words & photos : Shan Moore FOREST HILL , LA ( April 25 , 2021 )
AmPro Yamaha ’ s Steward Baylor took advantage of his brother ’ s misfortunes to steal the victory at this weekend ’ s Cajun National Enduro in Forest Hills , Louisiana .
Heading into the fifth and final test of the day , Steward trailed Grant ( KLM Motorsports / Milwaukee / GasGas ) by 17 seconds . However , an ultra-fast test run by Steward , combined with a couple of tipovers by Grant was enough to give Steward the win by less than three seconds .
Heavy rains on Friday night nearly forced the cancelation of the race after leaving deep water standing in critical places around the course . However , the Acadiana Dirt Riders along with the NEPG crew did a great job of salvaging the course .
Despite getting stuck in one of the many mud holes littered around the course , Steward took the win in the opening test of the day to set the tone of the race . However , Grant took a commanding lead at the halfway point of the race after turning in particularly strong rides in tests two and three .
With two tests remaining , Grant held a 30-second advantage over Steward , however , that ’ s when the fortunes changed . Steward started chipping away at Grant ’ s lead as Grant fell victim to a string of mishaps .
“ In the fourth test I just hit a root in a really fast straightaway and it sent me cartwheeling ,” said Grant . “ I bent the front end of my bike up really bad . I rode over half of that test with the front end of the bike just all mangled up . Then I ended up wrecking again because the front end was so twisted that I couldn ’ t go straight . I tried to bounce back in the fifth test , but just got edged out by Steward . I went down two times in that last test again and it cost me a win , about two seconds short .”
The Baylor brothers accounted for all five test wins , with Steward winning three tests , while Grant won the other two .
Josh Toth turned in a spectacular ride with a third . The FMF / KTM rider finished outside of the top-10 at the series opener in South Carolina while riding with an injured hand , so third in Louisiana was a big step in the right direction . Toth was fifthfastest in the first test after taking a small crash , but came back with the second-fastest time in test three followed by the third-fastest time in the remaining three tests .
“ I just had a tip-over trying to get around a lapper in that first test ,” said Toth . “ I couldn ’ t really read the trail ahead of him and just hit a
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