2024 AMA/NATC MotoTrials USA Rounds 7-8 Results

| October 29, 2024

Two hurricanes couldn’t stop the Florida Trials Association (FTA) from hosting the final rounds of the 2024 AMA/NATC MotoTrials USA National Championship Series, presented by Trial Store USA, at Promise Ranch, the same location as the 2023 season opener. Over the October 26-27 weekend, U.S. Montesa Honda’s Toby Martyn was able to secure the points lead and take the win and the title amid some very tight and technical section riding.

Toby Martyn at 2024 NATC MotoTrials. Photo Stephanie Vetterly — **The final round of the AMA/NATC MotoTrials Championship played out in Florida. Toby Martyn (pictured) emerged with the number-one plate after trading wins with former champ Pat Smage.**

Story and Photos by Stephanie Vetterly

Less than a month prior to the event, Promise Ranch in Center Hill, Florida, experienced fallout from both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Members of the FTA ended up re-marking the 24 sections three separate times, as winds and rains from the storms destroyed the layout of the competition sections.

Alex Niederer, Beta USA pro rider and current president of the FTA, had heard the reviews from riders throughout the season and decided to take the competition challenge to a new level. Alex had also recently announced his retirement from the Pro class, so this event would be his final ride at the top level. The focus on section design was technicality: most of the sections for the weekend required very precise riding with very little margin for error, with a few throwing in some big hits for flavor. The property typically drains any rainfall rather quickly, but a few of the sections were still partially underwater because of the storms.

Toby Martyn 2024 NATC MotoTrials Florida. Photo Stephanie Vetterly — **Honda/Montesa rider Toby Martyn topped the charts on day one and went on to secure the 2024 AMA/NATC MotoTrials Championship. Photos: Stephanie Vetterly**

Starting bright and early Saturday morning, FactoryOne Sherco’s Pat Smage had an unfortunate start to the day, taking full points in section two on a rather tricky rocky splatter. Both Smage and his bike were unscathed, but the mood was set. A handful of single dabs in several of the following sections left him tied on 12 points with teammate FactoryOne Scorpa’s Alex Myers for fourth place after the first loop. Martyn was able to find an extremely solid flow, cleaning every section and finishing the loop with zero points.

“Today was a tough one for sure,” said Smage. “It started off a bit rough. I had a big mistake in section two; I just let my bike go on a big splatter and didn’t have great confidence after that. I had another five on the second loop. I didn’t ride as well as I needed to beat the guys ahead of me; they just outrode me. I put together a solid last loop, but it was too little, too late at that point. I think it was the hardest event of the year, and it showed with the points spread.”

Pat Smage at 2024 NATC MotoTrials Florida. Photo Stephanie Vetterly — **Pat Smage won Sunday’s competition and finished out the year in second.**

Sunday’s sections had a bit more flow to them but were no less of a challenge. Two of the sections saw many Pro riders decide to punch full points instead of risking an attempt. Section six began with an off-camber hairpin turn followed by a splatter from a deep mudhole. Section 11 required a launch from a place in the water, with the risk of failure potentially leading to the rider drowning their bike. Results for the day were higher than the previous day, but Smage was able to keep in front of the competition. After results were tallied, Martyn was out front with the series points lead over Smage.

“I felt better today,” Martyn said. “Started off good in the morning. I knew for the championship, I only had to be safe and get the day done. I had a few slack dabs, which meant that Pat beat me overall. The sections were a little bit harder today, but I’ve enjoyed it. This season has been cool. Pat kept me so honest, and I knew he was going to be such a strong opponent all year. It was a bit tense coming into this weekend, for sure, but I’m super happy to get it done. I really wanted to tick this one off the list. We’ve got an exciting year ahead for next year, so it was cool to finish off the trials chapter with this win.”

Josh Roper at 2024 NATC MotoTrials Florida. Photo Stephanie Vetterly — **Josh Roper had a strong showing in Florida, going 2-3 over the weekend.**

In the Women’s Pro class, GasGas USA’s Maddie Hoover was joined by Beta’s Alicia Robinson, FIM TrialGP Women’s rider from the UK.

Robinson finished the 2024 TrialGP season in 10th place, and she put pressure on Hoover for the weekend by taking the win on Saturday. Ultimately, Hoover secured enough series points to take the overall win for the season.

Maddie Hoover at 2024 NATC MotoTrials Florida. Photo Stephanie Vetterly — **Maddie Hoover won the Women’s Pro Championship.**

“I had a rough start to the morning on Saturday,” Hoover said. “I was trying to catch up to Alicia all day, which was definitely difficult, as she was riding really well. The sections were super-technical, really tight, very different from anything we’ve ridden this year.

“Sunday went a lot better; I had some pretty decent loop scores that I’m happy with, and I ended up winning, which is always a good feeling.”