03.05.2021
Round 2 - AMA East Enduro Championship - May 3, 2021
SPRAGUEVILLE, Iowa – FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart topped Round 2 of the 2021 AMA East Extreme Championship on Sunday with a consistent pair of 1-2 finishes at the Iowan Hard Enduro. Teammate Taylor Robert had a solid day as well, finishing just off the overall podium in fourth with 2-4 scores for the day.
With a one-day format, the Iowan Hard Enduro delivered a steady day of racing beginning with a hot lap to determine start position for the first race. For Hart, it was a tough start to the day when he found himself stuck between two big boulders in the hot lap session. Once he finally got unstuck, Hart experienced a derailed his chain, which further set him back. He eventually got himself back on track and charged his way to a ninth-place position.
Race one, consisting of one 26-minute laptime for the leaders, used the hot lap results to seed riders into a starting grid of five per row, giving Hart a second-row position. The Canadian rider had his work cut out for him coming from the second row but he rallied his KTM 300 XC-W TPI through the dry and dusty terrain to come away with the race-one victory after time adjustment.
The final race of the day was three laps and Hart put himself into a great position right away as he captured the holeshot and battled for the lead early on. Moving into second on lap two, Hart maintained a steady pace behind the leader for the remainder of the race, ultimately finishing only seven seconds back for second in the final race. As the most consistent rider of the day, Hart was able to clinch the overall victory with 1-2 scores.
Hart: “The day started off horrible with ninth in hot laps and a derailed chain. I was fired up for the first moto and came out charging, ultimately winning the sprint. In the final, Cody and I went back and forth most of the race and we had some really good battles. I’m happy to end up with the overall win!”
For the hot lap, Robert powered his KTM 300 XC-W TPI to a second-place finish, which gave him a front row start for the first race of the day. In race one, Robert put himself in a good position off the start and he battled with the front-runners throughout the race to ultimately come away with a second-place finish. In the final race, Robert once again inserted himself into the lead battle as the top four riders remained close early in the race. Robert eventually settled into fourth and he maintained a consistent pace to ultimately secure fourth in the race and fourth overall for the day.
Robert: “I had a pretty decent day overall. not quite how I wanted to end the day but all-in-all, I felt Iike I rode really good. We had a pretty good battle in the final race but I just wasn't able to nab that podium. The intensity was high and the obstacles were a good mix of harescramble and then some really a highly-technical and high consequence rocks, which made it a really fun day of racing.”
Next Race: Round 4 WEC – May 15-16, 2021 – Last Dog Standing in San Bernardino, California
Overall Pro Results
1. Trystan Hart, KTM, 1-2
2. Cody Webb, Sherco, 4-1
3. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna, 3-3
4. Taylor Robert, KTM, 2-4
OTHER KTM
9. Will Riordan, KTM, 5-14
12. Cooper Abbott, KTM, 10-12
14. Brandon Petrie, KTM, 13-13
19. Drew Kirby, KTM, 20-20