The Rockstar Energy Factory Racing Team had a successful start to the 2022 AMA National Enduro Series claiming two top-five overall finishes from the Sumter National in Wedgefield, South Carolina. Craig DeLong led the team’s charge in fourth overall, followed by Thad DuVall in fifth, and teammate Trevor Bollinger finished close behind in sixth overall at Round 1.
Heading into his second full season of NE Pro1 racing in 2022, DeLong put on a great showing at the first round aboard his FX 350. The 2020 NE Pro2 Champion found himself off to a slow start in the opening test, where he finished ninth in the class right off the bat. From there, DeLong put his head down and charged forward to climb his way back into top-five contention with a solid fourth in the third test. Finishing sixth in test five, he upped the pace late in the day to finish strong with 4-5 scores in the final two tests, which was good enough to land him fourth overall on the day.
Craig DeLong: “Today was good. I started off pretty slow – I changed some stuff on my bike that I thought was going to work but didn’t, so I went back to what I know and used last year and it helped out big time. After that, I clawed my way back up to fourth and it was good. I just wish I’d started a little quicker, but definitely a positive, so we’ll take it to Big Buck in two weeks.”
Making his return to the NEPG series after spa handful of appearances over the last few seasons, Thad DuVall settled right in aboard his FX 350. He got off to a top-10 start with seventh in the first test and he worked hard to make improvements throughout the day. Finishing 5-6 in the next two tests, DuVall started to get comfortable halfway into the day and he charged his way to a second-place finish in the fourth test. Unfortunately, he experienced am issue with his brakes on the second-to-last test, resulting in an 11th-place finish, but he stepped back into stride on the final test with a strong second-place ride to end the day on a high note. With a mostly-consistent day, DuVall was able to secure a top-five finish at the opening round.
Thad DuVall: “I haven’t raced National Enduros in a minute, so it took me a while to get my bearings back but I really enjoyed the day and it went really well. I had a little mishap in the fifth test with the brakes but other than that, I felt good all day and I felt like I rode well all day. I’m excited to get this year going and get the GNCCs started.”
Trevor Bollinger had an overall positive day at Round 1, highlighted with a couple of stand-out results and a steady performance throughout the day. Similar to his teammates, Bollinger had a slower start to the day with an eighth-place finish in the first test but he bounced back with a win in test-two and second in test-three. Claiming consistent 8-7-8 scores at the end of the day, Bollinger finished 1.4 seconds behind his teammate DuVall for sixth overall on the day.
Trevor Bollinger: “The first test started off a little slow but I won the second test, which is a first for me. I rode well in the middle of the day but I was making mistakes at the end and I kind of I fell off, I don’t know if I tried to smooth it out and took away some of the intensity or what but I just need to work on that. Other than that, it was a good day. There are a lot of guys out here and it’s a tight race. I think we’ve definitely closed the gap from what it was last year to those front guys, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year and hopefully get some more podiums.”
Next: Round 2 – May 1 – Arrington, Virginia
Sumter National Enduro Results
NE Pro1 Results
1. Steward Baylor Jr. (YAM)
2. Ryder Lafferty (GAS)
3. Josh Toth (KTM)
4. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
4. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
5. Thad DuVall – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
6. Trevor Bollinger – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
