Results and race report from 2026 AMA National Hard Enduro Championship round two, the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro, where Kawelo Huddy again made the most of local advantage to lead home just three official finishers – Matty Green bags a maiden podium.

With the 2026 USHE season kicking off in the arid Southern California desert at the King of the Motos last month, the second round brought the complete opposite conditions on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i.

Rain all week set the stage for a brutal round two in the steep jungle terrain in this, the third visit to the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro staged by the historic Garden Island Motorcycle Club for the USHE series.

One of the wettest paces on earth

Located less than 10 miles away from one of the wettest places on earth, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, and heavy rains soaked the Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro course this season, which brought a range of feelings from the racers and yet again a very surprising set of final results.

Historically a wet one

This race was fairly wet in 2024, but very dry last year, so many were hoping for a chance at this race with more rain. Hawaiians are well-known for their ability to ride in very wet and muddy conditions, whether it be up steep lava-formed mountainsides or rushing creeks. A normal trail ride in Hawaii is considered a hard enduro ride for most people, due to the tropical conditions and thick jungles.

As an example, the GIMC’s signature event, the Labor Day Hare and Hound, has been running for 71 years, and could be considered the longest running extreme race in the world.

Could Huddy repeat the win?

The past two Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduros have been won by Kawelo Huddy, a local football star turned hard enduro phenom. The pressure to perform on the home stage was on for Huddy and his other Bullet Proof Designs KRD Hui teammates, Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna and Ryder Guest.

Prologue test on day one

90 Pro and A class racers took off one at a time, one minute apart, for a Prologue on day one winding through muddy virgin trails and slick creek beds. Ryder Guest scored the fastest time of the Prologue, which decided the start position for the main race, with reigning chamion, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart fourth, Cody Webb sixth and Matty Green seventh.

21 miles and five hours – sounds easy…

The Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro Main Race consisted of four courses; Pro, A, B, and C. This allowed for racers to be on their respective skill-based course and for traffic to keep flowing safely. The Pro course was approximately 21 miles and took racers through some of the hardest trails in Omao, with a five-hour time limit to complete it.

Huddy took the lead at the first checkpoint, towing the front pack back into the start area for the gas check, before they went into the Omao mountains where the rain really started to come down.

Huddy and Kamakana were within seconds of each other for nearly half the race, but Kana’s bike started to lose a clutch and had to return to the pits about ¾ through the race, losing his chance at the front spot. Huddy checked out after Kana had to pull off, riding a smooth race and taking advantage of first tracks in the mud.

The battle for a podium spot was between Ryder Guest, Hart, Satterfield, South Africa’s Matt Green riding for Champion Brick Racing, and Rocky Mountain ATV Yamaha’s Cody Webb. All of these athletes were going back and forth depending on the section. On the infamous “5 Minute Hill”, four of them were battling up it and trying to get through the deteriorating trails, and even saw Webb and Green helping each other up certain sections.

This hill ended the race of many of the Pro division, as it got worse and worse. Guest, the winner of the Prologue, lost a clutch and had to pull out of the race in the first half of Omao. Hart was pushing hard, but also seemed out of his comfort zone, allowing Green to pull ahead for the third position and Webb to pass on a hill.

Kana, who had to return to pit to fix his clutch, was losing a crank seal and returned to the spot he left the course on, still in 2nd. Green noticed that Kana was close but couldn’t quite catch him.

1h:54m winning margin

Kawelo Huddy pulled such an immense gap on the rest of the field, that he finished the eight-checkpoint single lap race in 3 hours 31 minutes. Huddy’s 1 hour 54-minute gap to the second place finisher was jaw-dropping, and shows the advantage he has over everyone on the terrain.

Kana came through the finish at 5 hours 25 minutes, with Green just squeaking a third place in before the cut-off at 5 hours and 29 minutes, making the Hard Enduro World Championship regular the final finisher of the race.

Huddy’s finishing time was around the same point on the clock when Hart, Green, and Webb were battling near checkpoint 5 and it was only one further CP that Hart and Webb timed out to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

Say What? Top 3 Pro riders explain their races

In the A Class division, Champion Brick Racing’s Makana Barger had a dominant lead from the beginning to the finish, where he completed his 19-mile course in 4 hours 59 minutes. In the Pro Women’s class, Oahu’s Pebs Madolora was leading at all three of her checks and won in 4 hours 36 minutes.

Ultimate Hawaiian Hard Enduro 2026 Results:

The AMA National Hard Enduro season returns to the desert in the mainland for the Grinding Stone Hard Enduro in Page, Arizona on March 20-22.

For full results: https://www.moto-tally.com/ushe/Results.aspx

More information: www.ushardenduro.com

Photo Credit: Owen Gorsuch | O Go Illustrated + Ryan McCasland | Calafia Concepts