2015 AMA National Enduro Sumter Race Results

Baylor Opens Enduro Series With Win In South Carolina
[caption id="attachment_36622" align="alignright"
width="300"] Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]
Steward
Baylor topped a massive field of off-road competitors this
weekend, taking an impressive win at the opening round of the 2015
Kenda AMA National Enduro
Series in Sumter, South Carolina.
A record turnout of 825 riders took to Sumter's tight and sandy
trails, and after 65 miles of racing, Baylor held off a last minute
challenge by FMF/KTM's Kailub
Russell to take the overall victory by 13 seconds. Baylor's win
was significant in that the 2012 series champion is returning to
action this year after spending all of last year recovering from
injury.
"It's been a long time coming," said Baylor. "This is where I've
wanted to be since 2012, to be on top of the box. The day started
out pretty rough, but I just kept pushing and it paid off."
Baylor got off to a rough start in test one, losing valuable time
when he crashed midway into the test. However, the Mototech KTM
rider quickly regained his footing with a solid win in test two,
finishing 10 seconds ahead of 2014 champ Andrew
DeLong. In all, Baylor won only two of the six tests on the
day, however, consistency paid off in the long run for the South
Carolina rider, and he collected to first victory of the 2015
season.
Russell finished up the event with an impressive ride for second
place, although he had his ups and downs. On the "up" side, Russell
was fastest in the first and last tests of the day. However, a
crash in test two left the North Carolina rider 10th fastest for
the test. Russell was sixth fastest in test three, but then he
started to pick up the pace and was second to Motosport Yamaha's
Brad Bakken in
tests four and five. A win in the final test allowed Russell to
move ahead of Motosport Yamaha's Brad Bakken for second.
[caption id="attachment_36623" align="alignleft"
width="300"] Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]
"It was good, bad and ugly," said Russell. "I didn't really get
going until the end of the third test, and then I felt like I had a
good rhythm."
Bakken rounded out the podium, finishing just five seconds behind
Russell. Bakken also got off to a slow start but came on strong in
the middle part of the race before a bad final test stopped his
momentum.
Fourth went to four-time champ Russell
Bobbitt, who is back on KTM after spending the last few years
on Husaberg and Husqvarna. The FMF/KTM rider lost considerable time
in test four when he took a tumble and bent his controls, but came
back with some good rides in the final two tests.
Beta USA's Cory
Buttrick turned in his best performance in a couple of years
with a solid fifth place finish, while Chris Bach made
a rare national enduro appearance to claim sixth, edging out
Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing's Josh Strang by just two
seconds.
Defending series champ Andrew DeLong ran in second place for most
of the day, but a pair of devastating finishes in the final two
tests dropped the Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing-backed rider
all the way down into eighth for the day.
[caption id="attachment_36621" align="alignright"
width="300"] Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]
Meanwhile, Am Pro Yamaha's Grant Baylor
and AirGroup Racing's Ryder
Lafferty rounded out the top 10.
Australian off-road star Daniel Milner was expected to do well in
Sumter, however, the Am Pro Yamaha rider ran out of fuel in test
one when a mechanic forgot to fuel his bike, and he was not able to
start the second test.
Zach Hayes won the Rekluse Expert-AA division, which is considered
a stepping-stone for young riders hoping to move into the Pro
ranks. The South Carolina rider was seventh fastest in the fifth
test and he beat out fellow KTM rider Drew Higgins by three minutes
and 49 second for the AA-Expert class-win. He also finished 12th in
the final overall standings.
"I was really tight in the first test, and in test two I went over
the bars, but then I start getting it together and rode strong for
the rest of the race," said Hayes.
Higgins had to overcome arm pump to finish second, while Motosport
Yamaha's Ryan Belue was 23 seconds back in third.
The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series resumes action with round two
of the series on March 1st in Pelion, South Carolina. For more info
on the series check out www.nationalenduro.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HYt5T1Oi7jc
Source:
National Enduro Promotions Group
Baylor Wins Sumter Enduro
[caption id="attachment_36624" align="alignright"
width="300"] Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]
KTM support rider Steward
Baylor took the win at the opening round of the AMA National
Enduro Series over FMF KTM Factory rider Kailub
Russell who earned his career-best National Enduro finish with
a 2nd overall.
It was Russell who came out swinging taking the test win in the
first test of the day. Unfortunately, Russell suffered a crash in
the second test that cost him valuable time. Baylor ended up the
eventual winner of the second test to catapult his KTM into the
lead.
Russell's teammate, Russell
Bobbitt, was also a podium contender throughout the day.
