August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 61

On The Pegs VOL. 4 ISSUE 8 - August 2020 61
The trials world went into somewhat of a tizzy back in April when the
North American Trials Council (NATC), governing body of the AMA
MotoTrials Nationals, announced the cancellation of the 2020 series
as well as the U.S. Trial des Nations effort due to ongoing COVID-19 global
pandemic.
Obviously, there aren’t that many observed trials events to begin with so doing
away with the entire 2020 campaign left a huge hole in the competitive appetite
for its participants.
Would they miss an entire season? Would the NATC be able to come up with
an even shorter schedule at the end of the year? Why not take a page from some
other series (like Supercross or MotoGP) and run without spectators?
Enter Gas Gas—actually, enter KTM North America and Pierer Mobility AG, the
group under whose Gas Gas, Husqvarna and KTM belong.
Gas Gas, of course, has its roots in trials and after its acquisition by the Austrian
concern late last year, many wondered what would become of that segment of
its Spanish production. After all, the number of enduro and motocross bikes sold
dwarfs the number of trials bikes. To be honest, there are probably more 125cc
motocrossers sold each year than all trials bikes.
But the Gas Gas team took a look at the no-Nationals situation and began brainstorming
about six weeks ago. One of the ideas floated: How about putting on
our own event?
As a motorcycle manufacturer, Gas Gas does one thing: build motorcycles. It’s
not in the events business, especially when it comes to a competition.
But the team did know a little about hosting press launches and it did have an
ace up its collective sleeve in that the company had a little room left at the RD (for
Roger deCoster) Field Supercross and EnduroCross test/practice venue literally
around the corner from corporate HQ in Murrieta, California, that could be used
for a trials course. After all, one of the selling points of the sport is that it doesn’t
require a lot of room.
Whether that tiny slice of dirt about 30 yards by 60 yards would be enough for
an event was debatable.
However, another ace for the team was 10-time AMA/NATC National Trials Champion
Geoff Aaron, now the Team Manager for the Gas Gas North American trials
squad. Besides his unquestioned talent, the two-time AMA Sports Athlete of the
Year is an unapologetic ambassador for the sport. When asked, he gladly assumed
a lead role in both the physical construction and format of the inaugural California
Trials Invitational, Presented by Gas Gas.