OFFROAD

RUSSELL WINS FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO ROUND 2

BLACKSHEAR, Ga. – FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell claimed his second-straight victory over the weekend at Round 2 of the 2019 Full Gas Sprint Enduro Series at Moccasin Creek in Blackshear, Georgia. Russell came away with seven test-wins over the course of both days where he continues to hold the early lead in the championship standings. Due to the rain leading up to the race weekend, the course was modified to shorten the special tests as wet and soggy conditions plagued the sandy southern terrain. Russell got off to a great start aboard his KTM 350 XC-F as he captured the first test-win of the day. Russell finished second in test two, before going on to claim three more test-wins and a top-four finish to head into day two with a comfortable lead on the rest of the field. On Sunday, he went swept the first three tests to open a big gap for day two and then went on to claim 3-2-4 finishes to secure Sunday’s win and the overall victory for the weekend. Russell: “It was a good weekend of racing for me, I was able to sneak out into the lead on the first three tests on Saturday and also again on Sunday to bring home the win on both days of racing. Rain on Saturday morning made the tests slick and difficult but it was a fun challenge.” FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Josh Toth had a slower start to the weekend with up-and-down finishes on Saturday. Starting off with a third-place finish in the opening test, Toth made a couple mistakes that dropped him back to sixth, ninth and seventh before climbing back up to finish sixth and fourth to round out day one. On Sunday, Toth was much more consistent with all six finishes inside the top-five, where he also took the final test-win of the weekend to end on a positive note. With his increased performance on Sunday, Toth was able to finish just off the overall podium in fourth. Toth: “This weekend was pretty good for me. The conditions were wet on day one, so they had to cut a good bit of each test off to make it rideable. Racing was super close all weekend with short tests and I made a few mistakes on Saturday so it was really hard to make up time. I picked it up on Sunday and my times were improving all day and I was able to grab the last test-win of the weekend so I’m pretty happy with the progress I made. I’m also very happy with my KTM 350 XC-F and my entire team behind me!” Trail Jesters Racing/KTM rider Ben Kelley had a tough start to the weekend with a series of crashes that kept him outside the running for a top position on Saturday. Kelley made improvements for Sunday with a consistent string of finishes inside the top-seven to ultimately finish sixth-overall for the weekend. Next Race: April 6-7 – Round 3 – Greeneville, Tennessee