The Red Line Oil AMA American National Enduro Championship (ANEC), presented by MSR, kicked off its inaugural round in the sands of Sumter, South Carolina, hosted by the Sumter Enduro Riders Motorcycle Association. Liam Draper made his return to the series and landed on the top step, besting a stacked field to claim the round-one victory.
By Tyler Shepardson | Photography by Art Pepin
ANEC debuted as the official promoter of the championship after acquiring the National Enduro Promotions Group (NEPG) in the off-season. Six-time National Enduro Champion Steward Baylor Jr, who will still compete in ANEC, and his partner, Chris Cantrell, now run the new ANEC program, and they say their goal is to promote the sport of enduro racing for many years to come.
Baylor Jr was the first to make a move on the day. The defending champion and Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team rider topped the opening test, but that was his only test win of the day, opening the door for the rest of the field and a couple of “new” faces to shine.
AmPro Yamaha’s Draper and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong, both former Pro2 National Enduro Champions, have spent time away from the series. In making their return in 2026, they both made an impact by collectively taking down the last decade’s worth of National Enduro champions to start the season.
Draper capped off the day by winning the final two tests to secure the top spot on the podium, while DeLong also won two tests of his own to earn the runner-up position.
“My day was good,” said DeLong. “Honestly, I wouldn’t say I surprised myself, but I felt good and was able to win a couple of tests and put myself back in that fight. This is the best I have ever ridden here at Sumter, which kind of surprised me as well. But I love the trail down here, and the club put a nice amount of work in to make the trail smooth, tough and tight. It had a little bit of everything, so I really enjoyed it. I’m coming into this year feeling more prepared—we’re pretty dialed in—and my bike is feeling good.”
Taking the final test win of the day was three-time National Enduro Champion Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor. Grant struggled with his setup early on but was able to push through the day and work his way onto the overall podium, taking third place.”
Fourth on the day was Honda-mounted Ryder Lafferty, who was approximately 30 seconds down on Grant Baylor. Steward Baylor Jr ended up fifth overall.
Sixth overall went to the Pro2-class winner and defending class champ, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki’s Nick DeFeo, who dominated the Pro2 division, going a perfect six for six in test wins to start the season unbeaten.
Seventh overall was Pro2-class runner-up Jason Tino, on the FMF Red Bull KTM. Tino missed most of last season while recovering from a knee injury but was able to start his season strong.
“I just focused on staying smooth and hitting my marks while moving forward, and it turned out well, aside from my crash in the fourth test,” Tino said.
Eighth overall was KTM rider Evan Smith (Pro1), and ninth overall was another KTM rider, Ben Kelley, who admitted to making mistakes, “here and there.”
“I had a nice flow and felt like my roll speed was solid all day,” Kelley said. “I had that little incident with another rider in the first test, although other than that, it was decent.”
KTM-mounted rider Ryan Piper left his last National Enduro in a helicopter with an injury but left this one 10th overall and third in the Pro2 class. He admitted he was nervous coming into the day but excited about his performance and the redemption.
The Pro2 podium: Nick DeFeo (center), Jason Tino (left) and Ryan PiperThe Pro Women class winner also experienced a perfect day, as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Korie Steede achieved six consecutive test wins to secure top honors in her return to National Enduro racing.
“I came into this weekend a little unaware of where I was going to end up,” said Steede. “I was feeling good on the bike practicing in the lead-up, so my confidence was high, although being out of a series for a couple of years, you just never know until the first round. After test one, I think I was ahead by something like 40 seconds, and from there I was having a lot of fun, gelling with the track.”
Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner earned second place in all but one test, securing second overall in the Pro Women’s class for the day. Meanwhile, defending champion Factory Rieju’s Rachel Gutish, who battled illness all week, still managed to make it onto the podium by finishing third to start the season.
Round two of ANEC will be held on March 22 in Oklahoma City for the Beta Motorcycles Cross Timbers National Enduro, with sign-ups opening on February 23. CN
2026 AMA American National Enduro Round 1 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Liam Draper (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Grant Baylor (Kaw)
- Ryder Lafferty (Hon)
- Steward Baylor Jr (Kaw)
- Nick DeFeo (Kaw)
- Jason Tino (KTM)
- Evan Smith (KTM)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Ryan Piper (KTM)
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