VOLUME 57 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 17, 2020 P71
a couple of AA riders right in front of
Steward, and they were hindering
me somewhat, too. You got close
to those guys and it took almost two
miles just to catch them after you
caught their dust. You would catch
their dust, and then two miles later
you would catch them. Luckily Stew-
ard had Cole Kirkpatrick out there in
front of him the last test, and I ended
up edging him out by just a few sec-
onds, so it was awesome."
Steward, who just signed with
AmPro Yamaha for 2021, came just a
few lappers from taking the win.
"I felt like I was definitely the best
rider today," said Steward. "Starting
off at the front of the pack puts you
right at the back of the pack of the
AA's. I had to deal with a lot of dust.
I think that was the game changer
there at the end."
Switching back to his KTM 450
XC-F for the Texas race, FMF/KTM's
Ben Kelley put in a solid ride to
round out the podium, his 3-2-4-3-3
finishes in the five tests were good
enough for third overall.
"It was a good day overall," said
Kelley. "I decided to ride the 450
and I think it was a good choice in
this terrain, although it was com-
pletely foreign to us. But I think that's
what made it fun. I felt surprisingly
well. Had a bit of arm pump, but
overall, I had a smooth day. I stayed
off the ground which was nice.'
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's
Thad Duvall edged Josh Toth by just
16 seconds to grab fourth ahead of
the FMF/KTM rider.
