3 minute read
National Enduro: Toth's Winning Streak Continues
NEPG - Round 7 - Chandlersville, OH
WORDS: Heather Wilson
PHOTOS: Mack Faint
The Enduro Engineering Grassman National treated more than 450 riders to Ohio single-track for round seven of the 2024 Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series, presented by MSR and Beta Motorcycles. Ohio Woods Riders laid out the longest national enduro in recent years, at 81 miles.
Race day temperatures couldn’t have been any better, starting off in the low 50s and working into the mid-70s. Unfortunately, it’s been a dry summer in the state, so the race course was extremely dry. Dusty conditions on the trail made visibility a challenge at times.
Riders jumped into a 4.5-mile test at the beginning, and then tackled a 7-mile long section following that. Test 3 provided riders with 8.5 miles of trail to test their abilities. The day finished with longer sections -- an 7.5-mile, 7-mile and 10-mile test to round out the day. With 36 miles of transfer throughout the day, riders had some time to recover between tests.
Enduro Engineering’s Josh Toth has been on a winning streak this year, clinching six-straight overall win so far. He got off to a bit of a rocky start at the beginning, taking fourth through the first test after a fall, but the GasGas rider quickly turned up the heat. He went on to win all of the remaining tests. At the end of the day, the NE Pro1 rider had bested the runner-up by more than 53 seconds to earn a unique trophy – a grassman wooden carving.
“I’ve been second place in this series three or four times now, and I’m sick of losing,” Toth said. “So, I don’t plan on stopping what I’m doing now. So, hopefully I’ll finish the rest of the year out strong and keep it going. [This race] didn’t go very smooth for me at all. A little mishap -- I ran over some ribbon in test one and lost my rear brakes. I was kind of overriding and pushed the corner. A big branch caught my throttle and threw me down. Test two or three, I broke my shifter off like first mile. It was just stuck in third gear, and I think it honestly helped me. I was just frustrated and mad the whole time thinking I was behind. I was just hammer down and just trying to roll all the tight spots. Trying to keep my momentum up and keep the RPMs up -- not smoke the clutch by the end of the test hopefully. I ended up winning that test. Overall, really good riding and just a few mishaps here and there..."
Continue reading here: https://issuu.com/on-the-pegs/docs/september_2024_on_the_pegs_magazine/56
