Bobbitt Becomes a Five-Time Champion at AMA National Enduro Finale; Buttrick Captures First-Career Victory
Monday, October 24, 2016 | 4:05 PM
Round 9 of the AMA National Enduro Series took place on Sunday in Sand Springs, Oklahoma where FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Russell Bobbitt wrapped up his fifth-career National Enduro Championship at the season finale. Additionally, SRT/KTM’s Cory Buttrick put forth an impressive ride to earn his first-career victory in the series as he led a KTM-podium sweep with Jesse Groemm in 2nd and KTM-supported rider Steward Baylor Jr. in 3rd.
The Zink Ranch National Enduro showcased ideal racing conditions for the final round as the rich Oklahoma soil lent a hand in maintaining low levels of dust on the course. With a total of seven tests, the race day started and ended with a 3-mile grass track section, with plenty of technical obstacles in between.
Heading into the final round, Bobbitt held a 17-point lead over Steward Baylor in the championship standings, which gave the Georgia native a comfortable position in the final head-to-head battle. Bobbitt maintained a conservative pace throughout the day aboard his KTM 250 XC-F; where he kicked things off with a top-five finish in test one. Bobbitt experienced two big crashes during tests three and four, which set him back as he was forced to stop and straighten out the front-end of his bike.
From there, Bobbitt kept his head down and charged ahead to ultimately finish 6th overall for the day, which was good enough to capture his fifth career championship – his first since 2011 – in the final round of racing.
Bobbitt: “I’m really pumped to get five National Enduro Championships and to get this one 10 years after my first! The track was technical and difficult but we did what we needed to do to make it happen.”
Team Manager, Antti Kallonen: “It wasn’t the best result for Russell today but he got it done under big pressure and that’s what matters in the end. The team is pleased that he was able to win his fifth championship and we were also happy to see a KTM sweep on the overall podium and in the Women’s A/B Class with Factory Team member Kacy Martinez on top. Congratulations to all KTM riders on a great 2016 season.”
SRT/KTM riders Cory Buttrick and Steward Baylor Jr. stood atop the podium together for the first time as Buttrick earned his first career-victory in Oklahoma. Buttrick came away with two test-wins and solid top three finishes throughout the day as he bested the 2nd place rider of Jesse Groemm by 23 seconds. Baylor also had an impressive performance, where he claimed two test-wins and 3rd overall for the day.
FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Kacy Martinez, the recently crowned Women’s Class Champion, captured her sixth victory of the season on Sunday. Martinez dominated the class in each test, where she finished almost 10-minutes ahead of the 2nd place rider Kristina Zmuda (KTM). Kristi Grote (KTM) rounded out the podium to create another orange-sweep for the class.
Overall Results
- Cory Buttrick – KTM
- Jesse Groemm – KTM
- Steward Baylor Jr. – KTM
- Ian Blythe – KTM
- Drew Higgins – KTM
- Russell Bobbitt – KTM
- Andrew DeLong
- Grant Baylor
- Evan Smith – KTM
- Nick Fahringer
Women’s A/B Results
- Kacy Martinez – KTM
- Kristina Zmuda – KTM
- Kristi Grote – KTM
- Megan McGowan – KTM
- Kerrie Swartz – KTM
Overall Championship Standings
- Russell Bobbitt – 214
- Steward Baylor Jr. – 203
- Grant Baylor – 184
- Josh Strang – 139
- Jesse Groemm – 134
- Cory Buttrick – 117
- Drew Higgins – 114
- Nick Fahringer – 105
- Ryder Lafferty – 88
- Dylan Macritchie – 56
Women’s A/B Championship Standings
- Kacy Martinez – 205
- Shawn Davidson – 156
- Ashlee Applewhite – 124