2025 US Sprint Enduro: High Voltage Win for Liam Draper
Am Pro Yamaha’s Liam Draper relied on consistency to take the overall win at this weekend’s High Voltage Sprint Enduro on the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia in a hectic weekend.
With five rounds in the books and only two rounds remaining, the 2025 US Sprint Enduro Series, which also doubled as the ISDE East Coast Qualifier, is coming down to the wire, creating some high drama as several top positions are still at stake.
With series points leader, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Johnny Girroir, absent from the race due to a head injury suffered a few weeks ago, the door was wide open for a some new podium finishers.
Saturday’s enduro test was tricky at best and caused several top riders to fall and lose valuable time. And while Saturday’s weather was windy, yet sunny, a mini tornado hit the pits Saturday night, blowing down canopies, along with the signup area and score equipment, forcing the promotors to clear fallen trees as well as recover damaged equipment.
To top it off, the scores from Saturday to Sunday were topsy-turvy, with some top riders finishing outside the top five on Saturday but then return to the top on Sunday, making consistency a priority.
The most consistent of all was Liam Draper, finishing first on Saturday and third on Sunday to grab the overall win for the weekend.
“I’m happy to get the overall win but bummed to not win both days.” Said Draper. “I was solid all day yesterday and I felt really good. Then today it was a whole different story. The two-tracks were really super slick and Cody just kind of worked me a little bit in the enduro test, but I got it back on him in the cross test and then in the last enduro test we matched each other but he got the win for the day which kind bummed me out. I was hoping to win both days but I got the overall victory which is cool.”
Usually fighting for the top spot, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Grant Davis was all the way down in ninth at the end of Saturday’s event, with a thumb injury putting a damper on his first day’s performance. At the end of the two-day event, Davis finished second overall and first in the Pro 2 division.
“Thursday, I crashed and hurt my thumb. And yesterday in the first test I hurt it really bad again,” said Davis. “I was just dealing with a lot of pain all weekend and today…I came out swinging and I just got the pain out of my mind and just tried really hard all day and I gained it back. I just tried to stay smooth and try not make any dumb mistakes. I was a little bit slower than Cody, he got me, but next time I can’t let this happen, I got to beat him.”
In just his second Sprint Enduro of the year, Flatrock Motorclub Factory GasGas Racing’s Jason Tino grabbed a podium finish, taking third overall for the weekend after taking a second on Saturday and a sixth on Sunday. He also finished second in the Pro 2 class.
“I usually do better in the cross test and this weekend I took the fastest cross test time of the weekend.” Said Tino. “It rained during the first [Enduro] test and was really greasy and the second and third test were just as slick as it was Saturday. I was having a really good first cross test of the day and right towards the end I tucked the front and couldn’t get the bike started and lost like 20 seconds.”
Husqvarna rider Toby Cleveland just missed the overall podium, finishing just three seconds behind Tino, but garnered third in the Pro 2 class.
FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers’ Cooper Jones parlayed a third on Saturday and a seventh on Sunday into fifth overall and fourth in the Pro 2 division. The KTM rider has been turning in some impressive rides this year and will undoubtedly be challenging for some overall podiums.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Craig DeLong meanwhile had a rough weekend, going 8-5 for sixth overall. “I had a couple little mishaps that kind of set me back,” said DeLong. “I crashed in first test of the day and had a little bit of a mechanical issue yesterday.”
Phoenix Racing Honda’s JoJo Cunningham was the first of the Pro-Am riders in seventh overall after finishing sixth and eighth over the weekend. The Honda rider has been showing flashes of brilliance throughout the year and it won’t be long until he is challenging in the Pro classes.
Meanwhile, FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley finished with a seventh and a 16th for ninth overall after a bad crash: “I was doing pretty good, keeping Liam in my sights and then near the end I crashed and as I was falling down I ran a stake that went through my helmet and hit me in the jaw so that was rough.”
Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes won Sunday’s event but DNF’d Saturday’s race due to mechanical problems. “I had a problem at that was something electrical on Saturday so I wasn’t able to finish the day,” said Barnes, “But I got it all together on Sunday and got the win.”
The top Amateur for the weekend with an overall win in the Open A class was Ben Nelko.
Steede and Jones fight for Women’s Pro win
Rockstar Energy Factory Racing’s Korie Steede beat out Aussie Tayla Jones by 14 seconds to win the Rockstar Energy Factory Racing’s Korie Steede won the Women’s Pro Division.
“Yesterday I started off slow,” said Steede. “I was making a lot of mistakes and Tayla (Jones) was riding really good so it was really tight out there and then again today I fixed some of my mistakes. We both went down a couple times in the first cross test it was pretty icy out there but I just cleaned up my mistakes and got a little bit more comfortable and tried to just push.”
Rieju’s Rachel Gutish rounded out the podium with Ellie Wineland in fourth.
High Voltage Sprint Enduro Top 40 Results:
FMF FASTEST TEST TIME AWARDS:
PRO DIVISION
Jason Tino (Pro), Cross Test 6:58.9
Liam Draper (Pro), Enduro Test 6:55.9
AMATEUR DIVISION
Ben Nelko (Open A), Cross Test 7:19
Ben Nelko (OPEN A), Enduro Test 7:24.3
The US Sprint Enduro Series returns on May 10-11 in Kingwood, West Virginia, for the King of the Mountain Sprint Enduro, Round 6 of the US Sprint Enduro Series.
More information (and full results: www.ussprintenduro.com
Words Credit: Shan Moore
Photo Credit: Art Pepin
