Shan Moore | April 5, 2022
Josh Toth emerges victorious at the Olde Mill Sprint Enduro; Pro 2 rider Cody Barnes nabs Saturday’s win.
Josh Toth captured his third win in a row in the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, his latest coming at the Olde Mill Farm in Maryland.
Photography by Shan Moore
FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth and AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael continue to battle for wins in the 2022 U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, their latest confrontation coming at the Olde Mill Sprint Enduro, round five of the series in Charlette Hall, Maryland.
Though Toth had taken two-straight overall victories in the series and was threatening to pull away from Michael in the championship standings, Michael came back to claim a Pro-class win on Saturday of this weekend’s event to remain in contention in the title chase, despite still battling with a shoulder injury.
Toth rebounded on Sunday, making up considerable time to take the “day” win, as well as the overall win, coming back from eight points down after Saturday and eking out the overall victory by a mere three seconds.
Defending champion Layne Michael put up another good fight but came up just short of the overall win. He had to settle for second once again.
“It came down to the very last test and I was able to win it,” said Toth. “Layne was super-fast in the cross test on Saturday and I just had to try to make it up in the enduro test. On Sunday, I managed to pick up the pace in the cross test too, and that was the difference.”
As usual, Michael was fastest in the cross test, and he topped Toth in all three on Saturday to establish an early lead. The Yamaha rider even beat Toth in the first of the three enduro tests, as well, but Toth picked up the pace in the final two to keep the day competitive.
Michael eventually beat Toth by eight seconds for Saturday’s top Pro honors, however, Pro 2 competitor Cody Barnes (Phoenix Racing Honda) had both of the two front-runners covered, posting Saturday’s fastest “overall” time. It was Barnes’ first time to clock the fastest overall time for a full day. Barnes turned the quickest time in all three cross tests, as well as in the first enduro test. At the end of the day, Barnes was six seconds quicker than Michael.
Honda rider Cody Barnes was third overall and first place in the Pro 2 division.
“I was just riding good and I was having a lot of fun,” said Barnes. “I think I just kind of flowed because I was enjoying it.”
Toth came out swinging in Sunday’s first enduro test, beating Michael by 12 seconds to work his way back in the hunt for the overall.
Michael won the first two cross tests, but by not nearly as much as he did on Saturday, as Toth was clearly picking up the pace in the cross tests.
Heading into the sixth and final test of the day, Toth and Michael were virtually tied for the overall win, with Toth holding less than a one-second lead. Toth had won the previous two enduro tests on Sunday and he was quickest again in the final one, beating Michael by a little over two seconds and sealing the day win and the overall victory for the weekend.
“The cross test was super slippery and I just struggled all day on Saturday and I kind of fell back,” said Toth. “Those guys took advantage of that on day one, but as the day went on I got better. I went a little softer on suspension just because the track wasn’t really getting tore up and those changes helped a lot. Then going into today, I knew I needed to make up some time on the cross test, not just the enduro, and I managed to do it. I took it to the last test and was able to beat Layne.”
The win was Toth’s fifth day-win in the last six rounds (third overall win in a row) and he now leads Michael by 19 points in the series standings.
Michael’s win on Saturday keeps him in contention for the championship.
“Toth obviously had us covered in the enduro test,” said Michael. “Today I was much better in the enduro test. Unfortunately, I crashed in the first one and lost about seven seconds, and then lost out for the overall by just under three seconds. I’m kicking myself right now. It’s a little mental error. It would have been nice to win the overall, but we at least swapped days on points and we live to fight another day.”
Michael is still battling an injured shoulder.
“Hopefully we can rest the shoulder for a couple weeks and just keep trying to get this thing better,” added Michael. “It’s been a pretty miserable year all the way around. Just been dealing with this. I rode really well, considering everything. I’m just kind of bummed at myself.”
Barnes is obviously improving with every race and on Saturday he was clearly the fastest. The Illinois rider finished third overall for the weekend and first in the Pro 2 class.
“Saturday I was riding super well and grabbing my first overall for the day, so that was pretty cool,” said Barnes. “Today I still rode good, but I just made a couple little mistakes in the enduro test, I had an easy fall in the first one. Josh and Layne, they were going at it and they definitely stepped it up. Overall, just to be competitive with those guys and even have tests that are close to them and battle for test wins with them, it’s awesome for me.”
Tely Energy KTM’s Liam Draper turned in some impressive test times en route to third in the Pro division and fourth overall.
Liam Draper showed some good speed en route to fourth overall.
“On Saturday, I finally figured out how to go fast on a cross test,” said Draper. “I struggled with first two enduro tests yesterday: in one I lost my brakes and then the other one I had two crashes. I lost a bunch of time there. But overall, it was a good weekend. I’m happy to finally start competing with times with Josh and Layne and Cody. It was a good weekend.”
Seven-Sixty Husqvarna’s Thorn Devlin finished a strong fifth overall and second in the Pro 2 division, including one Pro 2 test win.
“It was a pretty solid weekend,” said Devlin. “I was able to get one test win from Cody, so I was kind of happy because he was on a roll this weekend. Other than that, I rode well. I’ve just got to get faster, get better and get stronger on the bike.”
RPM Racing KTM’s Gus Riordan struggled with the woods section, but still managed sixth overall and third Pro 2 rider.
“This was probably the tightest woods I’ve ever raced on so I just struggled with that,” admitted Riordan.
Forbes Racing KTM’s Cole Forbes turned in his best performance of the season with seventh overall and first in the 250 A division.
“I came out swinging and I was battling up in the top five overall on Saturday, but then I crashed two times and it put me all the way back to seventh or eighth overall,” said Forbes. “But today I got back up there. No crashes today. Finally put one whole full day together and did good today.”
Husqvarna rider Gavin Simon gave Forbes a run for his money, but in the end settled for second in the 250 A class and eighth overall.
Neil Enman (GG) topped the Pro-Am class with a ninth overall.
“It definitely feels good to get a few wins under my belt this year,” said Enman. “I’ve had a few years of struggles, so it’s nice to get some momentum through this year in particular.”
RJ Cook (GG) rounded out the top 10 overall, carding second in the Pro-Am division.
“I felt pretty good in the cross test, per usual,” said Cook. “I’m a moto guy so I like that. The woods though, I felt like I had the first part dialed in, and then after that, I don’t know. I was just falling off, for sure. But happy with the second place on the weekend.”
Tayla Jones won nine out of the 12 tests to win the Women’s Pro class.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones won nine of the 12 tests to win the Women’s Pro division.
“Coming in here, I was super excited. Being so close to Budds Creek, I thought the dirt was going to be prime, and it was,” said Jones. “I had a good weekend. I had a couple crashes, but overall I had fun and I rode like I know how to and we got the overall both days. So, I’m pumped.”
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Korie Steede won the remaining three tests to finish second, while FXR Racing KTM’s Shelby Turner was third. CN
OVERALL
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Layne Michael (Yam)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Liam Draper (KTM)
- Thorn Devlin (Hus)
- Gus Riordan (KTM)
- Cole Forbes (KTM)
- Gavin Simon (Hus)
- Neil Enman (GG)
- RJ Cook (GG)
