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/1543816
inconsistencies trying to get that bike to fire off the line, but this time it did. We had a bad result at the first two rounds, but we're up there; we proved we can win. Everybody can see it." Draper did an excellent job of picking lines and took second. "I messed up in turn two, and I dropped back," said Draper. "After that, I just kind of stayed steady all day and took advan - tage of other riders' mistakes. That last lap was tough; it was a very physical track." Kelley came into the race with just a podium in mind. He's aware that it's a long season, and he is still getting up to speed, even though he won last week at the Wild Boar. "I just tried to stay smart, not get stuck, not crash, try to keep my goggles on, save the eyes and just save the bike," said Kel - ley. "I was in a battle for third all day with Liam, Mike [Witkowski] and Craig [DeLong]. We were all just right there battling. It just got hard to ride, and I had a lot of mistakes out there." Liqui Moly Beta's Josh Strang is another rider moving up the ranks. After nailing down a fifth overall last week in Florida, the Aussie off-roader finished fourth overall. Witkowski is also moving up the ladder, getting closer to a podium position with each race. Red Bear Rocky Mountain Kawasaki's Nick DeFeo won the XC2 class with a sixth overall finish. "I pushed a little bit too much on the first couple laps and went down a couple times," said De - Feo. "I was in P1 for a while on adjusted time, but I had a couple of crashes, and my bars got a little loose. I'm feeling stronger each race, and I hope to win one soon." Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Craig DeLong ran near the top five during the first part of the race but dropped off the pace to finish seventh. Early leader Ashburn ended up eighth. Husqvarna's Brody Johnson was second in the XC2 class and ninth overall, leaving him third in the XC2 points standings, one point behind Jhak Walker (Beta). Josh Toth was making his return to racing from injury. The Red Bear Rocky Mountain Ka - wasaki rider reportedly fell and dislocated his hip. After getting help popping it back into place, Toth returned to action to finish 10th. After grabbing the holeshot, defending champion and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Racing's Korie Steede won the WXC Pro Wom - en's class, beating Am Pro Ya- maha's Danielle McDonald by less than two seconds, leaving the two riders deadlocked in the series standings with 76 points each. Fresh off the motocross cir- cuit, Shelby Turner finished third on a Triumph, with Tayla Jones (Honda) and Rachel Gutish (Rieju) rounding out the top five. Shan Moore OVERALL (Top 10) 1. Steward Baylor Jr (Kaw) 2. Liam Draper (Yam) 3. Ben Kelley (KTM) 4. Josh Strang (Bet) 5. Mike Witkowski (Hon) 6. Nicholas DeFeo (Kaw) 7. Craig DeLong (Hus) 8. Jordan Ashburn (Hon) 9. Brody Johnson (Hus) 10. Josh Toth (Kaw) WIND IN THE P32 Korie Steede won the Women's class.