Racing

A Look Back At The 2018 Wade Farm Sprint Enduro

Sprint racing in Indiana

August 18, 2018

Before we move on to another weekend of racing, here's one last look at last weekend's Wade Farm Sprint Enduro, which was won by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Josh Strang. Promoter Jason Hooper did a fantastic job of setting up the trail for the Indiana race. The Cross test was 3.4 miles long, making for one of the longest tests of the series to date. The Enduro test was almost as long and featured a run through a dried-up creek bed. Pro2 winner Liam Draper said the Enduro test was the best of the year in his opinion, and lots of positive comments could be heard after the race regarding the course.

Josh Strang altered his lines on the Cross test to stay out of the silt and was able to make up time on the competition, one of his keys to the win. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider won three tests over the course of the two-day event and crossed the finish with 28 seconds to spare over second place.Shan Moore

The Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro series was not in Thad Duvall’s plans for 2018, however the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider attended the Indiana event to help get his wrist back in shape after suffering an injury six weeks prior. Thad told Dirt Rider that the wrist felt good and he was looking forward to the rest of the year.Shan Moore

Steward Baylor got off to a slow start on Saturday on his Tely Energy KTM, but turned up the heat on Sunday with different rubber and moved ahead of Jordan Ashburn and into fifth in the final results.Shan Moore

SRT Racing Husqvarna’s Evan Smith grabbed seventh place, 12 seconds behind Ashburn.Shan Moore

KR4/Husqvarna’s Layne Michael won one of the Cross tests and was in contention to win a few others. “I started off well; Saturday was good for me. Grant [Baylor] and I were close going into Sunday and I just tried to do what I did on Saturday, but I had a few bad rides in the Enduro test. But I was able to overcome it. I had a fast time going for me in the final test but I ended up falling and I thought maybe I gave up a place, but I was able to hold on to third. Overall, it was a good weekend for us.”Shan Moore

Billy Schlag is new to the Pro2 class in 2018 and has turned in some impressive performances in the class so far this year. In Indiana, Schlag finished 14th overall and fourth in the Pro2 division.Shan Moore

Liam Draper finished eighth overall, which was good enough to give him the win in the Pro2 division. The KR4 Husqvarna rider won 10 of 12 tests.Shan Moore

Jordan Ashburn put his factory Beta into sixth overall. “Sixth is not quite where we wanted to be, but overall it was a decent weekend. I had some top-five times on Saturday, but the track got really dusty and a little sketchy on Sunday and those guys picked it up a little.”Shan Moore

Indiana native Mike Witkowski had a short drive from his home to get to the Wade Farm event, and was riding in front of a partisan and friendly crowd.Shan Moore

Duvall was in contention for the win on Sunday but buried his bike in a deep hole just a few turns before the finish of the final test, which cost him any chance at the win.Shan Moore