Despite of the difficult terrain and conditions at the Red Fox National Enduro Lynnville, Indiana, Steward Baylor rose up to the occasion and managed to win the AMA National Enduro Series this weekend. Completing the podium are Josh Toth and Thad DuVall in second and third place respectively.
In all of the series so far, this has yet to be the most difficult of all as the condition of the track had been worsen by the heavy rains over the night. Baylor had a solid lead right from the start with wins in the first two tests. For the rest of the day, he kept his cool and rode with confidence and steadily and eventually claimed the victory in overall by a mere 28-second margin greater than Josh Toth. Baylor wasn’t satisfied by his performance however, he was more than happy of the results. The rider extended his lead in the series standings toward 10 points at the forefront of Toth with seven races left over on the timetable.
“I wouldn’t even call it mediocre, the way I felt about how I was riding. But considering the conditions, it turned out to be enough to get the win. It was really tough to stay focused in these conditions. This was definitely one of the most demanding national Enduros I’ve ridden.”
“Three big crashes in test six, the last one within sight of the finish, I was worried it was going to be close but I came into the test 47 seconds up on Josh and it ended up being more than enough of a cushion.” told Baylor.
For the 2018 series, Josh Toth currently has back-to-back runner-up finishes. In the entire six tests that they have been through, he was consistently at the top three as well as a triumph in test three.
“I rode well and tried to make the least number of mistakes I could, considering the conditions,” said Toth. “I really enjoyed the race with all the rain we got, it made for really technical and tough conditions but that’s the way an enduro should be in my opinion.” said Toth.
Because of his DNF during the earlier round, Thad DuVall entered and started the race from row 42 which was 11 rows at the back of Steward Baylor. Being that distant at the rear is rough especially in muddy circumstances by way of footrest deep ruts. DuVall made great effort during the opening test, putting himself in a hole in addition to a sixth-place end, however he made sure to step up during the next two test and eventually wins to take a third place finish.
“It wasn’t ideal conditions from row 42. The first and the fifth tests killed me. They were really bad and really rutted and I was just happy to just get through them. The course deteriorated so fast that by the time it came to my row there were so many deep ruts and holes that it was really challenging. It was some of the deepest ruts I’ve ever seen. I hope I never have to race anything like that again.” told DuVall.
Adding together his standing toward the third place finish he had in South Carolina, Ben Kelly was still grateful for his fourth place finish. “I got stuck a couple of times and had a few crashes,” told Kelley. “It was a struggle, but I had a few good tests and I had a decent finish.”
The steady feat of Ryder Lafferty also took top honors in the NE Pro2 division along with his fifth place completion of the race. “I pretty much stayed off the ground all day. I’m starting to find some consistency in my riding and I think that is paying off.” told Lafferty.
Tayla Jones of Husqvarna grabbed the crown honors in the Women’s Elite division after completing at three-minutes-twenty-five seconds to the front of Bonanza KTM’s MacKenzie Tricker. Completing the podium was Kelsy Pacholke.
The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series will return to battle through the Jesters National Enduro. The fourth round of the series will betaking place on May 6th in Arrington, Virginia. For more information, check out nationalenduro.com
