IRC Tires Endurocross Series Final Round | Trystan Hart is the Champ!
Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) took the 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series championship here in Reno on night where you couldn’t have scripted the way things played out. Coming into the final round Jonny Walker held a seven point lead over Hart and a thirteen point lead over Colton Haaker. Walker had started the series perfectly over the first two rounds of the series, going 1-1-1/P1 in each to open up a commanding lead over the field. From that point on, though, Walker struggled. A lot. In Idaho for Rounds 3 and 4 he got into trouble in Moto 1 of the first night, and from that point on if there was trouble on the track Walker seemed to find it going P2/P4. In Oregon for Round 5, Walker struggled again but managed to salvage a P3. Hart, on the other hand, bounced back from a poor showing in Rounds 1 and 2 where he ended up P5 in both, and lagging 28 points behind Walker. With a suspension setting change after Round 2, and then choosing to skip the final round of the FIM Hard Enduro Championship in Germany, Hart turned his series around. He went P1 in Rounds 3/4, and P2 in Round 5 to close the gap to that seven point lead coming into the final in Reno. Haaker came roaring into the picture in Round 5, winning the night and putting himself in a position to have an outside shot at the championship. The bottom line, though, was that Walker still controlled his own fate in Reno. He just had to beat Hart and Haaker to take the win and repeat as the series champ.
Behind the Shot #2 | Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing)
Welcome to the second post in my ‘Behind the Shot’ series, where I look back at motocross and enduro photographs that I’ve taken and tell a little bit of the story behind the image. For this one I’m going back to Round 3 of the AMA’s 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series in Idaho Falls, ID, back in late October.
The AMA Endurocross series is a world-class set of six races taking place in the US from early October to late November. Athletes from around the world take part, and for many it’s a lead-in to the European-based FIM SuperEnduro series that starts one week after Endurocross ends. As a photographer and journalist I have a real passion for the enduro side of the off-road moto world. Endurocross is one of my favourite things to shoot as it combines the best of motocross/arenacross with the natural features and obstacles riders experience in the backcountry.
This shot captures Canadian Enduro/Hard Enduro star Trystan Hart as he doubles over a tire obstacle on his way to winning the final moto of the night, and the overall for the round. This was a turning point of the series as it saw Trystan rebound from a very disappointing first two rounds where he had finished 5th in both. Jonny Walker (Beta Racing) (jumping finish in background) had won every moto in those first two rounds, and had looked simply unbeatable in the process. Trystan had gone down to California between Rounds 2 and 3 to work on his riding and bike, and had come into Idaho Falls with a new suspension setup that he was feeling good about, as well as a very strong ‘do-or-die’ mindset.
At this point of the night, Hart had absolutely turned the tables on Walker. He had gone 1-2 in the first two motos and was back to believing that he had a chance to fight for the series championship.
IRC Tires Endurocross Series Presented by Progressive | RD 2 Recap
The second round of the 2023 IRC Endurocross Series, presented by Progressive, went off on Saturday night in Prescott, Arizona. Coming into this round the obvious question was if Jonny Walker (Beta USA/Leatt) could have another dominating night to extend his series lead. From the Canadian perspective, the story was about if 2022 Endurocross series champ Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) could bounce back from a tough first round, where he placed P5. Other Canadian stories were if Spenser Wilton (HTR GasGas) and Branden Petrie (Sherco Enduro Racing) could push their way into the top 10 overall in the series, and if Melissa Harten (Beta Canada/Leatt) could beat Rachel Gutish to move into a tie for first overall in Pro Women.
Behind the Shot #1 | Jayden Riley (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada / TLD Canada)
Welcome to my ‘Behind the Shot Series’, where I look back at motocross and enduro photographs that I’ve taken (good and bad) to tell the story of the image. For this inaugural post I’m looking back to the start of the 2023 motocross season here in Calgary, Alberta, and this image of of Jayden Riley. Jayden is a young up-and-coming racer for BFD Moto, Husqvarna Canada, and Troy Lee Designs Canada.
To set the scene, this was at Round 1 of the BFD Moto Spring Super Series at the Wild Rose MX Association here in Calgary. The Spring series is a pretty big event here in Western Canada normally attracting 400+ riders to this iconic Canadian track. It’s a great opportunity to see professional and high-end amateur racers strut their stuff after spending time down in the US training during the winter, and to get the first indicators for performance expectations. The series runs 5 rounds over 3 weekends from late April to late May, and this year it would finish the week before Round 1 of the national Canadian Triple Crown Series.
Why I Love the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR for Pro Motocross Photography
If you’re like most people, when you think of sports photography equipment and gear the first thing that comes to mind is a huge telephoto lens. You generally aren’t thinking about a sports photographer working with a short wide-angle lens. It just doesn’t look… right? Absolutely there is a big place for big badass lenses in the pro sports photography workspace - they’re a critical tool for getting close to the action from a distance, and the lens compression effects can make shots look (insert chef’s kiss action here!) insane. But for how I work as pro motocross and enduro photographer/photojournalist, the small but incredibly mighty Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR from Fujifilm is more often than not my go-to lens. The bottom line is that it’s tack sharp, it’s durable, and the wide angles it affords allow me to work extremely close to the action while still capturing the context of the scene beyond the bike and rider.