FMF KTM Factory Racing's Josh Toth edged out his teammate Kailub Russell and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing's Thad Duvall to claim his first-ever win in the Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro series with a fast and consistent performance at I-81 Motorsports Park in Greeneville, Tennessee. In all, Toth won four of the 12 tests and topped Russell by 23 seconds after two days of tight and exciting racing.
Each Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro event is made up of two rounds per weekend, and Toth won Saturday's round by 24 seconds. He also proved he was equally fast in both the Cross test and the Enduro test by winning one of each. On Sunday, he finished second to Russell. When the combined times for the two days were calculated, Toth took the overall victory by 23 seconds, with Russell second and Duvall third.
"I was pretty consistent on Saturday and I was able to get the win for the day," Toth said. "So on Sunday I knew I had a pretty good cushion over those guys, so I just tried to ride as well as I could, but also stay off the ground and just kind of play it safe."
Russell had the speed to win all weekend. However, a mistake in the second test on Saturday cost him a chance at the overall win.
"I got off to an awesome start in the first test on Saturday [and won] the thing," Russell said. "I was riding really well in the second test, but right near the end, I hit a rock wrong and just shot off the track. There was a fence right next to the track and I just got all wrapped up in it and tangled up. Luckily, I didn't go over the fence. The bike was kind of tangled in between a couple of trees and the fence. I could either give up or keep trying, so I just kept trying and plugging away. I eventually made up a bunch of time and was able to win Sunday's event and finish second overall."
Duvall won two tests en route to third overall.
"On Saturday I wasn't myself," Duvall said. "I kept crashing. I think I crashed in four out of the six tests. I was very frustrated yesterday. So we kind of made some changes on the bike last night, and then it was much better day today and we won a couple tests. I just tried to clear my head last night and start over again today. I need to learn how to ride better on Saturdays."
After sitting out two months due to a shoulder injury, Coastal Racing Husqvarna's Layne Michael returned to racing at the Tennessee round to finish fourth.
"Technically I'm not even supposed to be riding yet," Michael admitted. "I kind of started off a little timid, obviously, just considering everything. But I felt better progressing into the day, and today I felt like I was a lot steadier, especially the Enduro test. I've only ridden five times coming back, so just to still be competitive in the Cross test feels good. [I've] just got to get some bike time under us, keep working, and get that comfort back and we'll be fine."
Max Motorsports/FXR/Husqvarna's Evan Smith was fifth overall and first in the Pro2 division. Meanwhile, Babbitt's/Monster Energy/Kawasaki's Josh Strang was sixth. Strang battled with his teammate Jordan Ashburn for most of the weekend. Ashburn wound up finishing seventh.
Beta USA's Mike Witkowski won one test in the Pro2 class and was eighth overall and second in the Pro2 class. Meanwhile, Trail Jesters KTM development rider Jesse Ansley won three Pro2 tests en route to ninth overall and third in the Pro2 class. GasGas North America's Thorn Devlin rounded out the top 10 overall and was fourth overall in the Pro2 class.
In the Women's Pro division, Husqvarna-backed Tayla Jones took a solid win over Maxxis KTM's Becca Sheets. Jones finished two minutes up on Sheets, while MEP MX KTM's Mackenzie Tricker was third, three minutes and 20 seconds behind Sheets.
