OFF ROAD
KENDA FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO SERIES
ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 10-11, 2018
BLACKSHEAR, GEORGIA
P70
runner-up slot.
"This weekend was encour-
aging for me," said Baylor. "I'm
usually down a lot further from
Ryan in the cross tests. I'm
normally finishing fourth or fifth
in those and then having to make
up the difference in the enduro
tests. But this weekend I felt I
was a lot closer to Ryan in the
cross tests, which is a result of
all the moto time I put in during
the off-season."
Baylor came into the week-
end carrying a lot of momentum
after winning a national enduro
the weekend before, and is
very much a factor in the Sprint
good and I could see, 'oh, yeah,
he's breaking early and turning
here,' where I was taking the
main line a little too much. So,
yeah, I think all the walking really
helped me."
Sipes was able to pull off the
win each day in addition to the
overall victory, which puts the
Kentucky rider in good posi-
tion heading into the rest of the
season. But Baylor gave Sipes
a run for his money, winning a
total of four tests, all of which
were enduro tests. However, the
Tely Racing KTM-backed South
Carolina rider kept Sipes honest
in the cross tests en route to the
Enduro championship.
After winning the second
enduro test on Saturday, Josh
Strang pressured Sipes and
Baylor during the early going.
However, the Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna Factory rider strug-
gled to find a comfortable setup
and finished the weekend in
third overall, just 23 seconds off
of Baylor's pace. Strang spent
the rest of the weekend block-
ing a challenge from Beta USA's
Jordan Ashburn, and wound up
topping the Tennessee rider by
16 seconds at the finish.
"I think my speed was good
but I wasn't comfortable," said
Defending champ Steward Baylor kept the pressure turned up on Sipes.
