Society Hill, SC (April 10-11, 2021) – Am Pro Yamaha’s Layne Michael dominated round 3 of the Kenda AMA US Sprint Enduro Series held at Moree’s Sportsmen Preserve near Society Hill, South Carolina, winning eight of the twelve tests en route to the overall victory.
Michael was untouchable in the Cross test, sweeping all six on the weekend, while adding two Enduro test wins to his total.
In the end, Michael finished the two-day event with a 19-second advantage over Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir to claim the overall win, while Am Pro Yamaha’s Steward Baylor was third overall and second in the Pro1 division another 36 seconds behind Girroir.
“It was an awesome weekend for me,” said Michael. “Johnny and I were super close yesterday. He actually edged me for the day, but it was by less than a second. I rode flawless all weekend. I was just very well in tune this weekend and I didn’t put much of a foot wrong. Overall, it was an amazing weekend for me. I’m definitely glad to get a win. I was sick of getting second.”
To add to a stellar weekend that included second overall and first in the Pro2 division, Girroir also posted the fastest overall time for Saturday’s round, giving him his first-ever Pro-class “day win”.
Girroir won all three of the Enduro tests On Saturday, while Michael won all three Cross tests. When the scores were tallied Girroir came out on top of Michael by .7 seconds.
“It was like a huge monkey off my back,” said Girroir. “I really wanted to get a win. I was hoping to win the weekend and we started off Sunday with three-tenths of a second separating us. Then Layne just found another gear and definitely walked away with it. But I’m happy with my riding. I got my first runner-up finish ever in sprint racing. So definitely building and getting faster and learning.”
Baylor came into the race with an 11-point advantage over Michael in the series standings, having won the first two rounds. However, a crash in the opening Cross test on Saturday put the South Carolina rider in a deep hole that he would spend the rest of the weekend trying to dig his way out of.
“Lane definitely shines in the Cross tests and I knew he was going to be really good because this was a really fast one,” said Baylor. “I’m more of a technical rider, so I think I just pushed a little too hard too early and I went down right off the start and then made a few more mistakes. I was like, all right, we’ve got to just chill out. I was chilling out too much, I think riding just too conservative. That cost me.”
Baylor came out swinging on Sunday, winning the first Enduro test of the day, but was still unable to make up the distance to Michael.
“On Sunday, I rode like I knew how to ride,” said Baylor. “This really fast stuff terrifies me, so I didn’t push it any harder than I needed to. I could have done a little bit better, I think, but I wasn’t worried about Johnny [Girroir] ahead of me in the overall. I just knew that Layne was ahead of me in Pro1. Considering the start we got, we came out pretty good.”
Phoenix Honda Racing’s Cody Barnes came out on top of the tight battle with Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Jesse Ansley to finish fourth overall and second in the Pro2 class. Barnes was also the top-finishing LOI (Letter of Intent) rider, which is for riders hoping to qualify for this year’s International Six Days Enduro in Italy.
“Me and Jesse, we just went back and forth all day Saturday,” said Barnes. “Then today, I had a super good first cross test and had a little gap. I found some better lines in the Enduro test and maintained it, and then again into the second Cross test I had a fall and lost my lead. But I was able to make it back up in the last Cross test. Eventually, it came down to the final Enduro test and I was able to put in a decent enough ride to hold him off for the weekend.”
Ansley, who had hand surgery just two weeks before the race, got the upper hand over Barnes on Saturday, beating the Honda rider by .4 seconds. However, a hiccup in the final test left Ansley just .5 second behind in the overall.
“I didn’t really know what to expect coming into the weekend, just having surgery,” said Ansley. “I was really happy with the first day. I had a small crash at the end of the day and it kind of closed the gap on what I had time-wise. Today, I’m kind of mad about it, really. The first test just wasn’t my best. I just lost so much time. Then, I just was climbing the mountain, trying to get back to the top, then to lose it by .3 seconds. It kind of sucks to lose, not only to get third, but I got second LOI and I really, really wanted to win that.”
Ansley finished the weekend with fifth overall and third in the Pro2 class.
Liam Draper came into Society Hill on a roll having won the first day of the previous round at The Shoals. The Tely Energy Racing KTM rider would have to settle for sixth overall and third in the Pro1 class after struggling with the wide-open course.
Hoping to qualify for this year’s ISDE, Tyler Vore taped up his shoulder and rode the final test on Sunday with a broken collar bone, having crashed hard in the previous test. The Indiana rider managed to salvage seventh overall and first in the Pro-Am class.
