2022 National Enduro Round 6 Results

2022 National Enduro Round 6 Results

Shan Moore | August 23, 2022

Grant Baylor impressively navigated a treacherous, rain-soaked 67-mile course to claim his second win of the season with an impressive performance at the Grassman National Enduro, round six of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Chandlersville, Ohio, August 21.

The Rev Motorsports GasGas rider topped Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong by 51 seconds for the victory in an event that was shortened to five tests after off and on torrential rains filled the creeks and left several inches of water running through the trails. 

Grant got off to a quick start by winning the first two tests, while DeLong put himself in a good position after topping test-number three. AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor, who finished fourth, and FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth, who was fifth, won the final two tests. 

Grant Baylor put himself at the top of the championship leaderboard after winning the Grassman National Enduro in Ohio. Photos: Shan Moore

With the victory, Grant takes control of the series points lead with four rounds remaining, 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 kind of 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, so I was really worried there for a [moment]. 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.”

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.”

2022-nepg-grassman-enduro-delong
Craig DeLong reveled in the wet conditions and finished second best.

DeLong’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Trevor Bollinger 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 [injury]. So, to come back at these and get on the podium—I think it’s my second career podium—so it feels good.”

Steward Baylor was fourth after struggling with bottlenecks and slower riders.

“The day was just really tough,” said Steward. “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 I always caught the worst of it. Just really struggled all day, mentally.”

Toth was in contention for a podium for most of the day but made a costly mistake in the final test when he got off the trail and lost nearly a minute, eventually landing the KTM rider in fifth. 

2022-nepg-grassman-enduro-bollinger
Trevor Bollinger went straight to the podium in third place after returning from injury.

Ryder Lafferty came into the race with the series points 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’ Ricky Russell topped Beta USA’s Evan Smith by 15 seconds to secure seventh. Steel City Honda-rider Ben Nelko won the NE Pro2 class with a ninth overall finish. 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 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 [Jonathan] Johnson got me by 30 seconds. Luckily, I had enough on him to get the win.”

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. 

2022-nepg-grassman-enduro-tricker
Mackenzie Tricker took top honors in the Women’s Elite class.

Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker topped AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael 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 [Archer] 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.”

Shan Moore

OVERALL RESULTS

  1. Grant Baylor (GG)
  2. Craig DeLong (Hus)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (Hus)
  4. Steward Baylor (Yam)
  5. Josh Toth (KTM)
  6. Ryder Lafferty (GG)
  7. Ricky Russell (GG)
  8. Evan Smith (Bet)
  9. Ben Nelko (Hon)
  10. Thad DuVall (Hus)

Click here for more NEPG news. 

2022 National Enduro Round 6 Results

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