The inaugural season of the renamed Red Line Oil American National Enduro Championship Series, presented by MSR, came to a close in Illinois at the Enduro Engineering Bob Reese Memorial National Enduro, where hometown favorite Toby Cleveland claimed his first career overall National Enduro victory. Meanwhile, AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper of New Zealand secured the 2026 ANEC Championship, becoming the first foreign-born rider to do so.
Story by Tyler Shepardson | Photography by Art Pepin
Cleveland, a Pro2 competitor, came into the weekend with confidence after winning the event the previous two years before it joined the national schedule. This time, with the country’s top riders in attendance, Cleveland proved he could run at the front, winning three of the six tests and taking the overall victory by nearly a minute.
“I’ve ripped this enduro the last two years, and I always wondered what I would get against the big dogs,” Cleveland said. “I felt great today and came out on top, so I’m super happy.”
Cleveland attacked the opening tests before settling into a smoother pace late in the race to secure the win in front of his home crowd. The victory also made Cleveland just the second Pro2 rider to claim an overall National Enduro win.
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor battled back from a difficult start to finish second overall and take the Pro1 victory.
Baylor struggled to find his rhythm through the opening three tests before turning things around in the second half of the day. After winning test four, Baylor posted the fastest Pro1 times in the final two tests to climb into the class lead and the overall runner-up position.
“I think I was just overriding it in the beginning of the day, pushing a little too hard,” Baylor said. “I backed it down a little bit and started getting things to click and flow.”
The class victory marked a strong finish to the season for Baylor, who admitted he had struggled to put things together at the previous few rounds.
“I’m pumped to finish the season off like this,” Baylor said. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum into next season and come out swinging at round one.”
Liqui Moly Beta’s Jhak Walker rounded out the overall podium in third and also took second in Pro2. Racing just a few hours from his Illinois home, Walker enjoyed the familiar terrain and the opportunity to compete in front of friends and family.
“It was super cool to have a race out here where people I know are everywhere,” Walker said. “It was pretty technical, but it was awesome to have a National only three hours away.”
Pro1
While Cleveland took the overall victory, another major story of the weekend was the crowning of the 2026 National Champion.
Draper entered the final round with a comfortable points advantage and left Illinois with the number one plate, becoming the first international rider to win the overall National Enduro Championship.
A former Pro2 Champion, Draper admitted he hadn’t planned on chasing the championship when the season began. After Steward Baylor Jr encouraged him to return to the series, Draper showed up at the opening round in Sumter with no expectations. A victory that weekend quickly changed his plans.
“I went to Sumter with zero expectations,” Draper said. “Stew nagged me for a month prior to come race enduros. I don’t know if he’s regretting it now, but I showed up to have fun.”
Despite having the championship nearly secured before the race, Draper kept pushing for the win, leading the Pro1 class into the final test before ultimately finishing second in class and fourth overall.
“It’s hard to settle when you’re a racer,” Draper said. “The mindset was still to go out and race and try to win. Me, Stew and Grant battled all year, and it’s been good.”
The championship capped an impressive first full season of National Enduro Pro1 competition for Draper, who praised the new venues, formats and competition throughout the inaugural ANEC season.
Behind Baylor and Draper, Evan Smith completed the Pro1 podium with his first podium finish of 2026. Smith found his pace as the day progressed and was pleased to end a challenging season on a positive note.
Pro2
Cleveland’s overall victory also secured the Pro2 win, while Walker finished second in class to cap off a strong second half of the season.
Walker, who made history earlier in the year with his own overall National Enduro victory, reflected on his progress throughout 2026 despite missing a round due to injury.
“I showed a lot of growth this year,” Walker said. “I’m happy with how I ended today. Toby was absolutely on rails, and congratulations to him.”
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Kawasaki’s Nick DeFeo completed the Pro2 podium, marking an important milestone in his return from a broken femur suffered earlier in the season.
The defending 2025 Pro2 Champion entered the year as the rider to beat and held the championship points lead before his injury sidelined him for much of the season.
DeFeo returned to racing late in the year and continued rebuilding his confidence, earning a test victory on his way to third place in Illinois.
“It feels good just getting past the mental state of hitting my body against a tree, because there’s a lot of trees out there,” DeFeo said. “It feels good to get back on the podium. It’s a step in the right direction and sets us up for next year.”
Although DeFeo’s injury prevented him from defending his title, FMF KTM’s Jason Tino had already secured the 2026 Pro2 National Championship at the previous round, bringing the number one plate to the KTM team in his first full National Enduro season.
Pro Women
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Korie Steede put the finishing touches on an undefeated season, sweeping all six tests at the Bob Reese Memorial to complete a perfect 9-0 record in the Pro Women division.
Steede had already secured the championship but came into the finale determined to finish the season undefeated.
“I was honestly more nervous coming to this race than the one that I wrapped it up at,” Steede said. “It’s incredible to do this with how fast everyone is now. It’s really tough to have a good weekend every single weekend.”
Steede navigated the technical Illinois terrain without surrendering a test victory, crediting a smooth approach and staying alert for hidden obstacles scattered throughout the course.
“You had to ride loose,” Steede said. “A lot of things could catch you off guard. I just tried to shift up a gear and bring it home.”
Enduro Engineering Triumph’s Shelby Turner finished second after another strong performance. Turner enjoyed the technical trails but encountered some trouble in the final test, including bottlenecks in the EnduroCross-style sections.
Brooke Cosner rounded out the Pro Women podium in third, enjoying the challenging terrain and praising the club for putting together a technical enduro.CN
2026 AMA American National Enduro Round 9 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Toby Cleveland (Hus) 111:20.564
- Grant Baylor (Kaw) 112:19.285
- Jhak Walker (Bet) 112:21.975
- Liam Draper (Yam) 112:23.305
- Evan Smith (KTM) 113:08.280
- Craig Delong (Hus) 113:11.533
- Ricky Russell (Yam) 113:27.961
- Nicholas DeFeo (Kaw) 113:51.687
- Jason Tino (KTM) 114:13.846
- Ryder Lafferty (Hon) 114:23.435
