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/1481963
Ricky Russell had some good test times, but inconsistency plagued the Coastal Racing Gas- Gas rider and he settled for fifth. "I started right out third in the first test and wasn't far off the pace," said Russell. "Then I struggled the second test. I think I got fifth or sixth and just lost 20 to 30 seconds right there. Then I came back in the third test and was able to do decent again, but it was like every other test for me. I had a good test, bad test, good test, bad test. So, I don't know. When I was riding good I felt like I was in the mix, but I was just too hit and miss." Sixth went to Craig DeLong, who was not pleased with his day. "I just kind of struggled today," admitted DeLong. "I struggled here last year, too. I came in with a different attitude, this year, expecting to do better, but still just kind of struggled. Something about the open fields with the hidden rocks. I don't really care for that. I have my limit, and in that type of conditions I'm not re- ally willing to go over that." DeLong's Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Thad Duvall wasn't a fan of the terrain either, and settled for seventh. Eighth was Trail Jesters Racing KTM's Jesse Ansley, who is re- turning from a couple of injuries/ illnesses but looked good en route to eighth overall. Mean- while, Beta USA's Evan Smith was consistent on his way to a ninth-place finish, going 9-8-9-7- 8-9 in the six tests. Tenth overall and first in the NE Pro 2 class was Beta USA's Jonathan Johnson. "Ben Nelko beat me in the first test, but from there on out, I just won the rest of the tests," said Johnson. "I made one mistake, but still ended up winning that test, too. So, just being consis- tent paid off today." The Women's Elite class was another nail biter, like the Pro class was, with AmPro Yamaha's Rachael Archer nipping Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM's Mackenzie Tricker by 0.6 sec- onds. Tricker won the first two tests, but Archer picked up the pace and won the final three. "It started off a little slow," said Archer. "I kept missing the cheater lines and was just trying to stay on the main track and it was holding me up a little bit. But once we got into test three, it was more my style and a little rockier and a little more technical and I was able to pull off three wins in the last three tests and take over the lead and win by half a second. So, it was good to win today. I can relax a little bit going into the last round." The Women's Elite class gets one throw-away score, and counting those, Archer has a 21-point lead over Tricker heading into the final round in Alabama. Brooke Cosner (GG) was third at Zink Ranch. Shan Moore OVERALL 1. Grant Baylor (GG) 2. Steward Baylor (Yam) 3. Josh Toth (KTM) 4. Ryder Lafferty (GG) 5. Ricky Russell (GG) 6. Craig DeLong (Hus) 7. Thad DuVall (Hsq) 8. Jesse Ansley (KTM) 9. Evan Smith (Bet) 10. Jonathan Johnson (Bet) Pro 2 IN THE WIND P42 Rachael Archer took a narrow win in the Women's Elite division.