Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1544109
Like the ISDE, the East Coast Qualifier features both a cross test and an enduro test. Here to give you the course report from the weekend is pro rider, ISDE Vet- eran, and US Sprint Enduro part- me employee Rachel Gu sh: The first thing you have to remember about this week- end is that, due to the biblical, unforgiving amounts of rain on Saturday and the venue's quick-drying prop- er es, while the two tests were technically located in the same area, they might as well have been held on different con nents. The Cross Test is held in a county-operated sand/clay mine. Though it is far from the stereotypical hilly grass track, it s ll has a very European feel, as they do love their strip-pit tests over there! Because it is s ll an ac- ve mine and not reclaimed, Billy, the owner of the US Sprint series, is allowed to let his imagina on run wild. In addi on to using the natural hill climbs and features, he builds and accentuates them, crea ng hip jumps, step-ups, and carved-in beams. On Saturday, the open woods sec ons on the edges of the pit more closely resembled a jet-ski course than a motorcycle race, resul ng in only two cross tests being run on Saturday. Lots of googles were thrown, C-class riders struggling to navigate the course, and it became more a game of a ri on and survival than an actual race. The pit itself, largely loose sand, was be er, but s ll very wet and sloppy. But thanks to hours and hours of dozer work, good drainage, and good luck with a sunny, windy Sun- day, the cross test was nearly perfect, even dry in spots. Rather than survival, it becomes a game of high-speed drag racing, much like a cross test is in- tended to be. The rain made it rough and choppy. Saturday's enduro test was quite like an ISDE en- duro test also. The track was mostly ATV/skid-steer wide, but with ghter apexes and slower speeds than the cross test. But like the cross test, the ter- rain here was a mix of sand and clay. -Rachel April 2026 21 Brandy Richards Danielle McDonald Rachel Gu sh Brandy Richards Danielle McDonald Rachel Gu sh