STRANG
WEATHERS
STORM AT
FULL GAS
SPRINT
ENDURO
R
iders converged in Altamont,
Tennessee, for the fourth
round of the Kenda Full Gas
Sprint Enduro Series presented
by Moose Racing, June 4-5.
With severe storms moving in,
riders anticipated a mud race,
but storms swirled around the
mountaintop location on Sat-
urday, treating riders to nearly
perfect conditions on the rolling
grass track cross test and the
fresh-cut enduro test. It wasn't
until Sunday afternoon that the
sky opened up and a torrential
rainstorm soaked the property,
making the final two tests of the
weekend slippery and technical.
In the first test, Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna's Josh Strang
took the first of seven cross
test wins for the weekend, set-
ting the stage for his dominant
performance. Coastal Racing's
Layne Michael started out as his
top contender, finishing second
in the first two tests. Westfield
Powersports KTM racer and
Tennessee native Jordan Ash-
burn got into the mix with a third-
place finish in the enduro test
ahead of FMF/KTM's Russell
Bobbitt and KR4 Performance's
Thad DuVall, who was racing a
Husqvarna TE 300 two-stroke
on day one.
Disaster struck in the enduro
test for series points leader
Daniel Milner. The N-Fab AmPro
Yamaha rider broke his fibula
in a crash when his front wheel
washed out in a corner. "I lost
the front end and went down
and my leg felt like it just shat-
tered," said Milner. The Austra-
lian booked a flight back to his
home country and has a surgery
already scheduled to repair his
leg in hopes of being ready to
compete in this year's ISDE.
Strang continued to extend
his lead throughout the day with
big cross test wins, sweeping all
but one enduro test on the day.
With Milner out of the mix, an
all-out battle ensued for second-
through-sixth with Bobbitt taking
an enduro test win, and Ash-
burn, Michael, DuVall and SRT
Off-Road's Cory Buttrick mixing
it up in each test with very close
times.
At the end of the first day,
Strang was out front with a
33-second lead ahead of Ash-
burn who had a four-second
cushion over Bobbitt. Michael
sat another four seconds behind
IN
THE
WIND
P32
Josh Strang
dominated the
Tennessee round of
the Full Gas Sprint
Enduro Series.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JASON
HOOPER
