VOL. 51 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 P87
title.
"I wasn't very happy with how
I rode, I think I crashed in every
test, but halfway through the race
we switched a rear tire and I had
a talk with Andy and I started rid-
ing smoother," said DeLong. "It's
kind of overwhelming. We had
problems in the beginning of the
year, but in the end we showed
we were the fastest team."
The championship is a first for
DeLong and the first for Husqvar-
na since 1986 when Terry Cun-
ningham took the title, complet-
ing a 16-year title run for the
marque. In all, Husqvarna owns
18 National Enduro titles, KTM is
next best with 16.
Mike Lafferty was the surprise
of the day, the FMF/KTM rider
winning the first three tests of the
day in his final race before retire-
ment.
Lafferty held a 30-second lead
over Bobbitt heading into the
fourth test, and actually looked
as though he might hold on to
win his final race, but Bobbitt was
picking up speed with each test
and turned up the heat in the sec-
ond half of the race and closed
out the event by winning the final
four tests to claim the overall win.
The Indiana race was Bobbitt's
second race back after spend-
ing the last six months recovering
from a broken kneecap.
Having just returned
after missing the entire
season with an injury,
Russell Bobbitt will
have everyone thinking
during the off-season
about his winning ride
at the final.
Mike Lafferty capped
off his illustrious
racing career with
one of his best
performances in a
long time. The eight-
time champ ended
the year sixth.
