The final round of the 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series in Reno, NV. Canadian #84 Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) took the win for the Pro Men,with #417 Rachel Gutish (Over and Out Racing / GasGas) taking it home for the Pro Women.

With their wins, both Hart and Gutish are the 2023 series champions. This is the first time either of them have won this series. Hart erased a seven-point deficit to defending champion #22 Jonny Walker (Beta USA), while Gutish overcame a separated shoulder and broken ribs from her Team USA ISDE duties in Argentina the previous week. Hart finishes the year as the US Hard Enduro champion, US Endurocross champion, and third overall in the FIM Hard Enduro Championship Series. Gutish was also third overall in the 2023 GNCC WXC series.

Round 5 of the 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series went off in Redmond, Oregon, last night and it more than lived up to expectation. Coming out of the Rounds 3 and 4 double-header two weeks ago in Idaho, Canadian Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) had put a stop to what had been series leader Jonny Walker’s (Beta USA) perfect season. Hart had struggled in the first two rounds and went into Idaho in fifth-place overall, an unacceptable situation for The Robot. In Idaho, though, he won both rounds and also benefitted from Walker finding incident after incident on track and losing many valuable points. After the dust had settled Walker remained in P1 overall, with Hart and Cody Webb (FactoryOne Sherco) in a two-way second place tie just 13 points back. With only two rounds left coming into Oregon Hart summed things up for me like this - “Pretty simple from here on out. I need to be in-front of Cody (Webb) and Jonny (Walker). Not a small task, but I’m up for the challenge.”

We caught up with Colton Haaker (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) right after he took the overall win at Round 5 of the AMA's 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Presented by Progressive. Haaker went 1-3-1 on the night to beat Canada's Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and the UK's Jonny Walker (Beta USA) and haul himself into the overall championship conversation heading into the finale in Reno, NV.

We’re here in Redmond OR for Round 5 of the 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series, and it’s shaping up to be an exciting one. 2022 Series champion Jonny Walker dominated the first two rounds of the series with perfect 1–1-1 motos in each, and leaving the field questioning what they could do to reel him in. The double-header round in Idaho Falls, however, was a different story. In Idaho we saw a return to normal operations for The Robot with Hart going 1-2-1 in Round 3 and 1-2-2 in Round 4 to win both. Walker, on the other hand, struggled through both rounds, getting caught up in multiple incidents that prevented him from challenging for wins (2-4-3/P2, and 6-3-4/P4). There was no doubt that his speed was there, it just looked from trackside like he was struggling to get himself back on track all weekend.

Day 4 of the 2023 ISDE is in the books down in San Juan, Argentina, and like Led Zeppelin taught us “The Song Remains the Same” at the front of the race. Josep Garcia (Spain) took the win over his closet rival Andrea Verona (Italy), while the US men and women continued to dominate the World Trophy competition. A heavy crash yesterday by US women’s World Trophy rider Rachel Gutish has added some unfortunate drama to the women’s race, however, with Gutish suffering a separated shoulder and broken ribs. She was able to get out and finish Day 4, though, in show of physical and mental toughness but she did note that “I am not good if we’re being honest with each other.” A race retirement from Australian Taylor Jones does give Team USA some breathing room in the overall, and if Gutish can find a way to finish the week the Americans will have the race sealed up barring any other issues.

Day 3 of the 2023 ISDE saw racing move to a new course and series of tests after two days on the Blue course. Coming into the day the US team was dominating in both the Men’s and Women’s World Trophy competition, while Sweden was building a comfortable lead in the Junior World Trophy.

Day 2 of the 2023 went off today in the desert outside of San Juan, Argentina. Today was a repeat of the Day 1 course but with modified transfer sections. As the Canadian team told us yesterday, the transfers were very technical and, in conjunction with the brutal heat, made for one of the hardest days that team members had ever experienced.

A Brutal Day in the Argentinian Desert

The 2023 International Six Days Enduro got underway today in San Juan, Argentina. Located near the base of the Andes, relatively close to the Chilean border, the region is an arid desert plain with low hills that quickly change to 6000m mountain peaks.

Team Canada ISDE is represented on the men’s World Trophy side this year by Phillip Chaine (KTM Canada), Owen McKill (Beta Racing Canada), Tyler Medaglia (Thor GasGas Racing), and Jared Stock (KTM Canada). The Canadian women’s World Trophy team consists of Natasha Lachapelle, Félicia Robichaud, and Emma Sharpless (KTM Canada).

Round 4 of the IRC Tires Endurocross Series went off Saturday night at the Mountain America Arena in Idaho Falls, ID. Round 3, the night before, saw the return to normal operations for Canada’s own ‘The Robot’ Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) as he went 1-2-1/P1 and moved from 5th overall in the series to 3rd. The big questions coming in were if Hart could keep building on that momentum, and how series leader Jonny Walker (Beta USA) would react to his first adversity of the series.

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.

After it was all done and dusted, Walker had another perfect night, laying down a blistering hot lap time trial time, sweeping the three motos, and extending his series lead. Hart looked significantly better on the bike this round, although some mishaps left him in P5 for the night after going 5-4-5.

The 2023 IRC Endurocross Series, presented by Progressive, opened tonight in Everett, WA, at the Angel of the Winds Arena. Coming into the series, Canadian eyes were on #84 Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) after his second-place overall finish to Jonny Walker in the 2022 series, and with his strong first half of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.