clawed his way forward, slipping
past Ashburn into fifth.
In the XC2 division, Liqui Moly
Beta's Jhak Walker controlled the
class early, ahead of FMF KTM
Factory Racing's Jason Tino and
Phoenix Honda Racing's Gus
Riordan. A slip by Walker opened
the door for Tino and a charging
Brody Johnson (Husqvarna).
Lap two saw DeLong step
up the pace, moving into sec
-
ond behind Baylor, with Draper
settling
into third. Kelley and
Russell followed, while Ashburn
slipped just inside the top 10.
Then came a pivotal moment on
lap three. DeLong caught Baylor
and made the move for the lead,
with Baylor waving him on so
he could study DeLong's lines.
Draper capitalized as well, drop
-
ping Baylor to third.
Baylor was playing the long
game, and after a lap of
observa-
tion, he struck back with preci-
sion, carving his way from third
to
first in a mile on the next lap,
reclaiming control and leaving
his rivals scrambling.
By lap five, Baylor was un-
touchable, extending his lead as
the heat and
technical terrain
drained the field. While DeLong
and Draper battled behind him,
Baylor checked out, turning
pressure into dominance. At the
finish, the South Carolina native
crossed the line a commanding
58 seconds ahead of DeLong,
with Russell mak
-
ing an impressive
charge
to third.
"I just tried to
find my flow,"
Baylor explained.
"I followed those
guys for a bit,
learned their lines, and once I got
comfortable again, I picked them
off fairly quickly. After that, it was
smooth sailing."
DeLong's ride to second
marked another step forward
after finishing third in Tennes
-
see, while Russell's recovery
from
last to third showcased his
trademark grit in what he called
a "war of attrition."
"I made a big push to the front
halfway through, and it just felt
nice to be up front leading laps,"
said DeLong. "Once I got to the
lead, I had to take a breather.
It got hot there at the end. The
track wasn't rough, but it was
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 20 MAY 19, 2026 P39
Angus Riordan won the XC2
Pro class in fifth overall.
Brandy Richards
won the WXC
division for the
third straight
race.
