Results and race report from round three of the 2023 Magna1 Motorsports AMA National Enduro Series presented by Moose Racing, the Black Buffalo National Enduro where Grant Baylor continued his run of form.

Babbitt’s Online Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Grant Baylor became the first multiple winner of the 2023 National Enduro Series, after topping his second race in the first three rounds at this weekend’s Black Buffalo National Enduro in Kingston, Arkansas.

Trials tyres the key to success

Taking four of the six tests, Grant’s winning margin of victory was 25 second ahead of Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ryder Lafferty.

“It was my first time riding here and I didn’t really know what to expect.” said Grant. “My brother, Stew, came out here early and got some riding done and he told me to put a trials tire on the rear and I think that was the ticket.

“I just tried to stay consistent all day because the trail was super rocky and it could jump up and bite you real quick. I think I hit the ground two or three times. Just a couple little tip-overs, but it was a really good day.”

Lafferty P2 with the 250 Gasser

Ryder Lafferty crashed pretty good in the first test and again in the last test costing the GasGas rider a closer chance at the victory. “Other than that, it was a pretty good day!” said Lafferty. “I just tried to stay smooth and consistent.”

Lafferty changed things up a little bit and rode a 250 instead of his usual 350. “I’ve been riding the 250 for the GNCC’s and instead of switching back and forth, I figured this was a good race to try the 250 for an enduro. It worked out all right. We didn’t win, but close.”

Coastal Racing GasGas teammate Ricky Russell finished third despite ripping his radiator off in test four. “I like the rocks,” said Russell. “It was rocky and gnarly right off the get-go. I made a mistake the fourth test, and I busted up the radiator and had a big crash. I lost some time on that test, unfortunately, to Grant. Still rode okay, just lost some time with that big crash.”

Enduro Engineering GasGas’ Josh Toth, who won the previous round in Texas, was fourth at the new venue. “I kind of struggled and went down, just dumb mistakes in the beginning of the day,” said Toth. “I also had some big collisions with lappers. Just found myself on the ground or into people too often. Everyone else was riding super good, so it’s hard to make any kind of mistake and be competitive.”

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong struggled a bit with the rocky terrain, but still managed fifth overall. “It was an okay day; I tried to stay off the ground but I didn’t quite do that,” said DeLong. “This was a new venue, so it was new to me and it turned out to be rockier than I expected.”

Big names outside the top 5

FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley was sixth in his first enduro back since breaking his leg at round one. “I am just getting back to the enduros, trying to get back up to speed and get more comfortable reading the trail,” said Kelley. “I just was a little uncomfortable all day. Maybe we had a bit too stiff of a setting, but kind of softened it up each test and felt like I slowly got more comfortable throughout the day. Just all in all, an okay day.”

Tely Energy Racing/Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Steward Baylor came into the race a little under the weather and settled for seventh. “I just haven’t been able to stay healthy this year.” said Steward. “Just stayed sick pretty much from round one this year. Epstein Barr will do that. I’ve been able to manage it in years past, but this year it just hasn’t been as easy.”

NE Pro2 win for Draper

AmPro Yamaha’s Liam Draper, of New Zealand, was eighth and first in the NE Pro2 class.

“Test one started off awesome,” said Draper. “I felt super good from the world go, although they had to throw the test out. Other than that, I think I crashed every other test, but I still managed to ride good.”

KTM’s Will Sievenpiper and Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Craig Davis rounded out the top 10 and were second and third, respectively, in the NE Pro2 class.

Another Women’s Elite win for Tricker

Enduro Engineering GasGas’ Mackenzie Tricker won three of the four tests in the Women’s Elite division, and beat Over and Out GasGas’ Rachel Gutish by just over four seconds.

“It was super rocky and technical,” said Tricker. “A little more rocky than I like, but I just tried to go as fast as I could and try not to crash. Unfortunately, I ended up crashing every test except test four. I thought I threw it away in test five. I kind of got stuck behind some people and then ended up going down, but it was good to get the win.”

Gutish won the other test, while Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Kori Steede rounded out the podium.

Hunter Higginbotham (KTM) took the win in the Futures class ahead of Davin Shike and Brody Amos, both on Husqvarna’s.

The AMA National Enduro Series resumes action with the Dragon’s Back National Enduro on May 14th in Arrington, Virginia, for round four of the nine-round series. More information: www.nationalenduro.com  

Black Buffalo National Enduro results:  

Words and Photo Credit: Shan Moore