Lafferty Scores Four

( Story and Photos: Mark Kariya )

Red Bull KTM’s Mike Lafferty put himself into a hole when he broke his leg before round four of the AMA/FMF Racing National Enduro Series, but after missing that round and returning for round five, he’s done no wrong in pulling himself out. He won round five—his first National back—and he backed that up by winning round six, the Foggy Mountain Breakdown National, presented by Pivot Pegz, in Blain, Pennsylvania. In doing so, he sliced his deficit in series points to a single point behind his teammate, Russell Bobbitt, who had an off day in PA, finishing fifth—his first time off the podium this season. Going into the event put on by the Susquehanna Off Road Riders, Bobbitt enjoyed a 15-point lead.

Lafferty and his 450 XC-F got to work right away and set the pace, dropping six points in the first section while the closest anyone else got was a seven. That set the tone for the day as the eight-time and defending series champ put in the best time in all six tests over the 78.8 miles of often rocky Pennsylvania woods made more demanding by the heat and humidity.

“It’s really hard to get your confidence up because it’s not forgiving here at all; it’s really hard to find traction and be smooth,” Lafferty said. But two weeks of testing in the area with local racer Jerod Stoner paid big dividends as Lafferty’s bike setup—for which he is notoriously picky—seemed spot-on all day, and he cruised to a score of 35.

Bobbitt, on the other hand, experienced only frustration on his 250 XC, the 2006 champ able to spend only a short time at Stoner’s training grounds. “I would’ve liked to have a couple more days riding in that stuff,” Bobbitt lamented, adding, “I just kind of felt like a squid all day.”

The presence of Lafferty, Bobbitt and several other regulars on the National tour apparently rubbed off on Stoner, as the teenager put in an inspired ride aboard after settling in and finished with 39 points, as did fellow KTM 300 XC racer Brooks Hamilton. After adding up the tie-breaker points, Stoner got the nod for the runner-up spot on the podium.

After beating Lafferty at an ECEA enduro the week before, Jeff Melik was full of confidence, and he parlayed that into a 40-point day on his YZ250, edging Bobbitt on tie-breakers.

Now, it’s almost as if the season starts anew, with only the last four races left. Bobbitt knows he needs to stop the Lafferty express from rolling on and start collecting some wins if he wants to maintain his points lead and steal the crown from his older, more experienced teammate. To that end, he’ll spend the next two weeks before the next round in Ohio basing himself in the Buckeye State as he tries to get his bike set up for that area with mechanic Tony Hall.