August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 63

On The Pegs VOL. 4 ISSUE 8 - August 2020 63
A one-off, stand-alone event, it wouldn’t be simply a Gas Gas show featuing only
Gas Gas riders. It had to be a legitimate competition so the team invited seven of
the country’s top men (Daniel Blanc-Gonnet, Karl Davis, Jr., Sam Castle, Alex Myers
and his brother Will, Alex Niederer and Josh Roper) and three of the top women
(Louise Forsley, Maddie Hoover and Kylee Sweeten). That meant Beta, Scorpa and
Sherco were represented as well as Gas Gas. (Because of a scheduling conflict, 11-
time National champ Pat Smage was unable to attend, though this likely made for
a more evenly stacked field.)
Due to the physical constraints, Aaron knew he needed to pack as much into
the tiny space as possible. This dictated the Invitational being more like an indoor
or stadium trial, similar to the ones in Europe that are so popular, though this one
would have a twist: Aaron brought in many truckloads of dirt and created a long
mound about 15 feet high. That elevation change promised to add to the challenge
provided by the boulders, concrete pipes and large poles that Aaron and
Schafer Tracks placed strategically to create five sections guaranteed to challenge
all, the women facing slightly different lines.
“It’s crazy how many obstacles you can fit in one small area and have such a fun
time,” Roper declared. “That’s what I really love about trials: You can stay in one
area and be set for hours.”
Taking a cue from other races that have successfully taken place recently, the Gas
Gas team elected to make the Invitational a no-spectator event with the requisite
social distancing and masking up requested.
Media was invited (with the same stipulations, of course) and while there wasn’t
live coverage, Gas Gas did have a crew on hand to produce an event video that’ll
be available soon and it’ll be a good one to watch if you’re at all interested in trials.
The combination of slightly different format (with a timed lap of part of the
EnduroCross track serving as the qualifier to determine starting order) and hybrid
outdoor/stadium sections produced a very competitive trial that ultimately went
to Davis and Forsley.
Davis shot out to an early lead, posting a seven on the first of three laps. No one
else got a single-digit score until Roper’s incredible three on the final circuit, thus
pulling him to a close runner-up finish behind Davis, 36-39; Davis earned $2500
for the win. Niederer rode consistently to card lap scores of 13, 16 and 15, his total
of 44 earning him third.
Forsley followed in a similar suit in Women Pro; after a two in the first section,
threes in the next two versus the fives of her rivals got her in front and she remained
there the rest of the afternoon. In a battle of three-time National champs,
Forsley claimed the $1500 winner’s check with a 33 over Hoover’s 42, young