and Ashburn after choosing a
bad line, opening the door for a
reshuffled leaderboard. Davis
capitalized, with Steward Baylor
Jr and Ben Kelley close behind.
Ashburn regrouped in fourth,
while Witkowski slipped to the
midpack, just ahead of a hard-
charging Grant Baylor, who was
beginning to find his rhythm.
Steward Baylor Jr, known for
his ability to master new terrain,
struck at the eight-mile mark,
sweeping into the lead as Davis
tucked in behind, studying Bay-
lor's lines.
The complexion of the race
shifted again on lap three when
Baylor Jr picked up a stick in his
rear wheel, dropping him to third.
Kelley and Davis inherited the top
two positions, while AmPro Ya-
maha's Liam Draper moved into
fourth ahead of Ashburn.
Over the next three laps, the
battle at the front intensified, with
Kelley, Grant Baylor, Draper and
Steward Baylor Jr taking turns
at the point. Meanwhile, Davis
slipped to sixth, reeled in by a de-
termined Ryder Lafferty charging
through the field.
As the race reached its criti-
cal stages, Grant Baylor made
his move, slipping past Kelley to
claim the lead on the white-flag
lap. The final circuit unfolded in
dramatic fashion. Steward Baylor
Jr surged from fifth to first in just
a handful of corners, only to suf-
fer a costly fall that dropped him
back to fifth. Near the midway
point of the lap, Steward latched
onto Draper's draft as the two
moved into second and third,
where they waged a fierce, bar-to-
bar fight for second, closing the
gap to Grant in the final miles. In
the end, the trio crossed the finish
line in a frantic sprint, separated
by only a couple of seconds, with
Grant first, Draper second and
Steward third.
"I was able to come through
the pack, and I've been strug-
gling to do so all year," said Grant.
"There was some good technical
terrain that separated the men
from the boys. Overall, it was an
incredible day."
Draper, who has yet to score
a win, became the new points
leader with a runner-up finish.
"Grant and Stew were ripping
towards the end, and it was all a
matter of who could get through
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 23 JUNE 9, 2026 P29
Angus Riordon won the XC2
class in sixth overall.
