Shan Moore | May 16, 2022
Ryder Lafferty pads points with first win of the year
Words and Photography by Shan Moore
Ryder Lafferty made it three podium finishes in a row with his win at this weekend’s Lead Belt National Enduro, round three of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series. The Coastal Racing GasGas rider also extended his lead in the point standings during an eventful day of racing in Park Hills, Missouri. Lafferty won this event the last time it was held here two years ago and seems to know how to navigate the tricky terrain better than anyone.
Unfortunately, two of the series’ top riders, AmPro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor (who won the opening round of the series in February and also won the first test in today’s round by 25 seconds) and FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley, (who won the second round in Virginia and was second in today’s opening test behind Steward), both DNF due to injuries suffered in test two. Baylor suffered an eye injury and Kelley reportedly suffered a leg injury. The two were second and third, respectively, in the championship coming into the Lead Belt.
With Steward and Kelley out of the running, it was no contest for Lafferty, as the New Jersey rider claimed two wins and three seconds in the final five tests to outdistance runner-up finisher REV Motorsports GasGas’ Grant Baylor by over a minute for the victory.
“When I started out, I used the bike setup I had two years ago when I won this event before,” said Lafferty. “I think I kind of missed the mark by doing that. So, the first couple tests I struggled. Then we changed some stuff and in the third one, I was able to win it. The bike was a lot better and from there on out, it was like I built a big gap and kept trucking, trying to think about it and just doing my thing.”
With the win, Lafferty holds a 13-point lead in the standings ahead of Grant, with Toth another three points back.
“I still got work to do,” said Lafferty. “I won today, and it sucks to see Stew and Ben get hurt, but I know from what they’ve showed this year that they would be in the fight for the race win with me today if they didn’t get busted up. It sucks to see, but I’ve just got to ride smart and take it for what it is.”
REV Motorsports GasGas’ Grant Baylor was second overall and moved into second in the series standings with the finish.
“I started out the day pretty solid up there right in the mix with the guys,” said Grant. “I think we were all within a few seconds at first. After that, I just kind of tried to put it on cruise control because I noticed in that first test that the terrain today was just a little bit on the sketchy side. So, I put myself in about 80 percent push mode and just tried to cruise it out the rest of the day and try to keep it on two wheels. I was having some big wrecks from just pushing a little too hard. I backed it down and after that it was a good day for me. I know this place is known to be one of the more dangerous tracks that we race at in the series, just because of the terrain here. There’s nothing they can do about it. It’s just the terrain here. It’s just a little hairy and you’ve got to stay on your toes.”
FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth turned in a blistering final test to move ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong to secure the final podium spot in third.
“It was absolutely brutal out there,” said Toth. “Pretty much all day it was very sketchy, high speed and just roots and rocks that you couldn’t see. I had a huge get-off in test three, so things were going pretty rough. Then the last couple of tests I was able to put the hammer down and move up to third. So, I was in the mix up until the last test. Toth and I were close and just I didn’t perform. I went slower in that last test and he went faster. I just struggled there.”
Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ricky Russell was in the hunt for third, as well, but ended up with fifth, his best finish of the year after missing the opening round due to injury.
“I was riding kind of a little bit over-cautious at first, but I still had decent tests,” said Russell. “I was right there in the mix with everyone, except maybe Steward’s time in test one. Stew killed us in test one. Then going into test two, I felt really good the first couple miles, and I came down this hill and there was some ribbon. I should have gone around the ribbon, and I saw a puddle, but it didn’t look that deep, but my bike sank up to the seat. So, I couldn’t get out. Luckily, a lady jumped off her bike and pulled up my bike to get me out. So, that killed me; I lost anywhere between 45 to a minute, roughly. After that, I just tried to put my head down.”
Despite struggling in the first two tests, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Trevor Bollinger still managed a sixth overall finish.
“I’m a GNCC guy, so I’m used to just following the trail and I got turned around a few times and lost too much time in the beginning,” said Bollinger. “After that, I think I had a good third, fourth, fifth test. Just kind of an off day. I was pretty timid today, and I wasn’t real comfortable. You’ve got to take what you can get on days like this.”
Beta USA’s Evan Smith came in 34 seconds behind Bollinger for seventh.
“It was pretty scary today, honestly,” said Smith. “It was really fast and a lot of hidden rocks and roots. Obviously, it was easy to go down. Unfortunately, a couple guys did. I just tried to keep it on two and not ride above my head and didn’t fall down all day.
NE Pro 2 class winner Steel City Men’s Clinic’s Ben Nelko (Honda) claimed his third class win in a row, finishing a full minute, 13 seconds ahead of second in class.
Beta USA’s Jonathan Johnson was second in class and ninth overall ahead of his brother, Magna1 Motorsports Husqvarna’s Brody Johnson, who was 10th overall and third in the NE Pro 2 division.
The Women’s Elite class was won by AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer.
“I stayed off the ground all day and I think that was the key today,” said Archer. “I was trying to ride a little conservative because it was so sketchy out there. Me and Kenzie [Tricker] were pretty close all day. Going into the last test I was only three seconds up, so I knew I had to pin it to win it. Unfortunately, Kenzie crashed, and I ended up winning the test by a minute. So, good for me, but unlucky for her.”
“I was really close going into the last test, three seconds back of Rachael,” said Enduro Engineering/Fly Racing KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker. “It was probably mile six or something, there was a rocky uphill and there was a bunch of people stuck. I didn’t have time to sit there and wait for them, and I didn’t make it. I ended up finding a long way around. Other than that, today was pretty good. I was really close to the front again, like I kind of was before I got hurt at Sumter. Hopefully maybe get a win soon.”
Brooke Cosner finished third on a GasGas, with Tayler Bonecutter (Bet) in fourth and Valerie Horenski (KTM) in fifth. CN
- Ryder Lafferty (Hus)
- Grant Baylor (GG)
- Josh Toth (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Ricky Russell (GG)
- Trevor Bollinger (Hus)
- Evan Smith (Bet)
- Ben Nelko (Hon) Pro 2
- Jonathan Johnson (Bet) Pro 2
- Brody Johnson (Hus) Pro 2