Cycle News Staff | April 11, 2016
Former National Enduro Champion Steward Baylor got back to his winning ways after taking top honors at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Cajun Classic National Enduro in Forest Hill, Louisiana, April 10. It was round three of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series. The win was the first for Baylor since June of last year and comes off the heels of brother Grant Baylor’s previous two victories, so it’s certainly been a family affair in the early part of the championship.
Steward Baylor (center), Russell Bobbitt (left) and Charlie Mullins (right) made it an all-KTM podium at the Cajun Classic. Photography by Shan Moore
Steward, on the SRT KTM, made up some solid ground in the championship on Grant, who didn’t have his best stuff on this day. He still had a great day by most people’s standards but fifth wasn’t what Grant was hoping for.
Steward ended up taking the overall victory with room to spare over FMF/KTM Factory Team rider Russell Bobbitt. After all was said and done, Steward’s consistency ended up beating Bobbitt by 21 seconds. Steward had the best times in two of the tests, while Bobbitt was quickest in three tests. A dispute and subsequent tangle with trees in one of the other tests was Bobbitt’s main undoing.
“I had a pretty good day; things went pretty good for me,” said Steward Baylor. “It was a close battle between me and Russell [Bobbitt] and Charlie [Mullins], and it just came down to being consistent.”
“Stew had a great ride in that last test, and I struggled in a couple of tests,” said Bobbitt. “I had a problem stalling my bike today. I don’t think it was the bike; I think I was just stomping on the rear brake and stalling it. I just wasn’t getting the clutch pulled in in time.”
Mullins, Bobbitt’s FMF/KTM teammate, was in the hunt for the overall win throughout the day but had to settle for third when it was all over. He still had plenty of positives to take away, as he topped one test and finished second in two others, which isn’t bad when you consider he is still recovering from a foot injury (not to mention his two dislocated wrists from last year).
Beta rider Jesse Groemm finished 38 seconds behind Mullins, while Grant Baylor cruised along in fifth, unable to really get going.
“Today was kind of rough,” Grant Baylor said. “We made some adjustments after the first test, and I felt like I was riding okay but my times just weren’t there.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang didn’t come alive until the second half of the day, but by then it was too late to challenge for the win and he had to settle for sixth instead. Triangle Cycles-backed Yamaha rider Brad Bakken was seventh, followed by RPM Racing KTM teammates Evan Smith and Drew Higgins. AirGroup Racing’s Nick Fahringer continues his return from a knee injury and rounded out the top 10 overall.
Larson’s Cycles/CheckPoint Off-Road Yamaha’s Nathan Ferderer won the Rekluse Expert-AA division, edging out KTM rider Jake Froman and Suzuki-mounted Adam Bonneur for the class win. He topped Froman by 22 seconds and Bonneur by 34 seconds.
FMF/KTM’s Kacy Martinez won the Women’s A/B division class for the second time in a row, beating former Women’s champs Mandi Mastin and Shawn Davidson.
RESULTS
1. Steward Baylor (KTM)
2. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
3. Charlie Mullins (KTM)
4. Jesse Groemm (Bet)
5. Grant Baylor (Yam)
6. Josh Strang (Hus)
7. Brad Bakken (Yam)
8. Evan Smith (KTM)
9. Drew Higgins (KTM)
10. Nick Fahringer (Hus)
