Round three of the AMA National Enduro Series delivered some challenging conditions but Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Craig DeLong remained steady all day to narrowly miss the podium with a hard-fought fourth overall. Additionally, teammate Trevor Bollinger battled his way to a solid sixth overall in Park Hills, Missouri.
DeLong got off to a slow start with a sixth-place finish in the opening test but he got stronger as the day progressed. Tallying a second-place in test two, DeLong kept it inside the top-five for the remainder of the day, setting himself up for a strong finish. Poised to secure his first podium finish of the season heading into the last test, he wasn’t able to make it stick as he came through fourth in the final test and fourth overall on the day, just 18 seconds shy of the podium.
“It was a pretty good day. I was competitive pretty early on and was in second for a good bit,” DeLong said. “ I dropped back to third after a crash and I was sitting third going into the last test, and I just didn’t ride very well. It’s definitely tough when you lose it in the last test like that, so I just have to figure it out to be better next time.”
Bollinger tied his season’s best performance with a steady sixth overall at the Lead Belt National, marking his third top-10 result of the season. He struggled to get his momentum rolling early on as he attempted to navigate the difficult terrain in the opening test. From there, he was able to pick up the pace and notch scores closer to the top-five in the remaining five tests, ultimately claiming sixth on the day.
“It was a pretty tough day for me,” Bollinger said. “I kind of struggled in the beginning with reading the trail and I got turned around a few times. I started riding better after that and I got into some tighter single-track stuff with not as many crossing trails. I felt decent and just tried to salvage what I could.”
Round 4: Cherokee National – June 12 – Greensboro, Georgia
Lead Belt National – Results
NE Pro1 Class
1. Ryder Lafferty (GAS)
2. Grant Baylor (GAS)
3. Josh Toth (KTM)
4. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
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6. Trevor Bollinger – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
