| April 8, 2019
Round two of the AMA East ISDE Qualifiers headed to Battle Creek, Michigan, April 6-7. The Michigan ISDE Qualifier also played host to round one of the new AMA Michigan Sprint Enduro Series. Nate Federer came away with the overall win. As a result, the Yamaha YZ125 rider ended up getting two victories for the price of one!
Federer Wins Michigan ISDE Qualifier
Serving as rounds one and two of the new AMA Michigan Sprint Enduro Series, Logan Densmore and team partnered with Battle Creek M.C. to host two tests—a 3.5-mile Cross test and 5.5-mile Enduro test—in the sandy woods of Southern Michigan. Twenty riders looking to represent the United States at the Portugal International Six Days Enduro later this year joined 330 competitors all looking to do battle over three days of sprint enduro format racing.
Gas Gas USA’s Tyler Vore dominated the first day until he ran out of gas just before the finish of the final test of the day. He had to stop and tip his 300XC on its side to get just enough fuel to get to the end. This unexpected delay allowed Fly Racing’s Nate Federer to inherit the win on the day aboard his 2012 Yamaha YZ125 practice bike.
“I just got my new Suzuki the day before we left for the qualifier, so I dusted off the ol’ practice bike and came to rip,” Federer said.
James King battled Anson Maloney all day. Ultimately, King finished second on Saturday, just 0.62 seconds ahead of Maloney. Vore finished fourth with Missouri’s Nathan Rector rounding out the top five.
At the end of the day, all ISDE qualifiers were given a 15-minute work period. Only the riders could perform maintenance or repair their bikes. Afterward, they impounded their bikes for the night, following traditional ISDE format.
Henry Symanski had to change a pinched tube and pushed his bike into impound with just two seconds to spare!
Day two started with another 10-minute work period, and then the riders headed out four riders per minute in the order that they finished the previous day. They got a chance to warm up their bikes and head straight to the first test of the day.
Tyler Vore Grabs Second Overall And A Day-Two Victory
Vore struck first. Needing to make up a 40-second deficit from his mishap the previous day when he ran out of gas, he topped the first two tests.
Ferderer kept to within striking range every step of the way, taking two Cross-test wins and finishing only 30 seconds behind Vore at the end of the day. This was good enough to clinch the overall victory for the weekend.
Vore took second and was visibly relieved that he got the day’s victory. “Day one wasn’t ideal, but definitely a learning experience, and I’m glad I could get the win today for some good points towards qualifying.”
Mojo Motorsports-backed Maloney picked up the pace for Sunday, finishing 29 seconds back from Ferderer and taking third overall for the weekend.
“I came because I was told [this race] was awesome!” he said. “It was well worth the 33-hour drive from Grass Valley [California].”
With a massive surge in ridership, the newest format of racing in AMA Off-Road has been a great success in the United States. “This year was just a sign of the series growing with time,” said series owner/operator Logan Densmore. “Last year was our first event part of a brand new series that went great. This year was even better with over 350 riders, 125 more than the year before. The riders were all having a blast, and that’s what makes the time and effort all worth it.”
The third and final AMA East ISDE Qualifier is set to take place May 25-26, 2019, in Glen Daniel, W.V., and will be hosted by a round of the AMA Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series.
ERIK KUDLA