04.07.2021
Round 4 - AMA East Extreme Championship
TAMAQUA, Pa. – In arguably the toughest conditions of the 2021 AMA Extreme Championship season, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart fought through three and a half brutal hours to claim a runner-up finish at the Tough Like RORR event in Pennsylvania. Teammate Taylor Robert put forth a relentless effort to climb back from the depths of the field to secure eighth overall in the Main Event.
With a three-race format, Round 4 of the EEC held two qualifying races on Saturday, which combined together for an overall qualifying and gate position for Sunday’s final Main Event. Hart came into the race a little banged up from a crash that took place last weekend but he made the most of the day as soon as he mounted his KTM 300 XC-W TPI. Starting on row three, Hart battled through shoulder soreness and pain to come away with a conservative sixth-place in the first 20-minute race. He was able to loosen up and find his groove in race two, charging his way to a second-place finish in that one.
With rainfall coming down just prior to the start of the race on Sunday, the Main Event got off to a slick start and it only proved to be more challenging as the race wore on. The Main Event course, which combined the previous day’s loops plus more, delivered plenty of rocks and technical sections and Hart didn’t make it easy on himself as he went down in the first corner of the race. He immediately charged his way into second about seven laps in and he rode in second for the entire race, yo-yoing back-and-forth to the leader of Cody Webb, ultimately finishing one-minute back for second.
Trystan Hart: “It was tough, it was relentless. The track was probably the hardest one in the U.S., I would say. Coming into this race I wasn’t exactly healthy; I was coming in with a separated shoulder and an infected elbow and luckily the last two days before the race I had some rapid healing going on and it got a lot better in two days. I ended up being able to push it to the side and try to fight for the win. There were a couple spots where Cody made some time on me but I saw him maybe three miles from the finish, so he was right there for the taking and I didn’t take it. So, second it is.”
Taylor Robert got off to a great start to the weekend, claiming the holeshot in both races on Saturday from row two. With two hard-fought performances, Robert finished second in the first race and third in the second race, giving him a solid position heading into Sunday’s final. On Sunday, Robert got off to a decent start but he got caught in a first turn pileup and was forced to play catchup right away. About five minutes into his first charge, Robert experienced a quick tip-over that would later prove costly when he realized that his radiator was punctured and he made an unplanned pit stop to repair it. Robert ultimately spent 37 minutes in the pits repairing his own machine due to the race rules of no outside help and he returned to the course in 31st place. Robert put his head down and made a valiant charge to ultimately finish eighth overall after more than four and a half hours of racing.
Taylor Robert: “Today was pretty crazy to say the least. It was probably the hardest race I’ve ever done. I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I tipped over, I cut a hole in my radiator hose so I kept pushing because I wasn’t sure how bad the leak was and then it started to get really hot and the bike started making some funky noises so I went back to the pits and it ended up being a 37 minute pit stop. I went back out on the course where I left it 37 minutes down and just put my head down and tried to make as many passes as I could. I went through the first check point in 31st place and just started picking guys off and made my way all the way up to seventh physically. I didn’t actually make it to the finish line because I timed out but I feel pretty good about my ride and it’s better than it could have been if I would have had bigger issues out there.”
Next Race: Round 4 WEC – July 10 and 11 – Donner Hard Enduro in Norden, California
Overall Pro Results
1. Cody Webb, Sherco, 03:27:43.948
2. Trystan Hart, KTM, +04:43.151
3. Ryder Leblond, Husqvarna, +01:15:36.713
OTHER KTM
8. Taylor Robert, KTM
10. Will Riordan, KTM
13. Brandon Petrie, KTM
17. Adam Hartnagel, KTM
18. Stephen Edmondson, KTM