Shan Moore | October 22, 2024
Red Bull FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart made it two overall wins in a row with a solid but intense performance at the Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona, on October 19. It was round two of the six-round series.
Trystan Hart has opened the 2024 AMA EnduroCross Championship with a pair of wins, the latest in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
Photos: Jack Jaxson
Having won the series opener last week in Colorado, the defending series champ, Hart, came into Arizona hoping to build on his lead in the series standings over last week’s runner-up Triumph Factory rider Jonny Walker. Hart did just that, managing the tight and tricky course to go 1-2-2 in the three motos to claim the overall win ahead of Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker’s 2-4-1 moto finishes, while Walker went 3-3-3 for third overall.
Hart took a flag-to-flag victory in the first moto but had to overcome a couple of near misses in the final two races to secure the overall win.
“That’s two weekends in a row I’ve got a massive point lead going into the last race, and I almost screwed it up, so I’m not super happy with the win,” said Hart. “I had some close calls tonight so I’m happy to come out healthy. I had a massive scare in moto two, where I almost fell off the barrel and that would have been bad. So, I need to clean some stuff up. But all in all, a win’s a win, and that’s always a good thing.”
Colton Haaker (10) had a strong night. He finished out the night with a win for second overall.
Haaker set the tone for the evening program by turning the fastest Hot Lap with a time of 31.336 seconds, the five-time series champion making amends for his disappointing sixth-overall finish the week before in Colorado. Rieju’s Dominik Olszowy was second-fastest, with a time of 32.446, while Walker (32.588), Hart (33.217) and GasGas’ Will Riordan (33.785) rounded out the top five.
Hart, Walker and Haaker were three-wide exiting the first turn at the start of moto one, with Hart taking the early lead, followed by Haaker and Walker. Walker cut under Haaker on the second lap to move into second, while Haaker, Riordan and Beta Factory rider Max Gerston in third, fourth and fifth.
On lap two, Walker hit a log head-on and stopped dead in his tracks, dropping the Brit to third behind Haaker. Hart held strong until the finish, taking the checkers ahead of Haaker, Walker, LeBlond and Riordan.
To establish gate picks for the second moto, the 16 riders’ finish positions from race one are inverted, meaning the top eight riders from race one start on the second row. Olszowy took advantage of a front-row start to grab the lead at the drop of the gate, while LeBlond, Walker, FactoryOne Sherco’s Cooper Abbott, Haaker and Hart worked their way toward the front where they battled for second.
On lap two, Walker block-passed LeBlond to take over the runner-up slot, only to fall back behind Walker two turns later.
Jonny Walker finished third in all three races.
LeBlond made a mistake midrace, taking some of the pressure off Walker, however the Brit stalled his bike on lap five to allow Abbott into second. A lap later, Abbott and LeBlond went down together, dropping back to fifth and sixth.
As Olszowy ran a steady pace out front, Haaker, Walker, Hart and LeBlond settled into second through fifth with the laps winding down. Hart eventually passed Haaker for second, moving Haaker to third, though Haaker went down just before the checkered flag, leaving Olszowy to easily take his first moto victory ahead of Hart, Walker, Haaker and Abbott.
In the third and deciding moto, Olszowy grabbed the holeshot, only to lose it in turn two when Hart put a block-pass on the Polish rider. LeBlond, Abbott and Hart followed in third through fifth.
On lap two, Olszowy momentarily passed Hart for the lead, but the KTM rider was not having it and promptly passed him back. In the meantime, Walker had worked his way into third and had his sights on Olszowy and Hart.
Hart started to extend his lead over Walker and Olszowy, but by the midway point of the race, Haaker caught fire and moved from fourth to second in one turn, setting a course to intercept Hart. Hart later bobbled in the rock garden, allowing Haaker to take the lead and eventually the win. Hart was second, with Walker, Olszowy and Gerston third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Haaker was fast, for sure. But a few unlucky breaks kept him from the top position overall.
“I think it’s safe to say I was the fastest rider out there tonight,” said Haaker. “Some things were just out of my control tonight, but I just need to eliminate some mistakes.”
Walker’s original deal was to only ride the first two rounds of the series to develop the new bike, but considering his good finishes in Arizona, it remains to be seen if he will finish out the series.
“We made some big steps from last week,” said Walker. “At the first round, I felt like I was riding around and not really in the fight, whereas this week I was in the fight. I made a few mistakes, but I feel like we improved, so if we can do the same again before the next round, if we can stay, then we’ll definitely be in the fight for a win.”
With his overall win, Hart leads the series standings with 60 points, followed by Walker with 46 and Haaker with 40. Abbott (36) holds down fourth, while Gerston and Olszowy are tied for fifth in the standings with 32 points each.
2024 AMA EnduroCross Round 2 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2-2
- Colton Haaker (Hus) 2-4-1
- Jonny Walker (Tri) 3-3-3
- Dominik Olszowy (Rie) 9-1-4
- Max Gerston (Bet) 6-7-5
- Cooper Abbott (She) 7-5-6
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 4-6-11
- Will Riordan (GG) 5-10-8
- Branden Petrie (8-13-7
- Tim Apolle (Bet) 11-8-10
