On The Pegs August - 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 8 | Page 143

On The Pegs
NC-GONNET
Vol. 4 Issue 8 - August 2019
143
2019 NATC/AMA US National MotoTrials Series
Rounds 7-8
June 22-23, 2019
Tillamook, Oregon
W
ith his fourth double victory of the season, Pat Smage
claimed a record-breaking 11th US National MotoTrials
championship title after winning the final two rounds of
the 2019 AMA/NATC US National MotoTrials Series this weekend in
Diamond Mill, Oregon. In addition, the FactoryONE/Sherco rider’s win
on Sunday marked his 18th in a row going back to last year, which
broke three-time champ Scott Head’s record of 17-straight wins.
Although he was pressed hard on day one in Colorado,
Smage has dominated the series in 2019 and appears to be
capable of winning for several more years.
“There are definitely times when I get a little burnt out
and I wonder how am I going to keep pushing, but then
when the results come it’s always worth it,” said Smage.
“Right now, I can see myself continuing for a while, as long
as I can enjoy it.”
The Oregon event was a change of pace from the rest of
the events held this year in that it was set up in the spirit of
traditional trials, with very little stopping and hopping and
lots of long, technical sections. The nine-mile loop included
lots of slippery rocky creeks and steep climbs.
In addition to his mastery of the “big sections”, Smage
proved he is equally adept at the really technical stuff, too.
“The sections were very technical, for sure, and it was a
little bit hard to adjust to the traction at first, just because
the last couple of events have been dry and grippy, and I
haven’t had a lot of time to ride the slick stuff pretty much
since before Minnesota,” said Smage. “You’re not just wide
open every section, hitting everything as hard as you could.
You really had to think about all the angles, every inch of
staying on your line, finding traction, and hitting everything
exactly how you wanted to. If you hit it sideways or hit it too
hard you’ll end up spinning and sliding out, so you really
had to be smooth and precise.”