On The Pegs December 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 12 | Page 95

On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 12 - December 2018
P 95
Steward and Evan, but I just ripped it and was able
to make up enough ground to move into second.”
Steward edged out Smith for third by just two
seconds.
Obviously you would like to win the race with you
wrap up a title, but I knew going into the final test
that I just needed to ride smooth and not make any
mistakes and the title was mine,” said Baylor. “I didn’t
try to hang it out there and risk a crash, I just did
what I needed to do.
“I’m really happy with the season. This made my
ninth podium in nine rounds, so it’s been a consis-
tent season. It just feels good to add another cham-
pionship.”
For Smith, the race was bittersweet, having missed
the podium by such a small margin. However, his
test win was more than enough reward for a hard-
fought season.
“I won a grass track test last year in Tulsa, but this is
my first “real” enduro test win, so I’m pretty excited,”
said Smith. “I ran second from the second test to the
fifth test and I really thought I could finish second
overall but Stew and Josh were riding well. I’m still
happy with the day.”
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Ben Kelley rounded out
the top five; while Solid Performance KTM’s Ryder
Lafferty topped the NE Pro2 division with a sixth
overall finish.
“I started off pretty rough; I had two crashes in the
first test and I was really struggling,” said Lafferty.
“After that, we changed a few things with the bike
and just tried to regroup and I was able to come
back.”
Andrew DeLong, the 2014 National Enduro Cham-
pion, put his FAR Racing GasGas North America
XC300 into seventh place, finishing just five seconds
behind Lafferty. Meanwhile KR4 Husqvarna’s Liam