Shan Moore | June 17, 2021
Josh Toth took a well-deserved win, his first of the year, at this weekend’s Cherokee National Enduro in Greensboro, Georgia, grabbing the lead in the first test and then holding it all day to beat out series points leader Steward Baylor by 19 seconds at the finish.
Josh Toth claimed his first National Enduro win of the year.
Words and Photos by Shan Moore
VIDEO | 2021 Cherokee AMA National Enduro
The FMF/KTM rider only topped two of the seven tests all day, but the two he did win, he did so by big margins, while his remaining test times saw him sticking tight to his top two challengers, Steward Baylor (AmPro Yamaha) and his brother Grant (KLM/Milwaukee/GasGas).
Toth won the first test of the day by 14 seconds over Grant. When Steward drew to within four seconds of Toth heading into the final test of the day, the KTM rider busted out an incredible ride to add another 15 seconds to his cushion to seal the win.
“I rode pretty smart in the first test,” said Toth. “I didn’t overshoot any turns. It was a short test, so I knew any mistake was going to be hard to make up, so I just rode really smart. I kind of thought I was a little on the cautious side and I came in and I crushed the first test, so I was pretty taken aback by that. Then the Baylor’s were on the hunt for me all day. Trying to fight them off. Going into the last test I knew it was going to be a tight one and they were strong in it. I put my head down and charged. Fortunately, there were some roots and rocks and stuff as well as the tight stuff, so I was able to lay down a heater in the last test and hold Stew off.”
Grant and Steward were in a tight fight for second after the first test, but then Grant took a clear lead over his brother after winning tests two, three and four. However, a mishap in five cost Grant considerable time, leaving Steward to chase Toth to the finish.
Steward Baylor came on strong but couldn’t catch Toth. Despite finishing second, Baylor still grabbed some points on his brother, Grant, in the championship. Steward leads by five points.
“Josh had a good lead after the first test,” said Grant. “I clicked away a little bit on that one in the second and third test there. Then I think it was test five, I was coming down the straightaway behind one of the faster Pro women riders and the rider in front of her moved off the trail for her, and then instead of looking to pull back out in the straightaway, they just pulled right back out into me, and I hit them going 30 or 40 miles an hour. It sent me and them flipping over the bars. It took me a while to get up after that. My bike was all mangled up. It was a really good wreck. So, I got up after that and tried to get back going, but I couldn’t get back into that mode. Instantly crashed again after that. Just wasn’t focused.”
Grant Baylor nursed his beat-up bike home in third after a big get-off.
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 sneaked 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.”
Trevor Bollinger finished a season-high fourth.
A crash in the seventh test cost Kelley fourth.
“I was kind of in that fourth-place position all day,” said Kelley. “I felt like I was riding pretty good, just a little bit off the top three. I had a little mistake in the fifth test, and then the seventh test had a crash and just struggled with that super-tight trail. Trevor was able to sneak by me, so I ended up fifth on the day, but overall [I was] happy with my ride.”
A crash in the seventh test cost Ben Kelley a fourth-place position.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong struggled with setup and settled for sixth.
“My suspension was maybe a little bit off about halfway through the day, and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do,” said DeLong. “I adjusted it and it was better for the last two or three tests. I wish I would have started the day with that setting, but you learn stuff every time. I had some decent times. The next one is one of my local ones, so I’m excited for that.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong placed sixth after dialing in his suspension.
Husqvarna/Max Motorsports/FXR Racing’s Evan Smith turned in a solid ride which left him with a seventh overall.
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Jesse Ansley chalked up another win in the NE Pro2 division with an eighth overall, making four wins in as many races.
“This was a lot tighter than I would have liked, but to keep the win streak alive is pretty cool,” said Ansley. “It was hot. It was brutal today. I almost overheated [in] that last test. It was super tight. I knew I had like a minute buffer, but I still wanted to put in a good test score. So, to leave here with another win, really can’t complain.”
Jesse Ansley topped the NE Pro2 class again.
XC Gear/Enduro Engineering/Moose Racing/Husqvarna’s Ryder Lafferty returned from a two-race absence due to a broken collarbone to log a ninth-overall finish. Meanwhile, 760 Husqvarna’s Ben Nelko rounded out the top 10 overall, collecting second in the NE Pro2 class.
“I started off, I think, second behind Jesse, and then I made a pretty big mistake the second test and went down hard and dropped back to sixth,” said Nelko. “After that, I just put my head down and charged all the rest of the day and was able to make up time and get second.”
Steve Nicholas (KTM) was third in the NE Pro2 class and 11th overall.
Kory Steede claimed her first major pro win with a victory in the Women’s Elite class. The Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy Kawasaki rider dominated, winning all six tests.
Kory Steede captured her first major win in the Women’s Pro Elite class.
“I was expecting it to be pretty tight and I’m not very good in the tight stuff,” said Steede. “Obviously, I’m getting better at it, so I’m pretty stoked on my day to win every test. I was just consistent out there and it paid off.”
Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker topped Sherco’s Brooke Cosner for second, while four-time AMA EnduroCross Champion Shelby Turner (KTM) finished fourth ahead of Beta USA’s Rachel Gutish. CN
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Steward Baylor (Yam)
- Grant Baylor (GG)
- Trevor Bollinger (Hus)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Evan Smith (Hus)
- Jesse Ansley (KTM)
- Ryder Lafferty (Hus)
- Ben Nelko (Hus)
