Gnar-buckets EnduroCross racing is returning to Redmond.
The American Motorcyclist Association EnduroCross series will pitstop at the First Interstate Bank Center on Nov. 8 — the fourth of six rounds winding through America’s Western states.
While the pro category boasts household names like current series leaders Trystan Hart, Jonny Walker and Ryder LeBlond, the AMA EnduroCross series offers race categories that span ability and age ranges.
If you’re keen to root for a homegrown racer on the come-up, you could do worse than 18-year-old Conlan Archer. The Sisters High School senior is turning heads in the novice division, placing second place out of more than 20 racers in Prescott Valley, Arizona, the first stop of this year’s EnduroCross series on Oct. 18. Last weekend, Conlan rejoined the series for its second and third stops in Idaho Falls. He finished 10th place on Oct. 24, and in sixth place the following day. This is Archer’s third year competing in EnduroCross. He placed 9th overall in the 2023 series and 6th overall last year, both times in the novice category.
“It was a long weekend for sure, I put in a lot of work,” Archer said via email on Monday. “Friday’s main race was a challenge…I just got really tired throughout the day and I made too many mistakes.”
But Archer turned it around on Oct. 25. He held second place for much of the main race but two errors landed him in sixth. Archer is presently in first place in the novice series standings with 49 points.
EnduroCross meshes the motocross race format with the challenging obstacles of an Enduro race, crammed into a tight closed course, usually in a stadium or arena setting, according to the AMA website. Riders navigate rock beds and slash through water crossings and log sections. And don’t forget about those tricky tractor tires. EX is like indoor cyclocross but with dirt bikes that typically feature 250cc four-stroke engines in the amateur categories. Pros usually race 350cc four-strokers. Amateurs race four minutes plus a final lap; pros race for six minutes plus a lap. Racers advance through several heats.
Archer’s novice performances this season show him holding steady — and then some — from his 2024 season, which was cut short at the last stop in Everett, Washington on Nov. 16. A racer and friend ran Archer over in the rock section, resulting in a concussion and a broken finger.
“He apologized,” Archer said with a chuckle while chatting recently by phone. Despite not scoring at the last stop, Archer still finished sixth overall with 50 points. “He felt pretty bad.”
Archer knows that rubbin’ is racin’. Supported by sponsors Archer Construction, Sisters Moto, M9 Suspension and Kay Graphic and Designs Co., the racer spent the off-season healing and rebuilding his strength for this season. That involved cross-training on his mountain bike at Mt. Bachelor’s Bike Park, pumping weight in his family’s home gym and dialing his EX skills in the course he and his dad built in their backyard. Despite the injury, Archer says the rock pit and the matrix — aka the log stack — are his favorite obstacles in any EX course. They remind him of his high desert training grounds.
Archer is unabashed about his goals this season: he’s got his eyes on the AMA novice plate — the award given to each category’s respective series championship.
“I just want to feel confident in every race and keep improving on my skills, my physical strength and mental strength, as well,” he said.
Competitors in this year’s AMA EnduroCross series will navigate a new point structure — one standardized by AMA SuperCross — that rewards consistent podium finishes and keeps championship battles and rivalries alive longer, according to AMA.
“Fans will see more riders in contention deeper into the season,” said Tod Hammock, the president of Cycle City Promotions said a press release. “Wins still matter, but consistency will now play a bigger role in who comes out on top.”
The new point system is as follows: the winner earns 25 points, second place 22, third place 20. Points decrease by one per position down through the final position. This means podium finishers at the first few race stops won’t irrevocably pull away from the field, pointwise. Points for consistent racing will reward the rest of the top 10 finishers; comeback racers still have a shot.
AMA EnduroCross
Sat. Nov. 8, 5:30—10pm
First Interstate Bank Center (Deschutes County Fair Ground & Expo Center)
3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond
endurocross.com/events/2025-round-four/
Tickets begin at $26.50+service fee
This article appears in the Source October 30, 2025.
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