Josh Toth Wins Black Buffalo
Consistent rain all week led to a wet and challenging enduro for the 3rd Annual Redline Oil Black Buffalo National Enduro in Kingston, AR. The area received multiple inches of rain during the week including a quick harsh storm Saturday afternoon. The Sunday race also received rain for the majority of the 55 mile, 6 test event. Some racers may have just been in survival mode while others pushed through the day putting in impressive rides despite the conditions. Enduro racing is not easy and part of it is tackling the conditions as much as the course.
Josh Toth was able to become the first multi time winner in the 2024 Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series aboard his Enduro Engineering backed GasGas. Putting in the fastest times in 3 of the 6 tests, Josh was able to build a 29 second win at the close of the race.
Josh said “My day was solid, pretty much had a decent tip over in every test of the day just hitting rocks that I didn’t see. I tried to minimize mistakes and keep moving forward all day. The track was technical and challenging all day, but it made for a true enduro. It was miserable weather conditions but that made it much more rewarding to come out on top.”
After coming into round 3 tied with Steward Baylor Jr in points, Josh now takes the points lead overall with a 12-point margin.
Starting the day a little off the mark was Babbitts online Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Grant Baylor. Grant was able to find his speed by the 3 test and went on to win 2 of the remaining 4 tests on the day to push up into the 2nd overall position by days end.
3rd overall on the day was an impressive ride by NE Pro2 winner Grant Davis. Grant started the day with the fastest time in test 1 aboard his FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers. Grant was building a lead in the NE Pro2 division all day as well as fighting for the overall podium.
Grant said “It was a great day coming out first test and winning the overall in it. I just kept a nice smooth speed all day until test 5 I got stuck on a hill for about 45 seconds and lost some time to 1st and 2nd overall. Other than that, the test we awesome.”
4th overall and 3rd in NE Pro 1 was Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Kawasaki rider Steward Baylor Jr. Steward said he started off the day with a big crash about 3 turns in on the opening test. For a day that didn’t start off great, Steward turned it around to grab a top 3 finish in the NE Pro 1 class.
5th overall was Max Motorsports Husqvarna rider Evan Smith while Coastal GasGas Factory Racing rider Ryder Lafferty was 6th overall.
Reiner Pump Racing GasGas rider Hunter Bush had an impressive ride in the wet rocky terrain of Arkansas. Hunter is no stranger to rocks and typically does well in the more technical conditions.
Hunter said “It was a good day for me. Came to the race wanting some redemption after a mechanical issue that ended my day early in Louisiana. I stayed pretty smooth all day and only hit the ground once. Somehow, I lost my rear brakes in the transfer to test 6 so I had to ride test 6 with no rear brakes. I really enjoyed the terrain; I always look forward to the more technical rounds.”
Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Kawasaki’s Will Sievenpiper grabbed his first podium of the 2024 season with an impressive 3rd place NE Pro2 finish and 8th overall.
“My day was solid for the most part. Pretty frustrated with myself on the 4th test as I got stuck on one of the hill climbs scattered with a ton of guys. I tried to parallel the hill after getting stuck and midway ended up getting stuck in a gnarly rock garden. Had to turn around go back down to eventually get up. Felt like I could have put it in the top 5 Overall for that not happening.” Said Will.
It has been quite some time, but Coastal GasGas Racing Jordan Ashburn made a rare appearance to the National Enduro Series and finished 9th overall. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Trevor Bollinger rounded out the top 10 overall.
Winning the Women’s Elite class and extending her points lead was Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Red Bear Racing Kawasakis Rachael Archer. Rachael was able to win 4 of the 5 tests in the Women’s Elite Class.
“I had a great day. I crashed hard in test 3 and broke a hand guard off. That hurt my finger but other than that I had a lot of fun in the rain.” Said Archer.
Returning to the National Enduro Series after missing round 2, Rachel Gutish put her Sherco in the 2nd overall position in the Women’s Elite Class.
“The track was awesome, and I had a blast. I struggled a bit early on. Once the rain hit it shook me out of it and put a smile on my face. I was able to get it together and come away with one test win. Thanks to the NEPG and the Buffalo Trail Riders club for another great event.” Gutish said.
The Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series will return to racing at the historic Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Cherokee National Enduro in Greensboro, GA on June 9.
TOP 10
Josh Toth- GasGas
Grant Baylor- Kawasaki
Grant Davis- KTM
Steward Baylor Jr- Kawasaki
Evan Smith- Husqvarna
Ryder Lafferty- GasGas
Hunter Bush- GasGas
Will Sievenpiper- Kawasaki
Jordan Ashburn- GasGas
Trevor Bollinger- Husqvarna
Top AM- Chase Landers- KTM
Overall B- Brandon Sanford- KTM
Overall C- Kathryn Whisenant- Rieju
Story by Logan Densmore
Photos by Mack Faint