Like he has done so many times before , Steward looked as though he might pull out another win in the final test after he closed to within four seconds of Toth in test six , however , Toth was at home in the rocky final test and kept Steward at bay .
“ I closed the gap on him before the final test ,” said Steward . “ I don ' t think Grant or I have ever been beat in a true “ old school ” tight enduro test until today . I got to give it to Josh . That ’ s what Grant and I grew up riding and I know where he ’ s from they don ’ t even have trees that tight . So , hats off to him in that last section . I really came out the other side thinking that we got it , and we saw the times and I was like , wow , he learned how to ride the tight stuff .”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Trevor Bollinger ran fifth and sixth most of the day , but snuck past FMF / KTM ’ s Ben Kelley in the final test to claim fourth , his best national enduro finish .
“ We ’ re finally feeling better on the bike ,” said Bollinger . “ It ’ s a broken record , but with all the injuries I ’ ve had it ’ s just taken me a while to get back to where I was . I like this track . There were a few sections where it was pretty tight for my liking , but the rest of it was pretty good . I felt like I rode , I wouldn ’ t say exceptional but I rode good all day and didn ’ t make one mistake .”
VOL . 6 ISSUE 7 - JULY 2021 // PAGE 57