, with Roper and Smage tied on 21 points. Roper had 30 cleans to Smage’s 27, giving the GasGas rider the overall win, while FactoryOne Sherco’s Will Myers rounded out the top three with 45 points.
“Today was pretty good,” said Roper. “It was a nerve-wracking day, but thankfully I was able to keep the nerves somewhat under control. Today was a lot harder than yesterday, so that was nice. We had some tricky stuff. I think both Pat and I had a weird number of mistakes, but then we also had some really good rides. In the end, we both tied with 21 points. I had 30 cleans and he had 27, so I ended up winning today. It was awesome and a great feeling. I think mathematically we’re still in it for the championship; I need to do a little bit of math.
“It was a great day, sections were good, and I’m really happy to end this break with a win. Then we go on to Rhode Island. I couldn’t have done this without my minder, Nigel Parker. It’s unbelievable the amount of effort he puts in. Huge thank you to him and everybody on the whole GasGas team as well. It’s been a whole team role to get here, so we’ll keep pushing.”
Despite getting off to slow starts on both days, five-time and defending champion in the Women’s Pro class, Madeleine Hoover (GasGas) came on strong in the final laps to secure a double victory over the weekend.
Madeleine Hoover won both days in the Women’s Pro class.
“My riding went pretty well on Saturday,” Hoover said. “On the first loop, I went out strong, second lap I kind of started to fall apart, but managed to rally for the third lap and get some zeros where I’d had some points before. Sunday went well. It started off a bit rough this morning with a big five, but I was able to pull it back together and come up with two better laps after that.”
Kylee Sweeten (Sherco) was second in the Women’s class both days.
The championship title will be decided in Rhode Island on July 29 and 30 with the final rounds of the 2023 series.
Saturday
- Pat Smage (Sherco) 1pt
- Josh Roper (GG) 1
- Alex Myers (She) 13
- Will Myers (She) 17
- Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (GG) 18
Sunday
- Josh Roper (GG) 21 pts
- Pat Smage (She) 21
- Will Myers (She) 45
- Alex Myers (She) 46
- Alex Niederer (Bet) 54
