Rocky Mountain Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team riders sweep the podium at the 2025 Cherokee National Enduro as reigning champion Josh Toth takes the overall ahead of Baylor brothers.

Racers returned to the woods at the Rocky Mountain Cherokee National Enduro for round two of the 2025 season after a break of more than three months. Cherokee Cycle Club had more than 450 competitors line up for the Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series, presented by MSR and Beta Motorcycles.

After torrential rain the night before the event, the National Enduro Promoters Group delayed key time by an hour and took to the woods to make course adjustments. With cool and comfortable conditions, the day kicked off with a 7-mile section, followed by an 8-mile section.

Racers tackled slick, polished red clay with exposed roots throughout part of the day, but it tacked up nicely as time elapsed. The third test was a shorter one, at 4.5 miles, as racers attempted to edge out their nearest rivals. The following test was an 8-mile stretch, followed by 6.5- and 5.5-mile sections to round out the day.

Overall Podium

Rocky Mountain Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team Green swept the overall podium. Throughout the day, Josh Toth was lighting it up aboard his KX250X, taking a clean sweep by winning every test presented to him in Georgia. The reigning champion loves muddy conditions and wasn’t about to let even his teammates sneak in a test win.

“When I saw the rain coming last night or on the radar, I just got excited,” said Josh Toth. “I've ridden here for a sprint enduro in the wet, and I put a hurting on them then, so I knew it's my kind of track… I knew I could do it. Conditions, like Stu said, were unreal, and the course was just a blast. There were a couple gnarly sections, but for the amount of rain we had -- just unbelievable conditions. I've been itching to get to an enduro. Obviously, we had Louisiana canceled, and it's hard to beat Stu at Sumter. So, I've had a long time to just sit and wait for this one, but I'm glad to get in the swing of things and be back enduro racing. I just really enjoyed it all day and had fun.”

After his win at Round 1, Red Bear Racing Kawasaki teammate Steward Baylor Jr. was motivated to keep the momentum going. The NE Pro1 competitor claimed second through the opening test and third in Tests 2, 3 and 4. He finished out the day with two second-place test results. 

“It was a damn good day,” said Steward Baylor Jr. “I was coming in a little under the weather this week… I'm getting old, and my body is falling apart from doing this for so long. I rolled my ankle for like the third time in a year. Outside of that, the trails were fun. I just told Alan [Randt] this was probably one of the most fun Cherokee enduros I've ridden ever. This was actually my very first win [in 2002]. I've been riding here a long time, and I’ve got to say that was some of the most fun trails today.”

Rounding out the podium was yet another Red Bear Racing Kawasaki rider: Grant Baylor. Although he had a bobble in the first section, taking fifth in NE Pro1 and seventh overall, he quickly recovered to take second in the next test. He then went 4-5-3-3 on the day.

“It was a pretty good day -- a little slippery out there with the rain coming in this morning,” said Grant Baylor. “I went out there and made the best of it. I’m still just riding a little bit timid with the leg. You know, scared to dab it and tear it up again. I just tried to get out there and get through the day -- keep it on two wheels. I fell over twice today. Other than that, it just it was a good day. Just tried to go out there and make some progress and get back into the swing of things. I'm happy to be up here on the podium.”

Say what? Podium rider interviews:

NE Pro2 Podium

The Red Bear Racing Kawasaki Team didn’t just have a stellar day in the NE Pro1 class; the team also saw Nicholas Defeo earn the NE Pro 2 win by nearly a minute. Aside from the second test, which he was the runner-up in, he captured class wins in all other sections.

FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers' Angus Riordan captured second in class. The Australian went 3-1-2 in NE Pro2 to start the day aboard his KTM 250 XC-F. In the fourth section, he took fourth and pushed his way up to second in the next test. He scored third in the final test.

Chase Landers, backed by Landers KTM Amateur Racing, powered his way through the six tests to earn the last step of the podium. He went 2-3-4-2 before ending the day with a fifth and seventh in class. 

Women’s Elite Podium

Yet another Red Bear Racing Kawasaki teammate claimed a premier class win. Rachael Archer, the reigning Women’s Elite Champion, finished more than three minutes ahead of her nearest rival. She said she particularly enjoyed Tests 4 and 5, describing them as “fun and flowy.”

Round 1 winner Rachel Gutish put her Rieju in the second-place spot, despite possibly breaking her finger in Test 2 and battling through the pain the remainder of the day. She was third through the first three tests before taking second in the last three of the day.

Although Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner collected the opening test win aboard her GasGas, she faced stiff competition throughout the day that made it challenging to score any more test wins. With 2-2-3-3-3 results the rest of the day, she still managed to round out the podium.

Top Amateurs

Lane Whitmer, who captured the AA class win and seized 17th overall at Round 1, backed it up with another AA class win and 12th overall this weekend. The GasGas rider took first in class through all six sections.  

Tennessee’s Brayden Baisley collected the 250A class win and placed 15th overall. The Husqvarna rider won all but one test throughout the day.

Results – Rocky Mountain Cherokee National (top 15):

View full event results and series standings: www.nationalenduro.com/scoring   

Photo Credit: Mack Faint

Words Credit: Heather Wilson