TOTH RULES
TOUGH LIKE RORR
A
mPro Yamaha's Josh Toth bested a
field of 50 racers to claim an impres-
sive victory at the third annual Kenda
Tough Like RORR Intense Off-Road Race
held near Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, July 1-2.
After two days of intense racing, Toth
came away with not only a remarkable
victory but also a check for $4000 after
outdistancing KR4 Husqvarna's Grant
Baylor by four minutes and 18 seconds in
Sunday's near three-hour finale.
Two races on Saturday and one race
on Sunday morning served as a prelude
to the $12,000 finale held on Sunday
afternoon, where only the 50 fastest riders
from the morning race qualified to partici-
pate on the 12-mile course that features
numerous rock fields, vertical climbs and
treacherous downhills with names like
"Sickness," "Stairway to Heaven," "Cruella
da Hill," and "Land of Confusion."
Organized by the Reading Off-Road
Riders, Tough Like RORR is unique in that
the races feature multiple formats. One
race has an enduro start with five riders starting
every minute, two of the races are hare scrambles
format, while the Tough Like RORR race features
a GNCC-style dead-engine start leading into a two-
and-a-half-lap race over the most intense terrain
eastern Pennsylvania has to offer.
Jesse Groemm grabbed the lead to start of the
Tough Like RORR finale, leading the field into the
first brutal lap. However, the Specialized Perfor-
mance KTM rider made a mistake about two miles
into the first lap, which allowed Toth the take con-
trol of the race. From there, the Connecticut rider
slowly began stretching his lead.
"Jesse got hung up and I was able to take
advantage of it and get into the lead," said Toth,
who made a mistake of his own a short time later,
though he didn't lose a position. "There was a big
valley with cliffs on both sides that I got stuck on
during the first lap and that was a struggle."
After the first lap Toth built a two-minute ahead of
Baylor and Beta USA's Jordan Ashburn, who were
battling over second. Toth continued to keep a fast
but smooth pace in the rocks, ultimately crossing
the finish line with over four minutes to spare.
"It's awesome to get the win," said Toth. "It
means a lot to win it just because it's such a tough
race. I've been riding really well lately and I'm really
happy about that.
"There was a section that was just relentless,
with ups and downs and loose shale rock, and that
IN
THE
WIND
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