JOSH TOTH TAKES CHEROKEE NATIONAL ENDURO WIN

After breaking his leg just before the opening round of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in February, FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Josh Toth recovered enough during the four-month layoff to come away with an impressive victory at round two of the series, the Cherokee National Enduro, in Greensboro, Georgia, in his debut National Enduro race of the season.

Josh Toth came back after rehabbing a broken leg in round one to take the win in round two. Photo Kenny King

Because of the pandemic, the Kenda AMA National Enduro series has been off for four months and it came back in Georgia with superb trail and using social distancing and other preventative guidelines.

Toth kicked off the event by winning the first four tests of the six-test, 70-mile race, and finished off the event with 46 seconds to spare over runner-up Grant Baylor on a FactoryONE Sherco.

Toth said “going into the last test it was so tight. I just had a little mistake. I don’t know really what happened. Sent me into a big tree and wadded up. I had a big crash. The track was so tight and physical. At the end I couldn’t catch my breath. Once you stopped, the heat hit you so hard. I was really gasping for air and struggling to finish that last test. But luckily, I had a cushion and was able to get the win.”

Sherco’s Grant Baylor started slow but came on to win the final test and finish second overall. Photo Kenny King

Baylor got off to a slow start to the day, and trailed Toth by a minute-and-a-half heading into the final test, but cut into that gap considerably with a clean and fast ride to finish off the day. The surprise performance of the day went to Ryder Lafferty, who put his XC Gear/Enduro Engineering Husqvarna into third overall. FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley finished fourth in his first race since having shoulder surgery with Gnarly Routes KTM pilot Russell Bobbitt finishing fifth overall.

Ben Kelley is recovering from a shoulder injury and had only been on his KTM for two weeks coming into the Cherokee National. He finished fourth overall. Photo Shan Moore

Thorn Devlin finished a solid sixth overall, one-minute-eighteen seconds ahead of his Beta USA teammate Cody Barnes. Barnes also won the NE Pro2 division, coming from behind to nip eight overall finisher and second NE Pro 2 rider Craig DeLong on the Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna by 20 seconds. Rounding out the top 10 were Phoenix Honda’s Jonathon Johnson in ninth and KTM-mounted Vincent Smith.

Ryder Lafferty struggled early, made a front tire change and his performance improved. Ryder finished strong with third overall. Photo Kenny King

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team’s Craig DeLong made his debut in the 2020 AMA National Enduro Series and tallied a solid runner-up finish in the NE Pro2 division.

In the Women’s Elite class, MacKenzie Tricker took the overall win on her MEPMX/Fly Racing/Grizzly Peak/Travelers Rest Speedway/KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker took the win by 34 seconds over Sherco’s Brooke Cosner, with Beta USA’s Rachel Gutish finishing third, another 27 seconds back.

The Pro 2 Podium had Beta’s Cody Barnes winning the class, followed by Craig DeLong and Jonathan Johnson.

The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series returns to action on July 28 in Cross Fork, Pennsylvania, for the Rattlesnake National Enduro. For more information go to www.nationalenduro.com.

OVERALL RESULTS

Josh Toth (KTM)
2. Grant Baylor (Shr)
3. Ryder Lafferty (Hsq)
4. Ben Kelley (KTM)
5. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
6. Thorn Devlin (Bet)
7. Cody Barnes (Bet)
8. Craig DeLong (Hsq)
9. Jonathon Johnson (Hon)
10. Vincent Smith (KTM)