Mototech KTM rider Steward Baylor claims the first Kenda AMA National Enduro win of the year.
Mototech KTM’s Steward Baylor topped a record crowd of 825 competitors to earn a win at the opening round of the 2015 Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Sumter, South Carolina, yesterday.
Baylor managed to hold off a late-race charge by Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell, the reigning AMSOIL GNCC Champion, to take the overall victory by 13 seconds and claim his first since spending all of last year recovering from injury. Baylor is the 2012 Kenda AMA National Enduro Series champion.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Baylor. said “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 an impressive second while posting the fastest times in the first and last special tests of the day. However, a crash in test two left the North Carolina rider 10th fastest in that special 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.
“Overall I am happy with the day,” Russell said. “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.”
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.
Four-time champ Russell Bobbitt, who is back with FMF/KTM after spending the last few years on Husaberg and Husqvarna, finished fourth overall. Bobbitt lost a lot of time in test four when he crashed hard and suffered bike damage (see video above), but came back with good rides in the final two tests.
Beta USA’s Cory Buttrick turned in his best performance in the past couple seasons by finishing fifth. Chris Bach finished sixth in a rare Kenda AMA National Enduro Series appearance, edging out Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang by just two seconds. Strang;s teammate and defending series champion Andrew DeLong ran in second place for most of the day, but a pair of poor finishes in the final two tests dropped DeLong eighth overall. Am Pro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor and AirGroup Racing’s Ryder Lafferty completed the top 10.
Kenda AMA National Enduro Series
Sumter, South Carolina
Results: February 1, 2015 (Round 1 of 10)
Overall
1. Steward Baylor-KTM
2. Kailub Russell-KTM
3. Brad Bakken-Yam
4. Russell Bobbitt-KTM
5. Cory Buttrick-Bet
6. Chris Bach-Hon
7. Josh Strang-Hus
8. Andrew DeLong-Hus
9. Grant Baylor-Yam
10. Ryder Lafferty-Hus
Kenda AMA National Enduro Series Point Standings (After 1 of 10 rounds)
1. Steward Baylor-30/1 win
2. Kailub Russell-25
3. Brad Bakken-21
4. Russell Bobbitt-18
5. Cory Buttrick-16
6. Chris Bach-15
7. Josh Strang-14
8. Andrew DeLong-13
9. Grant Baylor-12
10. Ryder Lafferty-11
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