The podium is complete and sums up the heat as Thad Duvall stood high in Grassman National Enduro, round seven of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Chandlersville, Ohio.
Returning from an injury, The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Thad DuVall returned to the hard trails this weekend in Ohio. DuVall won three of the six tests over Steward Baylor in a slippery and wet event with one minute and thirty six seconds ahead over Steward Baylor.
Thad DuVall said: “This race is pretty close to my house and the dirt is similar to what I ride, plus I feel like I’m close to 100%, so to get this win and to do it in the fashion that I did feels really good. I had pretty high expectations coming in here.”
Competing together with his brother, Grant Baylor, Steaward Baylor was more focused on chasing DuVall. Steward Baylor, The Tely Energy KTM Rider, went on 5th, 4th,5th,5th,4th and 3rd finishes on all six tests as he struggled most of the time with poor line choices.
Steward Baylor said: “It’s distinctive for me to start slow and give away a bunch of time and then get aggravated and start picking people off later in the race, and that’s how today went. I think it’s a mental thing; I’m worried about my knee. It still gives me trouble which weighs on my mind.”
Steward still takes control of the series standings after his second place finish and a tiebreaker with Josh Toth for the lead. Completing the podium, Josh Toth finished third with his slow and steady performance. Josh Toth said: “I was riding smooth but way off the pace, but I picked it up midway into the race. I had a really bad time in the last test and that cost me second place. It was so slick out there, and I felt like I was riding a good pace, but then I would hit a slick spot and it would be gone. That happened over and over. No major drama or anything, I just started off slow.”
Cory Buttrick and Ben Kelley went on a heated race for the fourth place as both riders never give an inch on each other. In the final race, Cory Buttrick finished fourth heading by only seventeen seconds. Grant Baylor started off his race day with a win, but his huge sorry error that left him 57th on the test gives him a huge hole to catch up the podium. Grant Baylor still finished with fifth overall.
The bad luck still continues and hit Ben Kelley as he broke his front brake rotor in the final test when his front wheel stuck in a tree that slows his pace on chasing Josh Toth and dropping his position to sixth.
Craig DeLong surprised the whole event as he made an appearance and finished with seventh overall in the race. Mike Witkowski finished eight, the 5-time national enduro champion, Russell Bobbitt finished ninth, while FAR Racing Gasgas Andrew DeLong completes the top ten.
History lesson
Time flies as Mike Lafferty rode his 1997 KTM 250 EXC on the same stage where he won his first national title. The eight-time national endure champion restored his bike to an endurocross condition where he still finished strong with seventh place His throttle cable broke down on the final test but managed to continue by wrapping the unplugged cable around his thumb and pulling it with his hand.
In the NE Pro2 division, Jarrett Mohn secure the win edging out Jake Froman by ten seconds. The back and forth battle between adds fuel to the fire as the winner was declared on a last hit run. Jarrett Mohn said: “My thumb was really bothering me in the last test, but the rest of the day went pretty good for me. I really enjoyed the trail and when I’m having fun I tend to ride my best. It feels good to get the win.”
Women’s class winning streak
The winning streak continues for Tayla Jones grabs another win in the Women’s Elite class. The KR4 Husqvarna rider completes the five tests and won three over her rival Trail Jesters KTM Racing, Mackenzie Tricker. Tayla Jones said: “I had a couple of crashes, but overall it was a good day for me. I liked the tests better than I thought I would because of the rain and I felt like I rode pretty well.”
The Open A class competition belongs to KTM racing as Vincent Smith leads overall followed by Eric Douglass and Kole Hensley to complete the podium.
The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series returns to action on September 9 for the Loose Moose National Enduro in Marquette, Michigan, round eight of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series.
