Liam Draper return to the Redline Oil American National Enduro Championship and lands on the top step, besting a stacked field of former winners to claim victory at round one of 2026.

The eagerly anticipated fresh start to the American National Enduro Championship (ANEC) Presented by MSR Racing kicked off its inaugural season in the Sumter, South Carolina sand at the Redline Oil Sumter National Enduro hosted by the Sumter Enduro Riders Motorcycle Association.

ANEC marked their first outing as the official promoter of the AMA National Enduro Series after purchasing National Enduro Promotions Group (NEPG) in an offseason acquisition that sees six-time National Enduro Champion Steward Baylor Jr. and his partner Chris Cantrell at the helm to continue to propel the sport of enduro racing forward for years to come.  

As the defending overall champion, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki’s Steward Baylor, was the first to strike taking the test one win. Unfortunately, that would be Baylor’s only test win of the day, opening the door to the rest of the field and a couple of “new” faces.

AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong are both former Pro 2 National Enduro Champions, but have both spent time away from the series. While making their return, they each turned heads as they collectively took down the last decade’s worth of National Enduro Champions to begin the season.

New Zealander Draper put an exclamation point on the day as he won the final two tests to solidify the top spot of the podium, while DeLong took two test wins of his own to earn the runner-up spot.

Taking the remaining test win on the day was three-time National Enduro Champion, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor. Grant struggled with his set up early on but was able to charge through the day and race his way onto the overall podium taking the third place.  

Ryder Lafferty put Honda in the mix with P4 and ahead opf the reigning champ and new co-boss, Stew Baylor. 

Defeo dominates Pro 2

In the Pro 2 ranks, defending champion, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasaki’s Nick DeFeo dominated the day going a perfect six for six in test wins to start the season unbeaten.

FMF Red Bull KTM’s Jason Tino missed the majority of last season recovering from a knee injury but was able to start his season strong with a 2nd place Pro 2 finish. KTM mounted rider Ryan Piper left his last National Enduro in a helicopter. After ending the day with a 3rd place finish in his return, he admitted he was nervous coming into the day but excited by his performance and the redemption.  

Six-straight for Steede

Pro Women also witnessed a perfect day as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Korie Steede notched six straight test wins to take top honours in her return to National Enduro racing. Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner put in second place rides in all but one test to take second on the day while defending champion, Factory Rieju’s Rachel Gutish, battled illness all week but still managed to ride her way onto the podium taking third place to begin the season.

2026 Sumter Enduro results, top 10:

Round 2 of ANEC will take place March 22 in Oklahoma City for the Beta Motorcycles Cross Timbers National Enduro with sign-ups opening February 23.

More information and full results: www.nationalenduro.com