After more than a three-month break, racers returned to the woods for the Rocky Mountain Cherokee National Enduro, held on May 24-25. The Cherokee Cycle Club saw over 450 competitors compete in the Red Line Oil AMA National Enduro Series, presented by MSR and Beta Motorcycles, and a podium sweep by the Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team.
By Heather Wilson | Photos by Mack Faint
After torrential rain the night before the event, the National Enduro Promoters Group delayed key time by one hour and went into the woods to make course adjustments. The day began with a seven-mile section with cool and comfortable conditions, followed by an eight-mile section. Racers tackled slick, polished red clay with exposed roots throughout part of the day, but the track improved as time went on. The third test was shorter, at 4.5 miles, as racers aimed to outpace their nearest rivals. The next test was an eight-mile stretch, followed by 6.5- and 5.5-mile sections to complete the day.
Rocky Mountain Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team Green swept the overall podium. Throughout the day, Josh Toth was on fire aboard his KX250X, achieving a clean sweep by winning every test he faced in Georgia. The reigning champion thrives in muddy conditions and wasn’t about to let even his teammates sneak in a test win.
“When I saw the rain coming last night or on the radar, I just got excited,” said Toth. “I’ve ridden here for a sprint enduro in the wet, and I put a hurting on them then, so I knew it’s my kind of track. I knew I could do it. Conditions were unreal, and the course was just a blast. There were a couple gnarly sections, but for the amount of rain we had—just unbelievable conditions. I’ve been itching to get to an enduro. Obviously, we had Louisiana canceled, and it’s hard to beat Stu at Sumter. So, I’ve had a long time to just sit and wait for this one, but I’m glad to get in the swing of things and be back enduro racing. I just really enjoyed it all day and had fun.”
After his win in round one, Red Bear Racing Kawasaki teammate Steward Baylor Jr was motivated to maintain the momentum. The NE Pro1 competitor secured second place in the opening test and third in tests two, three and four. He wrapped up the day with two second-place finishes.
“It was a damn good day,” said Baylor. “I was coming in a little under the weather this week. I’m getting old, and my body is falling apart from doing this for so long. I rolled my ankle for, like, the third time in a year. Outside of that, the trails were fun. I just told Alan [Randt, race organizer] this was probably one of the most fun Cherokee enduros I’ve ridden, ever. This was actually my very first win [here, in 2002]. I’ve been riding here a long time, and I’ve got to say that was some of the most fun trails today.”
Completing the podium was yet another Red Bear Racing Kawasaki rider, Grant Baylor. Although he had a bobble in the first section, finishing fifth in NE Pro1 and seventh overall, he quickly recovered and secured second in the next test. He then recorded finishes of 4-5-3-3 on the day.
“It was a pretty good day—a little slippery out there with the rain coming in this morning,” said Grant Baylor. “I went out there and made the best of it. I’m still just riding a little bit timid with the leg. You know, scared to dab it and tear it up again. I just tried to get out there and get through the day, keep it on two wheels. I fell over twice today. Other than that, it just was a good day—just tried to go out there and make some progress and get back into the swing of things. I’m happy to be up here on the podium.”
The Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team didn’t just have a stellar day in the NE Pro1 class; the team also saw Nicholas Defeo earn the NE Pro2 win by nearly a minute. Aside from the second test, in which he was the runner-up, he captured class wins in all other sections.
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Angus Riordan captured second place in his class. The Australian recorded finishes of 3-1-2 in NE Pro2 to kick off the day aboard his KTM 250 XC-F. In the fourth section, he finished fourth and then moved up to second in the following test. He placed third in the final test.
Chase Landers, backed by Landers KTM Amateur Racing, powered through the six tests to earn the last step of the podium. He went 2-3-4-2 before ending the day with a fifth and seventh in class.
Another Red Bear Racing Kawasaki teammate secured a premier class win. Rachael Archer, the reigning Women’s Elite Champion, finished over three minutes ahead of her closest competitor. She stated that she particularly enjoyed tests four and five, describing them as “fun and flowy.”
Round-one winner Rachel Gutish secured second place on her Rieju, despite possibly breaking her finger in test two and pushing through the pain for the rest of the day. She was in third place after the first three tests before finishing second in the last three tests of the day.
Although Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner clinched the opening test victory aboard her GasGas, she encountered stiff competition throughout the day that made it difficult to secure any additional test wins. With results of 2-2-3-3-3 for the rest of the day, she still managed to finish on the podium.
Lane Whitmer, who captured the AA class win and seized 17th overall at round one, backed it up with another AA class win and 12th overall this weekend. The GasGas rider took first in class through all six sections.
Tennessee’s Brayden Baisley collected the 250A class win and placed 15th overall. The Husqvarna rider won all but one test throughout the day.
2025 AMA National Enduro Round 2 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Josh Toth (Kaw)
- Steward Baylor Jr (Kaw)
- Grant Baylor (Kaw)
- Ricky Russell (Tri)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Nicholas Defeo (Kaw)
- Angus Riordan (KTM)
- Ryder Lafferty (Hon)
- Chase Landers (KTM)
- Jhak Walker (Bet)
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Click here to read the Cherokee National Enduro article in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
