KTM Riders Fill Top Ten at the Rattlesnake National Enduro

With over half of the top ten riders racing orange bikes, it was a good weekend overall for KTM at the Rattlesnake National Enduro in Cross Fork, PA. KTM factory racer and five-time champ, Russell Bobbitt found himself just off the mark, finishing ninth overall.

Begin Press Release:

CROSS FORK, PA – KTM riders claimed six of the top 10 positions at this weekend’s Rattlesnake National Enduro in Cross Fork, Pennsylvania, with FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Russell Bobbitt finishing the event in ninth place.

This year’s event featured relatively short tests, mainly in the six-minute range, which meant that just a second or two could drop a rider from six or seven places. Though Bobbitt was on form all day, his times were just a bit off the mark, leaving the five-time champ outside the top five.

Steward Baylor came into the event leading the series point standings, however the SRT Racing KTM rider struggled with an infection in his knee and had to settle for a fourth place finish, which dropped him to second in the series standings with four rounds to go on the schedule.

Meanwhile, Trail Jesters KTM Racing’s Ben Kelley grabbed a career-best a fifth overall finish, making good use of this rock-riding skills in the technical and rocky event. Kelley was second fastest in two of the tests, which led to his outstanding finish.

Solid Performance KTM’s Jesse Groemm was second-fastest in test four and ended the day in sixth, barely edging SRT Racing KTM rider Cory Buttrick by a tenth of a second. Finishing behind Bobbitt in tenth was New Jersey’s Ryder Lafferty.

Mike Lafferty came out of professional retirement to ride the Rattlesnake Enduro on KTM’s 1090R Adventure bike, and the eight-time national enduro champion kept the large crowd of spectators entertained by guiding the big V-Twin to a 19th place finish in the Pro division.

Bobbitt: “My result didn’t show, but I rode well. There were a couple of test where just a few seconds separated the top six or seven guys. I thought I was riding well and then I would come in and look at the scores and I’d be just off the pace. We made some changes to the bike throughout the day to make the bike fit the terrain, which was pretty rocky. But I was just off the mark a little, though I stayed off the ground and I’m leaving here healthy. I’m looking forward to the next round in Indiana, which is one of my favorite rounds, so we’ll just put our heads down and come out swinging at the next one.”

Baylor: “I felt I was in contention, but I struggled with my knee, which has some infection in it and when I wear my knee brace it aggravates it. It’s unfortunate that Strang and Toth got between me and Thad, because my race for the championship is with Thad and dropping to fourth cost me the points lead for the moment.”

Lafferty: “It took a section to kind of settle in, but once I got going I started feeling comfortable on it,” said Lafferty. “Later in the race I would find myself really getting on it, but then I would hit a hole and I would have to remind myself that I was riding a 500-lb. motorcycle and I better back it down a little.

Next Event: Round 6 – Matthews, Indiana – August 20, 2017

Overall Results