The lush, rolling Tennessee mountains are home to more than just the Kimball Rollerskating Rink, they also house the legendary Trials Training Center (www.trialstrainingcenter.com). Every type of terrain is well represented at the TTC, making it the perfect stop for rounds 3 and 4 of the AMA Trials National Championship. The crew arrived late friday afternoon after a few stops to check out some land for sale in the area. Light was sparse, so a quick trip up to Lampkins Falls was the only riding to be done.
Saturday started off with hot temperatures and sun. It seemed as the temperatures skyrocketed, so did Pat’s riding level. Pat also raised the bar for loop scores, dropping just a single dab on his first time around the 12 sections. He followed that up with an equally impressive 2 points on his second loop. Cody Webb did his best to keep Pat honest, riding strong and stacking clean after clean.
Heading into the 4 Pro Shootout sections, however, Pat had a firm grasp on the lead. The shootout sections mimicked the top line in the FIM World Rounds, so difficulty was definitely on the mind of all the top 5 qualified Pros. Then in rained. Steady downpours greeted the riders as they dropped into each section. The riders rose to the occasion, with cleans being scored consistantly. Pat kept on his “A game” the entire time, losing only a few marks and cleaning sections that most thought were impossible in the conditions.
Pat and Phil’s cousin Erin ended up taking more of a beating than most of the riders. Ronnie Como’s bike took a wrong turn up section 3’s opening splatter and his bike flipped out of control and came to a rest on her right knee. She toughed it out and stayed to watch Pat throw a victory 1 footer off the final seven foot rock drop. Pat 1st, Cody 2nd, and Will Ibsen 3rd.
Sunday was much of the same for the Pros, as Pat set a pace that was too solid for the rest of the class to match. The podium remained the same in all three positions. Some incredible rides were thrown down by the whole group, with MavTV.com there to document the action.
Phil decided to save the $100 minder fee, and his body, and rode Expert this weekend. One thing that didnt change was his JLaw-esque reputation with the NATC. After getting penalty points before even starting for being late (with no start time to be found), he was still the final rider on the course got and got DNF’d for not getting his finishing time written on the scorecard.
Sunday was better for “Smagical”, as the first points on his card this time were from actually dabbing. After taking an extended first loop break to rub the crazy cramps out of his arms, it was crunch time. Phil had 1 hour to finish his last 2 loops. Most of the other guys thought it would be impossible to finish in time, but Phil saw it as an oppourtunity to turn the loop into one big endurocross track. With it being so late, most of the other competitors were already finished, so a clear track lay ahead. He kept his bike running the whole time and skipped checking out the sections beforehand, finishing exactly on his minute.
Team 551 films rider Noel “Papa” Smage took over his class’s points lead with a solid 2-2 showing on the weekend. For a guy who rarely practices, the eldest Smage sure can rip.
Everyone decided to hang around an extra day and do some filming on the 200.
After bagging some shots they headed to Foster Falls in search of walls to climb up and cliffs to jump off. A few busted feet later, and it was time to head back to Smagical Acres.
Check back next week for some more filming teaser shots. The night time is the right time…
dont forget the Gnarbars in the team of great sponsors.
-Rudolfo