Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1162518
VOLUME 56 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 P29 compete for the win when you're on the ground. Ryan was in a league of his own on the cross test, but I had some fast times in the enduro test. I got in the lead on Monday after the enduro test, but then I fell in the cross test and threw it away. Then I was close going into the final test, so I went for it and fell again." FMF/KTM's Taylor Robert, the 2016 ISDE Individual cham- pion, has spent the year racing the WORCS Series, and South Carolina marked his first race in serious wooded terrain all year. "I started off pretty slow, but I picked it up in the afternoon. I went from 10th place to third by the end of the day," said Robert. "Even though this woods section wasn't very tight, it's still tighter than anything I ride, and it's mainly the tree roots I don't get to ride, but it's good prep for Six Days, and it's always good to practice something different." Tely Energy Racing's Steward Baylor (who normally rides a 450) rode a KTM 500 in South Carolina to prepare for Portugal where he will be competing as a member of the World Trophy Team in the E3 class. After a slow start, Steward put the big KTM into fourth overall. "The 500 is a big change, and I've been trying to adapt to it," said Steward. "It didn't help that I stuck my bad knee into the ground on the first day. I always start slow anyway, so I picked up the pace on the second day and was riding pretty good." Fifth place went to Rock- star Energy Husqvarna's Thad Duvall who was part of the winning World Trophy Team in 2016. He has elected to sit out this year's ISDE. Grant Baylor also rode a 500 since he is competing on the Junior Trophy Team in the E3 class. Grant was sixth overall, just two sec- onds ahead of Husqvarna/ Max Motorsports/FXR's Evan Smith. Smith also won the Pro2 class with his seventh overall finish. "This was kind of a sketchy track, so it was important to be consistent and not make any mis- takes, and aside from a couple of crashes on the first day I was able to do that," said Smith. Babbitt's Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jordan Ashburn, Trail Jesters Racing KTM's Ben Kelley and GasGas North America's Thorn Devlin, rounded out the top 10. Devlin also finished second in the Pro2 division, with Beta USA's Mike Witkowski taking third in the Pro2 class with a 12th overall finish. Josh Hill finished 13th in the first cross test and 12th in the enduro test, and then elected to sit out the rest of the race. Mean- while, Babbitt's Monster Energy Kawasaki's Josh Strang, the defending series champ, crashed in the second test and dislocated his shoulder. In the Women's Pro class, MEP MX/KTM's Mackenzie Tricker rode a 350 KTM instead of her usual 250 and grabbed her first win of the season ahead of KTM's Brandy Richards and Husqvarna's Tayla Jones. "I started off the first day with a couple of test wins, but I crashed a couple of times and Tayla won the day," said Tricker. "I was able to get it together on the second day and come away with the over- all, so I'm pretty happy since it's my first overall win in this series in over a year." Jones wrapped up the Women's Pro title at the previous round. Shan Moore OVERALL 1. Ryan Sipes (KTM) 2. Kailub Russell (KTM) 3. Taylor Robert (KTM) 4. Steward Baylor (KTM) 5. Thad Duvall (Hus) 6. Grant Baylor (KTM) 7. Evan Smith (Hus) 8. Jordan Ashburn (Kaw) 9. Ben Kelley (KTM) 10. Thorn Devlin (GG) Taylor Robert brushed up on his woods-riding skills and managed to finish out the weekend on the podium.