LOCALNEWS
11X US TRIALS CHAMPION PAT SMAGE RETURNS FOR HIS 20TH YEAR ON SHERCO words & photos courtsey of FactoryONE Sherco
SAN ANTONIO , TX –
Record setting US observed Trials champion , Pat Smage , returns to FactoryONE Motorsports , in what will be his 20th year riding a Sherco motorcycle . The 30-year-old Smage , from Elkhorn , WI , won his first professional title back in 2007 . From there , he would win three consecutive titles . In 2010 he would have to settle for a 2nd place , behind current Sherco Enduro rider Cody Webb . Smage would then string together five championships from 2011 to 2015 . In 2016 , he fell to the runner position once again , but regained the title in 2017 , and would hold it for three consecutive years . The 2019 Championship was a record setting year for Pat . That title would be his 11th , which surpassed Geoff Aaron ’ s previous record of 10 .
“ I started riding Sherco back in 2001 and have had every model year since then ,” said Smage . “ It has been awesome to see the evolution of the motorcycles over the past 20 years , and I am happy to be riding the best one yet now . I feel very lucky and thankful to still be able to focus on riding with the support of FactoryONE / Sherco USA after all these years . I plan to give it my all , as long as I can , to try to keep the dream going and hope to be a part of this team for a very long time . I can ’ t wait to get back in the sections at Nationals ! Oh yeah , I would also like to mention that I ’ ll be giving Hard Enduro another shot in select races ! Riding both bikes has been a lot fun and has helped keep me motivated , so I ’ m looking forward to using them both to continue to build my skills .”
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 28