After sitting out the whole 2022 FIM Hard Enduro season due to recovering from essential surgeries, Jonny competed in the AMA EnduroCross Championship over in the United States for the first time in his career. It proved to be the perfect post-recovery tonic with him taking the 2022 title on his VisionTrack Beta 300 RR! Below we review his campaign:

Round 1 Salt Lake City, Utah

Even though Jonny got the 5th fastest hot-lap which set the starting order for the first of the three motos, overall, it wasn't the start to the series that he wanted; going 3, 10, 8 in the three motos for 8th overall.

After managing 3rd place in moto 1, moto 2 proved tough, especially as the second moto inverts the 16 rider's finishing positions from moto 1, meaning the top 8 riders start on the second row. Jonny actually led the moto for a couple of laps but went down after the tyre wall, losing many places to finish moto 2 with a 10th.

Moto 3 didn't go to plan either, getting a good start but again going down. GasGas Factory Rider Taddy Blazusiak took the Round 1 overall with 1, 2, 1, Red Bull KTM's Trystan Hart 2nd and South African Blake Gutzeit in 3rd.

Jonny Walker AMA EnduroCross 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

Round 2 Redmond, Oregon

After a very average first round by his standards, Jonny took the overall win at round 2 in Oregon, finishing on the podium in all 3 motos with a 1-1-3! 

He started the evening's racing by posting the 3rd fastest hot-lap time so he had the 3rd gate pick for the first moto. This gave him the perfect springboard to take the win in moto 1.

In moto 2, even though Jonny started on the 2nd row, he came through the pack to win again, taking a very strong lead into moto 3. 

Despite being held up by a lapped rider on the last lap in moto 3, Jonny took 3rd place, ensuring he claimed his first overall win in the series with the lowest score of 5 points. A very strong performance by the Beta man! 2nd overall was 3 time AMA EnduroCross Champion Cody Webb on his FactoryOne Sherco with Husqvarna's Ryder LeBlond in 3rd, claiming his first ever overall podium.

Jonny Walker AMA EnduroCross 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

Round 3 Denver, Colorado

After putting down the 4th fastest hot-lap time to give Jonny 4th gate pick for the evening's racing, moto 1 and 2 were unfortunately very average by Jonny's standards, going 6th then 7th. He faired better in moto 3, getting on the podium with a 3rd and giving him 4th overall for the evening.

Red Bull KTM's Trystan Hart took the overall on the evening with a 2, 3, 1 across the 3 motos, with FactoryOne Sherco rider Cody Webb 2nd overall and GasGas Factory's Taddy Blazusiak rounding off the top 3, the latter being docked points for a moto 2 infringement.

Jonny Walker leading the pack AMA EnduroCross 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

Round 4 Prescott Valley, Arizona

Jonny went one better in Arizona, going 4, 1, 7 for 3rd overall on the night. The evening started perfectly, setting the fastest hot-lap on his Beta for 1st gate pick for moto 1.

Even though Jonny got the Moose Holeshot in moto 1, he made a few mistakes to finish a disappointing 4th despite his great start. With moto 2 having the usual inverted grid, Jonny started on the 2nd row. This did not stop him blasting through the field to claim 1st place!

Things didn't go to plan in moto 3. A multi-rider pile-up at the first corner meant Jonny picked himself up at the back of the pack, riding up and through to a decent 7th place under the circumstances. Red Bull KTM's Trystan Hart managed to miss the crash and get away from the overall win contenders. He rode to an "easy" moto 3 win and took the overall win for the second round in a row.  2nd overall again went to FactoryOne Sherco rider Cody Webb with Jonny taking 3rd overall.

Jonny Walker AMA EnduroCross 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

Round 5 Nampa, Idaho

Jonny took an important and well deserved overall win in the penultimate round of the Championship with a solid 1, 1, 2 across the 3 motos. The tone of the evening was set from the outset, Jonny setting the fastest hot-lap time on his Beta 300 RR to set the gate positions for moto 1. 

Even though Jonny didn't get the hole shot in moto 1, which was taken by Colton Haaker, he maintained 2nd position until Haaker made a mistake on the tricky track. A lot of the title contenders were finding the track very difficult, going down in various sections. This played into Jonny's hands, who rode crash-free to the chequered flag.

The inverted grid for moto 2 proved no problem again for Jonny. Starting from the 2nd row this time, Jonny's riding was dominant, moving from 10th to 2nd by the half way stage, sitting behind Taddy Blazusiak. On the 8th lap, Jonny moved past Taddy and into a lead which he wouldn't relinquish.

Another smooth, error-free ride in moto 3 saw Jonny finish with a 2nd place. A great evening's work for our Beta man from Cumbria, winning the overall and putting him now within 1 point of Series Leader Trystan Hart going into the last round of the Championship! Hart only managed 5th overall in Idaho, dropping precious points to Walker. 2nd overall on the evening went to Rockstar Husqvarna rider Colton Haaker, with Ryder Leblond coming 3rd.

Jonny Walker AMA EnduroCross 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

Round 6 Reno, Nevada

With this final round of the 2022 AMA EnduroCross Championship Series going down to the wire, there was no real room for error. Jonny's night didn't start off too well though, only recording the 6th fastest hot-lap time, meaning he did not get a good gate pick for moto 1. 

Despite this, Jonny managed a 3rd in moto 1, with Red Bull KTM's Trystan Hart, the man he had to beat to win the Championship, only managing 6th as he crashed in the early laps.

With an inverted grid for moto 2, both Jonny and Hart needed a strong race. Inevitably, they both battled for the lead for the majority of moto 2, Hart winning it and Walker claiming 2nd place. This meant the whole championship now rested on the final moto of the series!

Moto 3 did not disappoint. Walker knew if he tracked Hart the Championship would be his. And that he did, sticking to Hart with a smart ride. Even though Trystan Hart claimed the win, Jonny came a close 2nd, meaning the Beta man clinched the 2022 AMA EnduroCross Championship at the first time of asking!

The overall in Nevada belonged to FactoryOne Sherco's Cody Webb, with Walker 2nd and Hart 3rd - the 1st moto of the evening ultimately proving to be Hart's downfall. The final round finished off a great series, with close racing over the 6 rounds from some of the biggest talent in the sport.

Jonny won the Championship by 3 points! An incredible feat from our Sponsored Rider, considering this was his first competitive riding since having surgery a few months earlier. The Championship Top 3 were as follows:

1. Jonny Walker, Beta, 137 Points

2. Trystan Hart, KTM, 134 Points

3. Cody Webb, Sherco, 125 Points

Jonny Walker AMA EnduroCross Champion 2022. Ph. Jack Jaxson

AS3 Performance Parts used on Jonny's Championship winning bike: 

Jonny ran a number of our parts on his Beta for the AMA 2022 EnduroCross Championship series, including, clutch cover, rear brake disc guard and power valve cover. He also ran AS3 Performance front brake, rear brake and clutch master cylinder covers.

Jonny is an asset to the AS3 Performance brand and we look forward to supporting him into the 2023 season and the future.