VOL. 55 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 6, 2018 P77
Steward Baylor
outduels Josh Toth
for Sumter win
STEWARD BAYLOR
TOPS NATIONAL OPENER
before injuring his wrist at the ISDE; in fact,
Duvall led much of the 2017 championship
before giving way to Baylor. Duvall was hop-
ing to get the season off to a good start like
he did last year, but was besieged by prob-
lems right off the bat. He actually had a pretty
good first test but finished a few seconds be-
hind the guy he wanted to beat most—Baylor.
In the second test, a tree branch got caught
in his handlebars, which he had to stop and
remove, costing him a precious 20 seconds
and resulting in a fourth-place finish in the
test. But things only got worse for Duvall in
the third test when an electrical problem put
him in the pits and he was forced to retire
early. It was a bitterly disappointing start to
his season for Duvall who said before the
race that he "…never felt so ready" to start
the season.
S
teward Baylor Jr. kicked off the 2018
Kenda AMA National Enduro Series
much like he ended the 2017 series—
winning. The defending champion got off
to a fast start by topping the first of six tests
and holding on to take the overall victory. But
he could never relax, as he had FMF KTM's
newest member Josh Tosh breathing down
his neck the whole way. At the end, Baylor,
on the Trey Racing KTM, finished just 18 sec-
onds ahead of Toth.
Going into the first race, many expected
a showdown for the win between Baylor and
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Thad Duvall,
who was Baylor's biggest challenger last year
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARRIN CHAMPMAN
Defending
champ Steward
Baylor Jr. came
out swinging
in the opening
round of the
2018 Kenda AMA
Enduro National
Championship
in Sumter, South
Carolina.
