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/783081
OFF ROAD ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 5, 2017 SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA P74 setting the stage for a tight race. Baylor countered in test three, topping the 12-mile test by four seconds over Bobbitt, with Rus- sell in third, another three sec- onds back. Test four saw Duvall get his only test win of the day, with Steward second, Kailub third, Cory Buttrick in fourth and Bob- bitt in fifth. Kailub added another win in the fifth test, with Baylor six sec- onds back in second and DuVall in third, which tightened things up between the two front-runners, al- 2017 KENDA AMA NATIONAL ENDURO SERIES, PRESENTED BY A light rain began to fall as riders took to the tight and sandy opening section. Baylor set the tone for the day by winning the nine-mile test by seven seconds over DeLong, with Duvall finishing third just a fraction of a second back. Russell, on the other hand, stalled his bike twice and also had a tip-over before finish- ing the test with the fifth-fastest time, about nine seconds behind Baylor. Russell redeemed himself with the fastest time in test two, beat- ing Baylor by eight seconds and though Baylor still held a relatively comfortable lead heading into the final test which he ended up needing after the fall. "It feels really good to get the first win of the year in the enduro series," Steward said. "I raced a couple of local races leading up to this race so I felt really good coming in here." Though disappointed at miss- ing the win by a single tick of the clock, Russell was pleased with how he rode, especially since it was his first enduro in over a year. "It was what I expected it to be out there, tight and sandy in most places and flowy in others," said Russell. "I knew Steward was go- ing to be tough here, he always is. But I had a good day and I'm happy with how I rode, especially after being off for over a year." Duvall said that he was pleased with a third-place finish. "This was actually the first time I had fun at a Sumter En- duro," joked Duvall. "I felt like I rode good in most of the tests, although I struggled in a couple of tests that I fell in. Overall, it was a good day, though. I don't normally gel with this place but today I felt good on the new bike and I'm really happy to be on the podium." Fourth overall was Bobbitt, who said he felt he rode better than his results showed. Kailub Russell, returned to the enduro series, and finished a close second.