AmPro Yamaha ’ s Steward Baylor got the ball rolling with a stellar double victory at the opening round of the 2021 Kenda US Sprint Enduro Series held at the GTR Complex in Gaston , South Carolina , marking the launch of the new series . Attendance was impressive and the PRO class was stacked as the top off-roaders in the east took to the choppy South Carolina sand .
Baylor came into the event nursing a nasty injury that had kept him out of the GNCC opener just one week before , however , the four-time national enduro champ seemed unimpaired as he won three of the six tests on Saturday ( all three Enduro tests ) and three tests on
Sunday to claim the overall wins on each day .
“ It was definitely questionable whether I should line up , but after three weeks the wounds seemed to be mostly healed ,” said Baylor .
Baylor battled early on Saturday with Coastal Racing GasGas ’ Johnny Girroir , who struck first with a win in the opening Cross test , however , after sweeping all three Enduro tests , Baylor finished off Saturday ’ s event with an 11-second win over Girroir in the overall results .
With an 11-second advantage in his back pocket , Baylor rode smooth on Sunday to claim his second victory of the weekend by 15 seconds .
LEFT : Johnny Girroir starts the season off right with a win in the PRO2 class , and a 3rd overall , just behind the # 514 Steward Baylor and # 523 Layne Michael
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 64