WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
BY SHAN MOORE
R
yder Lafferty made it three
podium finishes in a row with
his win at this weekend's Lead
Belt National Enduro, round three
of the Kenda AMA National Enduro
Series. The Coastal Racing GasGas
rider also extended his lead in the
point standings during an eventful
day of racing in Park Hills, Missouri.
Lafferty won this event the last time
it was held here two years ago and
seems to know how to navigate the
tricky terrain better than anyone.
Unfortunately, two of the series'
top riders, AmPro Yamaha's Steward
Baylor (who won the opening round
of the series in February and also
won the first test in today's round by
25 seconds) and FMF/KTM's Ben
Kelley, (who won the second round
in Virginia and was second in today's
opening test behind Steward), both
DNF due to injuries suffered in test
two. Baylor suffered an eye injury
and Kelley reportedly suffered a leg
injury. The two were second and
third, respectively, in the champion-
ship coming into the Lead Belt.
With Steward and Kelley out of
the running, it was no contest for
Lafferty, as the New Jersey rider
claimed two wins and three seconds
in the final five tests to outdistance
runner-up finisher REV Motorsports
GasGas' Grant Baylor by over a
minute for the victory.
"When I started out, I used the
bike setup I had two years ago
when I won this event before," said
Lafferty. "I think I kind of missed the
ROUND 3 / MAY 15, 2022
PARK HILLS, MISSOURI
P78
OFF-ROAD I AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES
L AFFERTY
WINS LEAD
BELT>
Ryder
with first