Shan Moore | November 19, 2024
Trystan Hart needed to finish only 14th overall at the sixth and final night of racing to clinch the 2024 Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive, which was held at Angels of the Wind Arena in Everett, Washington.
KTM’s Trystan Hart (center) celebrates winning the 2024 AMA EnduroCross Championship in Everett, Washington, alongside series runner-up Colton Haaker (left) and Cooper Abbott.
By Shan Moore | Photography by Jack Jaxson
However, the Red Bull FMF/KTM Factory Racing rider is not programmed that way. He wanted the win. So, the Canadian, whose nickname is “The Robot,” threw caution to the wind and charged to a 1-2-1 moto tally to claim the overall victory and his fourth overall win of the series, Colton Haaker and Triumph Factory rider Jonny Walker winning the other two rounds. The overall victory in Washington gave Hart his second-straight AMA EnduroCross Championship.
On a course that most of the riders considered the toughest of the year, FactoryOne Sherco’s Cooper Abbott turned the fastest time during Hot Laps, the first time he has ever done so, while Hart was second, eight-tenths of a second behind. Rieju’s Dominik Olszowy, who was fastest in morning qualifying, turned the third-fastest time, with Factory Beta riders Max Gerston and Tim Apolle rounding out the top five. Five-time series champ Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker stalled his engine during his lap and finished eighth-fastest.
Hart was the overall winner in Washington, which was also his fourth win of the year.
Abbott had the first gate pick for the opening moto, having the fastest Hot Lap time, but it was Hart who grabbed the holeshot, followed by Haaker and Abbott, who got bumped off the gate.
Gerston was off to a good start in fourth and was soon locked in a race-long battle with Olszowy for third.
On lap four, Haaker made his way to the front when Hart fell off a suspended log, but the KTM rider regained the lead when Haaker bobbled a few turns later.
At the finish, it was Hart taking the win, followed by Haaker, Gerston, FactoryOne Sherco’s Cooper Abbott and Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder LeBlond.
“This track suits me, and I’m feeling good, so it’s going to take a lot to get me off my game,” said Hart. “I was in my comfort zone for most of the race. But I didn’t want to do that skinny line over the log, although I did do it. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but I did it every lap.”
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. GasGas rider Braxton Hintze took advantage of a front-row start to grab the holeshot, with Gerston moving into second from the second row. Haaker was fifth and Hart was in seventh.
Beta’s Max Gerston won his first EnduroCross moto of his career. He went on to claim second overall on the night.
Gerston passed Hintze on lap two to take the lead. The two front-runners were followed by Hart, Haaker, Factory Beta’s Tim Apolle and LeBlond on lap two.
Haaker moved to fourth on lap three but had a disastrous fourth lap and dropped out of the top 10.
By lap five, Hart had worked his way up to second behind Gerston but was still eight seconds down on the leader. Two laps later, Hart was on Gerston’s rear wheel and was setting his sights on the lead when he fell on one of the giant tires and dropped a few seconds to Gerston, allowing Gerston to cruise to the win. Hart was second, Hintze third, Apolle fourth and LeBlond fifth.
“This is amazing,” said Gerston. “I’ve been racing this series for 17 years, and this is my first moto win. I’m pretty excited.”
Haaker was away first to start the final moto, with Hart and LeBlond in pursuit. Hart snuck underneath Haaker in the turn before the firewood section and moved into first, eventually stretching his lead to a considerable margin. Haaker ran second, with LeBlond, Abbott and Webb battling for third.
Hart took the win by five seconds over Abbott, with LeBlond, Webb and Haaker rounding out the top five. The overall results for the night were Hart in first, followed by Gerston, Abbott, LeBlond and Haaker. The final points standings for the championship season have Hart in first (170), Haaker in second (132) and Abbott in third (111).
Cooper Abbott was third overall and third in the championship.
“It’s pretty cool to go back-to-back championships, and major props to Haaker,” said Hart. “He made this one much more meaningful. He’s been a pain in my butt this season, and he rides a bike so fast, so he made me work for this one and kind of kept me on my toes the whole time. He didn’t give me an inch, so thanks to Haaker for pushing me.”
Abbott’s third was his best-ever finish in the series final standings. “It’s obviously been a long year—quick series, but it also feels long at the same time,” said Abbott. “I’ve definitely had some ups and downs this season. Some rides I was happy with and some rides I wasn’t too happy with, so there are definitely some things that I learned this year that I need to build on and be able to battle with Trystan.”
Colton Haaker (10) pushed Hart to the end en route to second in the championship. Gerston (15) finished fifth in the Championship.
In the Pro Women’s division, Enduro Engineering/GasGas/FXR Moto’s Shelby Turner completed a sweep of the four-round class with a dominating win in Everett, leading every lap of the final to claim her seventh EnduroCross title. Defending series champ, Team KBS Sherco’s Rachel Gutish finished second overall, with KTM-rider Melissa Harten in third.
Shelby Turner completed the sweep of the Women’s Pro class.
“It’s years and years of training to get where I’m at,” said Turner. “I’ve been riding EnduroCross since I was 17 years old, and you know it’s all about the love of the sport. I’m so happy to have my family here; my parents flew in from Canada, and so happy to have my Enduro Engineering team—they’re all here. I heard them cheering me on, so super happy, and just an awesome series this year.” CN
OVERALL
- Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2-1
- Max Gerston (Bet) 3-1-7
- Cooper Abbott (She) 4-7-2
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 5-5-3
- Colton Haaker (Hus) 2-8-5
- Cody Webb (She) 6-9-4
- Tim Apolle (Bet) 9-4-6
- Branden Petrie (GG) 10-6-9
- Braxton Hintze (GG) 11-3-11
- Jame Flynn (Bet) 7-10-10
