VOL. 54 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 28, 2017 P43
was re-routed for Sunday, and to
even things out, the riders took
to the enduro test four times and
the cross test just twice.
"I was a little under the weath-
er when I started the race on
Saturday and I wasn't exactly on
my game," Baylor added. "I was
able to get some fluids in me
overnight and on Sunday I was
able to turn my game around."
Baylor said after the race that
he would campaign the entire
Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series.
Sipes went into Sunday's
race with a 12-second cushion,
but lost it all when he missed a
marker in the opening test of the
day—the enduro test—where the
course had been re-routed.
"I didn't get to walk the newest
part of the track because they
were still marking it when it was
time to start getting ready for
the race," Sipes said, "but it was
kind of my fault because there
was a banner there, and I'm re-
ally not reading banner, I'm read-
ing trail. I ran through the banner
and once I realized what I had
done I had to turn around, and
the entire lead I built up yester-
day was gone in the first test.
"I rode really well today, but
Steward was on fire, I've never
seen him go this fast, especially
in that enduro test. I'm going as
fast as I can but he's just going
faster, so big props to Steward."
The battle for third was just as
intense, as Colorado's Ian Blythe
and Beta USA rider Jordan Ash-
burn finished Saturday's racing
separated by just three seconds
with Blythe, the 2016 Brazilian
off-road champ, holding the
slight edge.
Ashburn, though, picked up
the pace on Sunday and edged
out Blythe for third overall by 10
seconds.
"We were back and forth all
weekend," Ashburn said, "and
I felt like I struggled a little bit
about midday today with track
conditions on the cross test; it
was kind of hard-packed and
slick. I was making it up in the
woods, though, so that evened
things out, and getting to run
the enduro test four times today
helped me."
Blythe finished the day in
fourth, nine seconds ahead of
another good battle between
SRT Racing's Cory Buttrick and
PHOTOGRAPHY
SHAN
MOORE
Ryan Sipes led after
day one but a small
mistake on day two
might have cost the
round-one winner
another victory.
Jordan Ashburn
was about a
minute off the
pace but still
finished out
the race on the
podium, edging
out fourth-place
Ian Blythe by 10
seconds.
