VOL. 56 ISSUE 12 MARCH 26, 2019 P43
last section would have a lot of
palmettos, so I softened every-
thing up. The first time through
the palmettos I felt like I was
struggling. The second time, I
never made a mistake. It was re-
ally good. It was just one of those
perfect days."
Baylor's consistency was
impressive, as the rest of the
field was all over the place when
it came to test scores. Bobbitt,
who has not had the greatest luck
at the Alligator throughout his
long racing career, was the most
consistent of the rest, finishing
6-3-2-3-2-5 in the six tests to
claim the runner-up spot.
"I always seem to struggle
at this race," said Bobbitt. "I've
never won it, so that was one of
the reasons I wanted to come
down here. I didn't crash any all
day. Didn't stall it. Just kind of
rode real smooth and was able to
read the trail."
Smith finished 10 seconds
behind Bobbitt for third. The
Husqvarna/Max Motorsports/
FXR rider started strong by finish-
ing second in the first two tests,
but ninth-fastest in test three put
the Georgia rider in a deep hole.
Smith tried to mount a comeback
in the final two tests, but he was
a bit too late.
"I was five or six seconds down
on Russ going into the last test,
but I ended up burying my bike in
a mud hole," said Smith. "There's
no telling how long it took, but
it took me a while to get it out.
Then I still only lost to him by ten
seconds for the day."
A trio of NE Pro2 riders occu-
pied fourth through sixth overall
in the final standings, led by JDP
Suspension/RideOnMoto KTM's
Tegan Temple, who was fourth
overall and first in the NE Pro2
class. Fifth overall and second in
NE Pro2 was Tely Energy KTM's
Liam Draper, while Beta USA's
Cody Barnes was sixth overall
and third NE Pro2.
"I thought I could win the class,
but I didn't expect to get fourth
Russell Bobbitt was
again impressive
with runner-up
honors. Bobbitt and
Baylor are now tied
for the points lead.
