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.
Shooting Pro Hard Enduro: Red Bull Outliers - Prologue
Racing at the 2023 edition of Red Bull Outliers got started on Saturday, August 26th. For those who missed it in my previous Outliers blog post, the FIM explains Hard Enduro as become “one of the most challenging off-road motorcycle [disciplines] in existence.” In a nutshell, FIM Hard Enduro World Championships consist of an Enduro Cross style prologue and one or more stages of racing in extreme off-road environments. For Red Bull Outliers, the prologue would take place at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, with the single Hard Enduro stage being run in the Badlands just north of Brooks in Steveville, Alberta (about 2.5 hours east of Calgary). I covered the pro riders’ track walk of the hard enduro track in my previous post, and will cover the hard enduro stage in my next one
Shooting Pro Hard Enduro: Red Bull Outliers - The Track Walk
In mid-August I got back from shooting for a week in Ontario at the Canadian Grand National Championships and the final round of the Triple Crown Series. Next big challenge for me was to shoot Red Bull Outliers - Round 4 of the FIM World Hard Enduro Championship Series here in, and around, my hometown of Calgary AB. As the FIM explains it, Hard Enduro has become “one of the most challenging off-road motorcycle [disciplines] in existence.”
In a nutshell, FIM Hard Enduro World Championships consist of an Enduro Cross style prologue and one or more stages of racing in extreme off-road environments. For Red Bull Outliers, the prologue would take place at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, with the single Hard Enduro stage being run in the Badlands just north of Brooks in Steveville, Alberta (about 2.5 hours east of Calgary). I’ll cover the prologue and the hard enduro stage in later posts, but for this one I’m going to share my experience going to shoot the pro riders’ reconnaissance track walk out in Steveville on the Thursday afternoon before the weekend of racing.