Shan Moore | July 11, 2022
Josh Toth won eight of 12 tests at the inaugural Sprint Enduro World Championship in Sandy Level, Virginia, July 9-10, to claim the 2022 Sprint Enduro World Championship crown, topping his FMF/KTM Factory Racing teammate Kailub Russell by a full minute after two days of competition.
The Sprint Enduro World Championship is a one-off event hosted by Trail Pros, the promoters of the U.S. Sprint Enduro Series, and it was designed to raise awareness of the U.S. effort at the International Six Days Enduro. U.S. Team ISDE Manager Antti Kallonen also held his annual four-day ISDE camp in conjunction with the event. The race is open to anyone, but the U.S. ISDE qualifiers were required to run the “eco” DOT tires required at ISDE and perform maintenance tasks in the 20 minutes they had between tests to simulate ISDE conditions. The U.S. ISDE team will be staying at the race site though Tuesday, July 12, to practice on their sprint speed, changing tires and other ISDE-specific tasks.
Toth won five of six tests on Saturday, losing one of the Cross tests to Tely Energy Racing KTM’s Liam Draper of New Zealand. A steady rain moved into the area on Sunday, leaving the track slippery and with standing water, but Toth was able to stretch his lead, despite only winning three of the six remaining tests.
Josh Toth won eight of 12 tests and the overall. Photos: Shan Moore
“The last few times I’ve raced I’ve felt really sharp, so I felt good coming into this weekend,” said Toth. “I was super excited to come to this race, and I came out swinging in the first test. Once I saw that I won that first one and saw where everybody was it gave me a confidence boost for the rest of the weekend.”
Russell won the first Cross test in Sunday’s mud as well as the first Enduro test, however, Toth gained nearly 10 seconds on Russell in the second Enduro test, which pretty much sealed the deal for Toth.
“Today, in the mud, it was tricky being the first rider out,” said Toth after Sunday’s racing. “There was a ton of standing water and there were no lines, so I was kind of breaking the course in. But other than the first two tests, I felt really good on Sunday.”
Because of Russell’s win in the first Cross test on Sunday, he took home the $100 “spoiler” award for keeping Toth from sweeping all six Cross tests, for which Toth would have won a $1200 “bounty” if he had completed the feat.
Russell came out of retirement to compete in the race, and admitted it took a while to get the hang of things.
“It’s tough to get back into it when you’re not in the groove,” said Russell. “I was hoping for a little bit more, but I can’t hope for too much. Josh rode really well. So did Liam. I was just kind of off touch a little bit all day.”
Kailub Russell came out of retirement and actually won the first Sunday test. He finished second overall.
Tely Energy Racing KTM’s Liam Draper was sitting second after Saturday’s event but settled for third overall after Russell picked up the pace.
“I felt really good on Saturday,” said Draper. “The Cross test, I felt I was on it all weekend. The Enduro test really hurt me, though. That’s where Kailub caught me; I would beat him in the Cross test and then he would kill me in the Enduro test.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong turned in an impressive ride for fourth, with especially fast times in the Enduro test.
“I felt good in the Enduro test,” said DeLong. “I need to work on my grass track skills. This was my first time using DOT tires and I struggled a bit. I struggled early on yesterday just trying to figure it out, the first two tests, then I finally got the hang of it. The enduro test was like a National Enduro so I really enjoyed it. A little tighter, more like remember your lines, remember your marks. I like that stuff because I can remember that stuff kind of pretty well. So, that was fun.”
Cody Barnes won the Pro 2 and finished fifth overall.
Despite having an up and down weekend, Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes won the Pro 2 class with a fifth-overall finish. He too was struggling with the DOT tires.
“I had a couple dumb crashes on day one in the cross test; kind of frustrated,” said Barnes. “It wasn’t where I wanted to be with the comparison to other guys’ times. I need to do some homework on riding with these tires and just getting more comfortable so that we have the best result in Six Days.”
RPM Racing KTM’s Dante Oliveira, who races on the West Coast, was a bit out of his element in the eastern woods, but still came away with sixth overall.
Top Pro-Am rider was Jason Tino in seventh overall. Forbes Racing KTM’s Cole Forbes won the 250 A division and finished eighth overall. After getting off to a rough start on Saturday, Cade Henderson (KTM) put together a strong ride on Sunday to finish ninth overall and second in the Pro-Am class. RPM Racing KTM’s Mateo Oliveira rounded out the top 10.
KTM/FXR’s Brandy Richards topped the Women’s Pro division, winning seven of the 12 tests.
“My first day was really good; the Cross test was sweet,” said Richards. “The Enduro test, I kind of struggled a little bit, but just kind of stayed up and consistent. I won every Cross test yesterday and then today obviously it rained this morning, so it was super muddy and I was just getting used to it. I don’t get to ride mud like this, so my first Cross test and Enduro test were sweet. I loved it. Then it just progressively got worse. It got slicker. It got gnarlier.”
West coast native, Brandy Richards topped the Women’s Pro division, winning seven of the 12 tests.
Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Korie Steede won the remaining five tests for second, while Bonanza Plumbing KTM’s Rachel Gutish only raced the second day due to a prior commitment, and finished third.
With the Sprint Enduro World Championship and ISDE training camp now run, American competitors are looking forward to representing the USA this year’s ISDE in Le Puy en Velay, France, from August 29 through September 3.
Shan Moore
OVERALL RESULTS
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Kailub Russell (KTM)
- Liam Draper (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Cody Barnes (Hon)
- Dante Oliveira (KTM)
- Jason Tino (KTM)
- Cole Forbes (KTM)
- Cade Henderson (KTM)
- Mateo Oliveira (KTM)
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