AMA National Enduro: Grant Baylor grabs rain-soaked Grassman NEPG win
Grant Baylor claimed his second win of the 2022 AMA National Enduro season at the rain-soaked Grassman National Enduro, round six of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Chandlersville, Ohio.
In conditions not unlike many of the Team USA riders will face in the ISDE next week in France, REV Motorsports GASGAS’s Grant Baylor topped Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong by a healthy 51 seconds.
Grant got off to a quick start, winning the first two tests on a day where torrential rains muddied the hills and filled the creeks of the Chandlerville area forcing the NEPG crew to shorten the event to five tests and 67 miles.
DeLong meanwhile put himself in good position after topping test number three with AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor and FMF KTM’s Josh Toth, winning the final two tests on the way to fourth, and fifth places respectively.
The Grassman victory means Grant takes control of the series point lead with four rounds remaining on the schedule, however, the South Carolina rider almost threw it all away in the final test of the day…
“With all the rain, I tried to just kind of take it easy at the start, so I was surprised to see that I won the first two tests,” said Grant. “In the last test I overshot a turn, went down into a ditch and buried my bike. It probably took me at least 40 seconds to get out. It was a mile or two in, and by the time I got out, the guys on my row had already caught me and passed me. I was in there for a little while, so I was happy when I finished and saw that I won.”
2022 Grassman National Enduro results (top 12):
Craig DeLong’s runner-up finish marked the Pennsylvania rider’s best finish of the season.
“After the rain we got last night, it was not that bad until the last test and the skies opened up again,” said DeLong. “I had never ridden anything like that. That was interesting, but I had a lot of fun. I was smiling and I’m pleased with the outcome.”
It was DeLong’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Trevor Bollinger who rounded out the podium in his first race back since injuring his hand in June.
“I started out third on the first test,” said Bollinger. “I think I made a couple mistakes in the second test, but from there, we were pretty consistent. Luckily, it landed me on the box. I missed the last two rounds with my hand. So, to come back at these and get on the podium… I think it’s my second career podium, so it feels good.”
Bottlenecks hold up Steward Baylor
“The day was just really tough,” said Steward after narrowly taking fourth and failing to capitalize on Ryder Lafferty’s P6 finish. “Ryder (Lafferty) left the door wide open to score some very valuable points, but I was just having an off day. I was riding really, really well, but my mistakes were costly. I tangled with a lot of lappers and every time I seemed to get off the trail to try to avoid getting close to anybody, I would just always seem to find a way to make a mistake. All the bottlenecks, it seemed to happen I always caught the worst of it. I just really struggled all day, mentally.”
Josh Toth was in contention for a podium for most of the day, but was another rider who made a costly mistake in the final test when he got off the trail and lost nearly a minute, eventually landing his KTM in fifth.
Ryder Lafferty came into the race with the series point lead, but a sixth-place finish dropped the Coastal Racing GASGAS rider to second in points behind Grant, 141 points to 134. Coastal Racing GASGAS’s Ricky Russell topped Beta USA’s Evan Smith by 15 seconds to secure seventh.
Ben Nelko takes NE Pro 2 win
Steel City Honda-rider Ben Nelko won the NE Pro 2 class with a ninth overall finish. “I struggled a little bit in the first couple tests; I didn’t know how hard you could push on the dirt with it being wet and kind of slippery,” said Nelko. “We couldn’t see times, so I was just kind of expecting that I wasn’t doing as good as I was. By the time I saw my times, I think I was 52 seconds up, so the last test it was raining really hard and we just kind of rode it in and (Jonathon) Johnson got me by 30 seconds. Luckily, I had enough on him to get the win.”
DuVall returns...
Thad DuVall returned to action after missing the last four races due to injury. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider battled the mud to 10th overall. “I started the race a little farther back, so it was a little tougher,” said DuVall. “The ruts were a little deeper and stuff, but just had fun racing. Had those butterflies and that nervous feeling again. Just struggled all day with the speed and stuff. I haven’t raced in a long time, so it’s been a struggle. Definitely was a little bit of an eye-opener today, but just got to get better, for sure.”
Beta USA’s Jonathon Johnson was second in the NE Pro 2 class with an 11th overall finish, while Steve Nicholas (KTM) was third NE Pro 2 rider in 12th overall.
Tricker holds on for Women’s Elite win
Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker topped AmPro Yamaha’s Rachel Archer to win the Women’s Elite class. “Obviously, we had a lot of rain last night so I was a little nervous with how muddy it was going to be,” said Tricker.
“I won the first two tests and Rachael had a problem, so I knew that I had a big lead. So, my last few tests, I just kind of did what I needed to do. I went down in the last test, but I was just patient today. There were a couple of hill climbs that I stopped at the bottom and people were stuck, and I just took my time. It paid off, so it was a good day.”
Trevor Maley beat out fellow KTM riders Gavin Sievenpiper and Dakota Devore to win the AA class. Meanwhile, Husqvarna rider Nicolas Haftl topped Honda riders Colby Davis and Cameron Sisk for the Open A victory.
The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series resumes on September 18th for the Loose Moose National Enduro, round seven of the series in Marquette, Michigan.
More information and full results: www.nationalenduro.com
Words and Photo Credit: Shan Moore
