“I didn’t start that great, I was eighth after the first test and just started building from there,” said DeLong. “I just rode my race and I actually closed up on Steward [Baylor] in the fourth test, but it just wasn’t enough. We got rained on in the morning and it wasn’t too bad, but during test four it was coming down pretty hard – just super dark in the woods.”
Back from an injury that forced him to miss the previous two rounds, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Trevor Bollinger raced to a solid sixth-place position at the Cherokee Enduro.
Bollinger started strong and sat in second overall early in the race, but heavy rains and a late start number took their toll on Bollinger onboard his FX 350, as he eventually settled for a sixth-place result.
“I didn’t race the last two rounds, so I started pretty far back,” commented Bollinger. “It rained in the first test and the leaders were already through the test when it started raining, so felt I was going to lose a lot of time, but I ended up third in that test. I was sitting second after two tests, before it started raining in that fourth test and by the time I got in the test it was just downhill. I think it was a combination of the late start row and me not riding the mud good made us just kind of fall off there at the end.”
Next Round (6): Cross Fork, PA – July 23, 2023
Cherokee National Enduro – Results
NE Pro1 Class
1. Grant Baylor (GAS)
2. Josh Toth (GAS)
3. Steward Baylor (KTM)
4. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
…
6. Trevor Bollinger – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Overall Championship Standings
1. Grant Baylor, 131 points
2. Josh Toth, 112
3. Ryder Lafferty, 103
4. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 98