Lafferty Dominates Foggy Mountain Enduro

| July 21, 2009

Shock Doctor/KTM’s Mike Lafferty took the overall win at round eight of the AMA/Rekluse National Enduro series, the Foggy Mountain Enduro held in Blain Pennsylvania. Lafferty, on his 400 XC-W dominated the race from start to finish, with a points loss of 31:37.

“I like this race; I did good here last year and I wanted to win today,” said Lafferty. “We had the bike set up good and I just tried to ride a smart race.”

In the number two spot was the series champion and points leader Russell Bobbitt. Bobbitt rode a KTM 250 XC and finished with a score of 33:54.

“I had a good race,” Bobbitt said. “I got fifth here last year, so I feel pretty good about second. Mike rides good up here and I knew I was going to have work hard.”

In the final podium spot was Brad Bakken with a 34:28.

“I knew me and Russell were close in a few sections, but I had a few problems,” Bakken commented. “It was a good race.”

Husaberg rider Nick Fahringer has been riding well and despite some problems during the race he finished just shy of the podium with fourth with a score of 36:56. Rounding out the top five was KTM mounted Cole Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick finished with 37:45.

The Susquehanna Off Road Riders put on the event, paying points to both National and ECEA series. The race was probably the rockiest of the series, so much so that most of the top riders ran trials tires on the rear. There were six sections, the longest being the last at 14 miles. The course ran through the scenic farmland of Pennsylvania for close to 70 miles, including transfer sections. Recent rains held the dust down some, but dust was still a challenge in some of the more open trail.

Lafferty has newfound momentum with wins in both Montana and Pennsylvania. With his most recent win, he closes the points gap with Bobbitt to just one point. With two rounds remaining – one in Michigan and one in Indiana – both riders need to be on their game heading into those final two rounds. The quest for the championship will likely go down to the final race.

By Kenneth King