“I felt like it was broken so we put a brace on my shoulder, put some duct tape on it just to keep it stable just to get through that last test there. I got through it, so it was good,” said Vore. “I really want to qualify for ISDE. I’ve gone twice now and I couldn’t give that up.”
Seven Sixty Husqvarna’s Ben Nelko put his motocross skills to good use to finish eighth overall and fourth in the Pro2 division. Meanwhile, Honda rider Nicolas Swenson was the top-finishing Amateur rider with a ninth overall. The finish was also good enough for first in the Open A class.
Dalton Seals rounded out the top 10 overall on a Yamaha, good enough for second in the Pro-Am division.
Magna1 Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones won nine of the twelve tests to win the Women’s Pro class, finishing 45 seconds ahead of runner-up Rachel Archer. Archer won the remaining three tests on her AmPro Yamaha, while Preston Raines was third overall on a Raines Racing Yamaha.
“I had a pretty awesome weekend, actually,” said Jones. “These tracks were insanely awesome, so I absolutely loved it. I had a good weekend. I think I lost maybe two tests, which for me that’s not bad. I’m just pumped to be riding good again and feeling nice on the bike. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the rest of the races.”
Among the Letter of Intent (LOI) riders, Cody Barnes was tops, ahead of Jesse Ansley and Tyler Vore.
“To go to Six Days, to represent America and be on the Junior team, it would be unreal to me,” said Barnes. “To be honored enough to go over there and represent America at the highest level, it would be pretty surreal I think. If I get the opportunity to go, it would be a really big deal to me because I would be there representing America and not myself.”
Ben Nelko and Nicholas Swenson were fourth and fifth among LOI riders.
The Society Hills event was the first of three AMA east ISDE qualifier rounds, which include rounds in South Carolina, in Michigan, Battle Creek, and Alabama. Each event is a two-day event, so a rider’s best four days count.
Youth racing is a big part of the US Sprint Enduro Series, and the Society Hills round had a good turnout of Youth riders.
Perhaps the premiere Youth class is the Super Mini Sr. (14-15) 80-112cc Two-stroke/75-150cc Four-stroke class, which was won by Cole Forbes (KTM). Forbes dominated the class, finishing nearly four minutes ahead of runner-up finisher Rivers Morris. In addition, Forbes topped all Youth riders.
Lucas Tyler (KTM) was third in the Super Mini Sr. (14-15) 80-112cc Two-stroke/75-150cc Four-stroke class.
Andrew Segars Jr. came out on top of the Super Mini Jr (12-13) 80-112cc two-stroke/75-150cc four-stroke class. Segars finished the two-day event with just under five minutes to spare over runner-up Jacob McPherson (KTM). Lennox Reilly was third on a Husqvarna.
The 85 SR (12-15) 66-85cc Two-stroke/75-125cc Four-stroke class was one of the biggest classes of the weekend and it was won by KTM rider Jonathan Snyder. Aiden Ruth finished second on a Yamaha, while Jack Hughes put his Yamaha into third.
Caleb Wood topped the 85 Jr. (7-11) 66-85cc Two-stroke/75-125cc Four-stroke class on a KTM, followed by Mason Tsakanikas on a KTM and Austin Wood on a Husqvarna.
The 65 Sr (10-11) 52-65cc Two-stroke/52-90cc Four-stroke class was won by Nash Peerson (KTM), with John Berry (Yam) in second and Case Kight in third (KTM).
Other Youth winners included Jace Ruth (65 Jr (7-9) 52-65cc Two-stroke/52-90cc Four-stroke); Nicole Rupert (Girls (10-16) 80-112cc Two-stroke/75-150cc Four-stroke); Donnie Ryan (Trail Bike (7-11) 66-100cc Four-stroke); Landyn Dalmasso (50 Sr (7-8) 0-51cc); and Maura Tsakanikas (50 Jr (4-6) 0-51cc).
The Kenda US Sprint Enduro Series resumes on May 8-9 for round four of its series in Bristol, Virginia. For more information on the Kenda US Sprint Enduro Series go to www.ussprintenduro.com.
OVERALL RESULTS
1. Layne Michael (Yam)
2. Johnny Girroir (GG)
3. Steward Baylor (Yam)
4. Cody Barnes (Hon) – LOI
5. Jesse Ansley (KTM) – LOI
6. Liam Draper (KTM)
7. Tyler Vore (Hsq) – LOI
8. Ben Nelko (Hsq) – LOI
9. Nicholas Swenson (Hon) – LOI
10. Dalton Seals (Yam)
