For the second consecutive year, Kawelo Huddy of KRD Hui won the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro in Kauai, February 22-23. Huddy defended his home turf to an elevated capacity, holding off USHE Factory athletes and proving he can win in varying conditions during round two of the Bullet Proof Designs U.S. Hard Enduro Series, Presented by IRC Tire.
By Matt Musgrove | Photos by Ryan McCasland
The Garden Island Motorcycle Club (GIMC) is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and has been running the world-famous Labor Day Hare & Hound for 70 years straight, which was held August 31 last year. The Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro was started last year to attract top U.S. Hard Enduro Series talent to compete on their very technical courses alongside their very talented athletes. Hawaii is well known for having some of the toughest hard enduro terrain, with its steep volcanic terrain, incredibly slick “Hawaiian Ice” mud, and many flowing creeks. This race was held at Omao, which is only several miles away from one of the wettest places on earth, so the rain and creeks are major variables in the competition. Being a USHE Premier Championship round, the top USHE athletes shipped their bikes over. They flew out to compete against the Hawaiian locals, who have a deep knowledge and plenty of experience in these mountains. This past week saw some rain in Kauai, but not enough to make the conditions nearly impassable like last year’s event, so the course conditions were excellent, and traction was fairly good in some areas.
On Friday, the GIMC hosted a prologue on their lengthy and impressive endurocross track. After some timed practices, the top 20 went into the main motos in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The track times were nearly one minute and 45 seconds, which created an exciting dynamic for this tight style of racing. Trystan Hart of FMF KTM Factory Racing won moto one but went over the bars while in the lead at the beginning of moto two, losing nearly 10 spots and having to salvage some positions from mid-pack. Ryder LeBlond of Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing had a strong second-place finish in moto one and won moto two, giving LeBlond the win and a nice cash prize, along with gate pick for Saturday’s main race.
On Saturday, the GIMC had four courses that ranged from 17 to 21 miles, split up for different class levels throughout the mountains. They started in rows of five and kicked off their six-hour time-limit race. LeBlond and Hart pulled a quick lead in the first sections, which were a bit faster and spread out the competition to the first part of the course. In one of the first creeks, Huddy, who started in the second row, passed the racers in the front row and didn’t look back.
He continued to pull away, coming into the gas check a minute ahead of LeBlond and Hart, but pushed hard for a longer lead on the second half of the course. Some top-five USHE athletes experienced mechanical failures, with Will Riordan of FactoryOne Sherco losing a countershaft sprocket early on, and Cody Webb’s electric start on his Rocky Mountain Yamaha YZ250X breaking in the thick of the mountains. This opened up the door to the top 10, which ultimately was split evenly between Hawaiians and mainlanders. Huddy’s KRD Hui teammates, Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna and Ryder Guest, were also setting a fast pace, passing LeBlond and nearly passing Hart at one point.
Huddy had a very fast pace and didn’t make many mistakes, finishing the race in first place in two hours and 22 minutes, 11 minutes ahead of Hart, who also rode smoothly but just couldn’t match Huddy’s pace.
Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna ended up in third place, matching his result from last year. Guest finished in fourth, and LeBlond in fifth.
In the Pro Women’s class, Pebs Madalora won her race on a different course in just under three hours, with Katie Hall-Leah and Mele Huddy rounding out the podium.
Huddy is only the third person to beat Trystan Hart in the past four years on American soil, sharing that honor with Cody Webb and Manuel Lettenbichler. The next USHE Premier Championship race will be the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro in Page, Arizona, on March 22-23.
VIDEO | 2025 Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro Official Recap
2025 U.S. Hard Enduro Round 2 Results
PRO (Top 10)
- Kawelo Huddy (KTM)
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Kamakana Waiwiole-Kahalepuna (KTM)
- Ryder Guest (KTM)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- James Flynn (Bet)
- Quinn Wentzel (Rie)
- Chris Satterfield (Bet)
- Will Riordan (She)
- Brennan Perreira (GG)
Click here for all the latest Hard Enduro Racing news.
