AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper relied on consistency to take the overall win at the High Voltage Sprint Enduro on the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, April 19-20. Series points leader FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir’s absence from the race due to a head injury a few weeks ago left the door open for a few of the up-and-comers to take podium finishes. And many of them did. With five rounds in the books and only two rounds remaining, the race, which also doubled as the ISDE East Coast Qualifier, had some high drama as several top positions are still on the line.
Photos by Art Pepin
Saturday’s enduro test was tricky at best and caused several top riders to fall and lose valuable time. And while Saturday’s weather was windy yet sunny, a mini tornado hit the pits on Saturday night, blowing down team canopies, along with the signup area and score equipment, forcing the promoters to clear fallen trees as well as recover damaged equipment. To top it off, the scores from Saturday to Sunday were topsy-turvy, with top riders finishing outside the top five on Saturday but returning to the top of the standings on Sunday, making consistency a priority.
Draper was the most consistent of all, finishing first on Saturday and third on Sunday to grab the overall win for the weekend.
“I rode good yesterday, but today was tough, starting with the first cross test, which was slick. But ultimately, I needed more speed in the woods test, because Cody Barnes was killing it in there,” said Draper. “I’m happy to get the overall win but bummed to not win both days. But I was solid; I had a good day on Saturday, although Cody had a little bike issue in the second to last test. But I was solid all day yesterday and I felt good. Then today it was a whole different story. The two tracks were super slick. Cody just kind of worked me a little bit in the enduro test, but I got it back on him in the cross test. In the last enduro test, we matched each other, but he got the win for the day, which kind of bummed me out. I was hoping to win both days, but I got the overall victory, which is cool.”
Usually fighting for the top spot, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis was all the way down in ninth at the end of Saturday. A thumb injury put a damper on his first day’s performance. At the end of the two-day event, however, Davis finished second overall and first in the Pro 2 division.
“Thursday, I crashed and hurt my thumb. And yesterday in the first test, I hurt it badly again,” said Davis. “I was just dealing with a lot of pain all weekend. Today, I’m like, ‘I can’t let these boys beat me,’ so I came out swinging. I just got the pain out of my mind and just tried hard all day, and I gained it back. I just tried to stay smooth and try not to make any dumb mistakes. I was a little bit slower than Cody. He got me, but next time I can’t let this happen. I’ve got to beat him.”
In just his second U.S. Sprint Enduro of the year, Flatrock Motorclub Factory GasGas Racing’s Jason Tino grabbed a podium finish, taking third overall for the weekend after taking a second on Saturday and a sixth on Sunday. He also finished second in the Pro 2 class.
“Saturday was dry all day, but we got hit with rain probably about 8 p.m. It was like a tornado tore the whole place down,” said Tino. “As far as the racing, I usually do better in the enduro test, but this weekend I took the fastest cross-test time of the weekend. The enduro test was pretty slick. It was hard-packed and slick on Sunday. It rained during the first test and was greasy, and the second and third tests were just as slick as it was Saturday. I was having a good first cross test of the day, and right towards the end, I tucked the front and couldn’t get the bike started and lost like 20 seconds.”
Husqvarna rider Toby Cleveland just missed the overall podium, finishing just three seconds behind Tino, but garnered third in the Pro 2 class.
“I had a rough first two tests, and then I started riding pretty good,” said Cleveland. “At the end of day one, I came up in third. I passed Gavin Simon in the last enduro test of the day, and then today I had a good first cross test, but in my enduro test I wrecked twice and fell back about 20 seconds. I ended up second in the rest of the tests in the Pro 2 class and came out third in the class and fourth overall.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Cooper Jones parlayed a third on Saturday and a seventh on Sunday into fifth overall and fourth in the Pro 2 division. The KTM rider has been turning in impressive rides this year and will undoubtedly be challenging for some podiums.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong had a rough weekend, going 8-5, and got sixth overall. “I had a couple little mishaps that kind of set me back,” said DeLong. “I crashed in the first test of the day and had a little bit of a mechanical issue yesterday. I lost about 30 seconds in the one test, so that kind of set me back in the overall, but still it felt like I was riding well when I wasn’t making mistakes. So, I still need to be a little better, but I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to kind of being more in the mix, so we’re getting there.”
Phoenix Racing Honda’s JoJo Cunningham was the first of the Pro-Am riders in seventh overall after finishing sixth and eighth over the weekend. The Honda rider has been showing flashes of brilliance throughout the year, and it won’t be long until he is challenging in the Pro classes.
Gavin Simon (Husqvarna) was 5-11 for eighth overall, missing out on seventh overall by just two seconds. Meanwhile, FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley finished with a seventh and a 16th for ninth overall.
“On Saturday, I started off slow but picked it up as the day went on and was able to win that last enduro test,” said Kelley. “But I was still off the pace. Then today [Sunday], it’s a little different conditions, a little muddier, but I felt okay that first test. I was doing pretty good, keeping Liam in my sights. Then, near the end, I crashed, and as I was falling down, I ran into a stake that went through my helmet and hit me in the jaw, so that was rough. I had to make sure I was okay after that one. So, I lost a lot of time there, and then, yeah, I guess I was just off the pace.”
Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes won Sunday’s event but DNF’d Saturday’s race due to an electrical problem with his bike.
The top Amateur for the weekend with an overall win in the Open A class was Ben Nelko.
Rockstar Energy Factory Racing’s Korie Steede beat out Aussie Tayla Jones (Phoenix Honda Racing) by 14 seconds to win the Pro Women’s division.
“Yesterday I started off slow,” said Steede. “I was making a lot of mistakes, and Tayla was riding really well, so it was really tight out there, and then again today, I fixed some of my mistakes. We both went down a couple times in the first cross test. It was pretty icy out there, but I just cleaned up my mistakes and got a little bit more comfortable and tried to just push.”
Rieju’s Rachel Gutish rounded out the podium with Ellie Winland (Yamaha) in fourth.
The U.S. Sprint Enduro Series returns to action on May 10-11 in Kingwood, West Virginia, for the King of the Mountain Sprint Enduro.
2025 U.S. Sprint Enduro Round 5 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Grant Davis (KTM)
- Jason Tino (GG)
- Toby Cleveland (Hus)
- Cooper Jones (KTM)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- JoJo Cunningham (Hon)
- Gavin Simon (Hus)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Thorn Devlin (Yam)
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