GRANT BAYLOR WINS ZINK RANCH NATIONAL ENDURO- WRAPS UP TITLE!

GRANT BAYLOR GRABS FIFTH WIN OF THE SEASON AND CLINCH 2022 TITLE

Story and photos by Shan Moore

Grant Baylor: Steward was a few seconds behind Toth so there were four of us that were pretty close going right down to the wire. I knew Steward was coming on strong and I decided if I didn’t do something different, he was going to beat me and I wanted to get the championship wrapped up at this race so it didn’t have to go down to the last race of the season. I had 10 seconds on Steward going into that last test and he beat me by just about nine, so I ended up beating him by just over a second and that gave me the win and the title.”

Grant Baylor wrapped up the 2022 Kenda AMA National Enduro Series championship with one round remaining on the schedule after claiming a thrilling victory at this weekend’s Zink Ranch National Enduro in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, topping his brother, Am Pro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor, by the narrowest of margins. It was the South Carolina rider’s second national enduro title in the last two years, and six in a row for the brothers combined.

Grant got off to a fast start, winning the opening test of the day by seven seconds ahead of Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ryder Lafferty. However, test one was the only test Grant won all day, but his consistency was enough to keep him in the lead the rest of the way, finishing second, third, fourth, fifth and second in the final five tests.

Josh Toth was in the mix all day and went into the final test just two seconds behind Grant. “I knew Stew was right behind me close, so I pinned it that last test,” said Toth. “I did what I could, but Stew laid it down and gave it to us that last test. I think I was seven seconds out of the win, so it was close.”

FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth won tests two and three, while Steward won the final three tests. Steward didn’t get the best of starts, finishing fifth in test one, however his late-race flurry put him in position to challenge Grant for the win in the final test. Grant went into test six with a 10-second lead over Steward. Steward won the test by just over nine seconds ahead of Grant, leaving Grant with the victory by less than a second.

Steward Baylor finished 1 second off brother Grant’s pace, to finish second overall. Between the two of them, the Baylor brothers have accounted for the last six national enduro titles in a row.

Ryder Lafferty also had a shot at the win, but a couple of tip-overs in the final test were just too costly for the Coastal Racing GasGas rider and he ended up fourth. Ricky Russell had some good test times, but inconsistency plagued the Coastal Racing GasGas rider and he settled for fifth.

Tenth overall and first in the NE Pro 2 class was Beta USA’s Jonathan Johnson.

Jonathan Johnson: “Ben Nelko beat me in the first test, but from there on out, I just won the rest of the tests. I made one mistake, but still ended up winning that test, too. So, just being consistent paid off today.”

OVERALL RESULTS

1. Grant Baylor (GG)

2. Steward Baylor (Yam)

3. Josh Toth (KTM)

4. Ryder Lafferty (GG)

5. Ricky Russell (GG)

6. Craig DeLong (Hsq)

7. Thad DuVall (Hsq)

8. Jesse Ansley (KTM)

9. Evan Smith (Bet)

10. Jonathan Johnson (Bet)

NE Pro1 Championship Standings (After 9 of 10 rounds)

1. Grant Baylor (GASGAS) 201 points

2. Steward Baylor, Jr. (YAM) 187
3. Ryder Lafferty (GASGAS) 176