Bobbitt was the third fastest rider in the first two test sections
before he had a hard crash in test three. Bobbitt was a little
banged up but eventually recovered and returned to racing. In the
final two tests Bobbitt rebounded and made a charge for the podium
but missed the box by five seconds.
Meanwhile, Russell also picked up the pace and finished second
fastest in test four and five and took another test win in the
final test section. At the end of the race, Baylor edged out
Russell by 13 seconds for the overall win.
"Overall I am happy with the day," commented Russell. "It is my
best finish in the National Enduro Series, but of course, I want to
work harder and be on the top step of the podium. I am looking
forward to the next round of the series to come back and fight for
a win."
Next Event: March 1, 2015 - Pelion, SC
Source: KTM North America
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Make Their Off-Road Debut With Top 10 Finishes
[caption id="attachment_36620" align="alignright"
width="300"] Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]
Josh Strang and Andrew DeLong finish 7th and 8th
overall at Sumter Kenda AMA National Enduro,
respectively.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Josh Strang and
Andrew
DeLong put in solid rides at the first National Enduro of the
2015 season. Good weather and traction made for a nice day as the
team rode to top ten finishes. Strang, new to the Husqvarna team,
made progress throughout the day battling between 4th and 7th
positions, finishing the last two tests strong and ending the day
7th overall. "Today was good. I enjoyed the race but I'm still
trying to get used to the different style of racing and the tight
trees," explained Strang. "I felt comfortable but a little off the
pace. With some more time in the woods and some extra time on the
bike it should be good."
Husqvarna veteran and reigning National Enduro Champion, Andrew
DeLong, entered his 4th season on a Husky. He battled at the front
lines for most of the day but a late race incident dropped him back
down a bit, closing out the day in 8th place. "I had a solid day on
the FC 350 that worked great, just not the results I was looking
for," said DeLong.
Source: Husqvarna
Motorcycles
Sumter Enduro Overview And Point Standings
2015 AMA National Enduro Series Sumter Image Gallery (Click for full size images)
Overall Race Results
Place | Rider Name | Brand | Class | Row | Checks Won | Total Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Steward Baylor Jr | KTM | Pro | 26A | 2 | 34:05 |
2 | Kailub Russell | KTM | Pro | 37A | 2 | 34:18 |
3 | Brad Bakken | YAM | Pro | 24A | 2 | 34:37 |
4 | Russell Bobbitt | KTM | Pro | 33A | 34:42 | |
5 | Cory Buttrick | BET | Pro | 29A | 35:33 | |
6 | Chris Bach | HON | Pro | 52G | 36:04 | |
7 | Josh Strang | HSQ | Pro | 36A | 36:06 | |
8 | Andrew DeLong | HSQ | Pro | 21A | 36:09 | |
9 | Grant Baylor | YAM | Pro | 23A | 37:26 | |
10 | Ryder Lafferty | HSQ | Pro | 28A | 37:47 | |
11 | Craig Delong | HSQ | Pro | 31A | 38:06 | |
12 | Zack Hayes | KTM | Expert-AA | 29B | 38:50 | |
13 | Trevor Aaron Bollinger | KTM | Pro | 45A | 39:37 | |
14 | Geoff Braico | HSB | Pro | 44A | 40:21 | |
15 | Tegan Robert Temple | KTM | Pro | 41A | 40:22 | |
16 | Christopher Douglas | KTM | Pro | 38A | 42:05 | |
17 | Drew Higgins | KTM | Expert-AA | 31B | 42:39 | |
18 | Ryan Belue | YAM | Expert-AA | 28B | 43:02 | |
19 | Michael Witkowski | KTM | Pro | 42A | 44:14 | |
20 | Nathan Ferderer | GG | Expert-AA | 52B | 44:38 | |
21 | Jake Froman | SUZ | Expert-AA | 40B | 44:38 | |
22 | Ethan Ficklin | KTM | Expert-AA | 33B | 45:17 | |
23 | Shane Watts | KTM | A 40+ | 18E | 45:35 | |
24 | Jordan Ashburn | YAM | Pro | 51G | 45:39 | |
25 | Evan Smith | KTM | Expert-AA | 30B | 45:40 |
Overall Point Standings ( Race 1 of 10 )
- Steward Baylor Jr - 30
- Kailub Russell - 25
- Brad Bakken - 21
- Russell Bobbitt - 18
- Cory Buttrick - 16
- Chris Bach - 15
- Josh Strang - 14
- Andrew DeLong - 13
- Grant Baylor - 12
- Ryder Lafferty - 11