Bollinger struggled early but won a test and finish ed second in anoth er .
“ I started off a little slow and then kind of found my groove there in the middle ,” said Bollinger . “ I was making mistakes and still I won that test and got second in the other one , so I tried to smooth out a little bit and I don ' t know if I just took it too easy or whatever . It was good progress from last year .”
FMF / KTM ’ s Ben Kelley was smooth but just a little off his normal pace .
“ The National Enduros are always rough on the body , smashing off the trees when you don ’ t know what ’ s coming , so I ’ m happy to come away unscathed , though just a little beat up ,” said Kelley . “ I ’ m just happy and excited to be back racing . I enjoyed it and that ’ s what I was trying to do , have some fun and do the best I could .”
Grant Baylor returned to the series on an FXR-backed GasGas and finish ed eigh th , wh ile AmPro Yamaha ’ s Mike Witkowski made a rare National Enduro appearance and finish ed ninth .
Five-time National Enduro Champion Russell Bobbitt made a surprise appearance at Sumter and came away with 10th overall on his Gnarly Routes KTM . Russ came out of retirement in 2019 and won the Sumter event , so no one was counting him out of this year ’ s race .
VOL . 7 ISSUE 3 - MARCH 2022 // PAGE 93