Racing

Best Of The 2018 US MotoTrials National Series

Photos from the 2018 US MotoTrials National Series

December 20, 2018

Pat Smage dominated the 2018 series, easily winning all 10 rounds on the schedule. Pat excels in the toughest and most technical terrain and was especially impressive at Donner Ski Ranch in California and at Texas Creek in Colorado, where the massive granite rocks were the most intimidating.Shan Moore

Pat Smage wrapped up his 10th US Trials Championship with a sweep of the 2018 AMA/NATC US National MotoTrial Championship Series. The Sherco USA rider won all 10 rounds on this year’s schedule and cruised to the championship title with 80 points to spare over second place. Smage’s most recent number 1 plate tied him with Geoff Aaron, who also has 10 titles to his credit.

Second in this year’s Pro class was Oregon’s Daniel Blanc-Gonnet, while his GasGas North America teammate Alex Niederer was third.

Here’s a look at some of photographer Shan Moore favorite shots from the 2018 US MotoTrials Series.

Daniel Blanc-Gonnet battled all year with his North America GasGas teammate Alex Niederer for the runner-up slot in the final standings. In the end, Niederer missed two rounds due to injury, which gave Gonnet just the room he needed to snatch second place.Shan Moore

Sam Fastle is perhaps the smoothest and most consistent rider on the circuit. The Sherco USA rider finished fourth overall in the final standings after posting eight fourth-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes.Shan Moore

Alex Niederer split second- and third-place finishes during the first half of the season with Blanc-Gonnet, but an injury at the Uniontown, Arkansas, race forced him out of those rounds, ultimately dropping him out of the running for the runner-up slot.Shan Moore

This was Andreas Niederer’s first full season in the Pro division, and the Beta USA rider made some outstanding rides for a rookie. Andreas finished the season in fifth overall.Shan Moore

Arizona’s Josh Roper came out on top of a fierce battle with Alexander Myers for first in the Expert class. The Sherco USA rider won five rounds in 2018 compared to four for Myers.Shan Moore

Quinn Wentzel split the 2018 season between the US MotoTrials Series and various Extreme Enduros. The Scorpa USA rider missed the final two rounds of the MotoTrials series due to a foot injury.Shan Moore

Beta USA’s Cole Cullins won every round of the West Junior division to claim the West Junior title, and was second in the East Junior division behind GasGas’ Dalton Land.Shan Moore

Beta USA’s Laura Peters was second in both the East and West Women’s divisions. She also represented the US at this year’s Trial des Nations.Shan Moore

Oregon’s Kylee Sweeten finished second in the Women’s Pro class.Shan Moore

2018 US MotoTrials Pro Class Championship Point Standings

Position	Rider	Brand	Points
1	Pat Smage	Sherco	300
2	Daniel Blanc-Gonnet	GasGas	220
3	Alexander Niederer	GasGas	184
4	Sam Fastle	Sherco	176
5	Andreas Niederer	Beta	156
6	Karl Davis Jr.	Scorpa	92
7	Quinn Wentzel	Scorpa	62