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Cycle News 2022 Issue 17 April 26

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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less than two seconds separating them at the end of the day. "We were pretty close all day on Saturday," said Michael. "He did have a crash in the second one, but then that last test I was puzzled. I was just wondering where I could make that time up. Honestly, I went out there and I didn't see any new lines. So, I just kind of put my head down and did the best I could." On Sunday, Michael was able to pick up a little speed in the enduro test, which was the dif- ference in the two days, and the overall. "We were a lot closer today, so that felt nice," said Michael. "I was still able to put a little time on him in the cross test, but that second enduro test today really kind of gave me the confidence going into that last test. He still nabbed me by a few seconds, but I'll be honest, I was pretty nervous going into that last little bit. I made it through the hard stuff. I rode pretty crappy the last little bit. Just didn't want to make a mistake." With two rounds remaining in the series, Toth still holds a comfortable lead in the chase to the championship, meaning that Michael would need to win all four remaining days. "I felt like I rode strong all weekend," said Toth. "I really only had one bad enduro test. Unfortunately, I think it kind of cost me the overall. Layne was riding great. He really picked it up in the enduro test and was pretty much matching my time before. I couldn't keep it on him in the cross test. So, I just needed to figure things out a little bit better in the grass track and not lose any time there so I could just get ahead, but Layne picked it up." Making his first appearance in the series for 2022 was Rock- star Energy Husqvarna's Craig DeLong, who came away with a solid third overall. DeLong is test- ing the waters for a potential trip to France for the ISDE. "I'd like to go to Six Days; that's something I would like to cross off my bucket list before I'm done in however many years," said DeLong. Phoenix Racing Honda's Cody Barnes was fourth overall and first in the Pro 2 division despite starting off the weekend with a huge crash. "First day right off the bat I had a pretty good crash in the cross test, but was able to kind of recoup and just ride solid," said Barnes. "I didn't have any other crashes throughout the weekend, which was a big thing. There was a lot of off-cambers and little rocks and things that could catch you off guard. For me, it was a good weekend. It's awesome to get another Pro 2 win. So, hopefully we can keep it going. We have two more rounds and we'll see what happens." Coastal Racing GasGas' Ryder Lafferty made a rare sprint series appearance at the West Virginia event and came away with fourth in the Pro division and fifth over- all. Lafferty decided to race a VOLUME 59 ISSUE 17 APRIL 26, 2022 P43 Josh Toth was second overall but still leads in the championship by nine points over Michael.

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