2024 AMA EnduroCross round two in Prescott Valley, Arizona, saw back-to-back wins for defending champion FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart after a chaotic night’s racing with Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker and Triumph Racing’s Jonny Walker on the podium.
Report by Shan Moore – Images courtesy of Jack Jaxson
Having won the opening round of the 2024 Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance last week in Colorado, defending series champion Redbull FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart came into Arizona hoping to add to his lead in the series standings over last week’s runner-up Triumph Factory rider Jonny Walker.
Hart goes 1-2-2 in the three motos to claim the overall win ahead of a resurgent Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker’s 2-4-1 moto finishes, while Walker went 3-3-3 for third overall in what is expected to be his final round this season.
Haaker signalled he was in it to win it, kicking off 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 also showing his speed once again and went second-fastest with a time of 32.446, followed by Walker (32.588), Hart (33.217) and GasGas’ Will Riordan (33.785) rounding out the top five.
Moto 1
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, allowing dropping the Brit to third behind Haaker.
Hart held strong until the finish, taking the checkers ahead of Haaker, Walker, LeBlond and Riordan.
Moto 2
To establish gate picks for the second moto, the 16 riders’ finish positions from race one are inverted, meaning the top eight 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 towards the front to battle over second.
On lap two, Walker block-passed LeBlond to take over second place, only to fall back behind two turns later. LeBlond made a mistake mid-race, taking some of the pressure off Walker, however Walker 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 in a chaotic race.
As Olszowy ran a steady pace out front, Haaker, Walker, Hart and LeBlond settled into second through fifth with the laps winding down.
Olszowy would go on to claim his maiden EnduroCross win ahead of Hart, who passed Haaker who went down just before the checkered flag letting Walker through for third.
Moto 3
In the third and deciding race, Olszowy grabbed the holeshot once again, 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 mid-way point of the race, Haaker caught fire and moved from fourth to second behind Hart in one turn. 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.
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, Riordan and Olszowy are tied for fifth in the standings with 32 points each.
“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 that,” said Hart. “I had some close calls tonight so I’m pretty happy to come out healthy. I had a massive scare in Moto 2 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 the win’s a win and that’s always a good thing.”
Shout out to Polish Rieju rider Dominik Olszowy who took his first moto win in EnduroCross in race two. “It feels amazing after that first moto,” said Olszowy. “I was a little bit nervous because we know we’re going for a win, so it’s difficult to not make a mistake. Sometimes you do but we put the puzzle together and a good start helped. I rode pretty much with no mistakes and that works so I’m happy with that.”
The Slavens Racing AMA EnduroCross Series presented by Progressive Insurance resumes on October 25 and 26 at Mountain America Center in Idaho City, Idaho. More information: www.endurocross.com
ARIZONA EX PRO CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Trystan Hart (KTM) 1-2-2
2. Colton Haaker (Hsq) 2-4-1
3. Jonny Walker (Tri) 3-3-3
4. Dominik Olszowy (Rie) 9-1-4
5. Max Gerston (Bet) 6-7-5
6. Cooper Abbott (Shr) 7-5-6
7. Ryder LeBlond (Hsq) 4-6-11
8. Will Riordan (GG) 5-10-8
9. Brandon Petrie (8-13-7
10. Tim Apolle (Bet) 11-8-10
