International enduro phenomenon Ryan Sipes wins his first AMA National Enduro at the LA Black Coal Enduro.
Funny to think that before winning the most prestigious enduro in the world, the International Six Days Enduro, that Energy/AirGroup Racing’s Ryan Sipes had never won an AMA National Enduro in his own country.
But Sipes rectified that during Sunday’s LA Black Coal Enduro presented by E-Line Accessories in Lynnvile, Indiana, round nine of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series Presented by Moose Racing.
“I felt like this event was too tight for my style but for some reason I kept doing well and ended up with the win,” Sipes said afterward. “I didn’t really expect to win this thing, but I’ll take it, for sure. I just think I’m starting to get used to the tight trail and I’m starting to like this format, where you have resets, so it doesn’t matter if you have a good or bad test, you have a chance to start over again going into the next test.”
However, while Sipes won the battle, Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell won the war and made history by joining his father, 1991 champion Jeff Russell, as an AMA National Enduro Champion. The Russells became the first father/son in AMA history to do so, as Kailub’s third-place finish clinched the title one round early.
One weekend after he already clinched his third consecutive AMSOIL GNCC title, Russell was still feeling the effects of the torn ACL that he incurred at the suffered at this year’s ISDE in Slovakia, but he came into Black Coal Enduro with a large points lead. He didn’t need to win the event to win the title. He only needed to beat rivals Russell Bobbitt, Grant Baylor and Steward Baylor.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang won the first special test of the day, with Sipes finishing second, but Strang dropped off the pace starting with test two while Sipes improved as the day progresses. Sipes would go on to claim wins in tests two, five and six to secure the overall win by 40 seconds. Russell started off with a pair of fifth place finishes in tests one and two before winning the third test. A second-place finish in the final test landed him in third overall, and ahead of Bobbitt, and the Baylor brothers, which was just enough to secure the title.
“It’s pretty cool to win the same title that my dad won a long time ago,” Russell said. “I was pretty much against riding this series at the start of the year because I didn’t think I would enjoy it, but I’ve started enjoying it, and I think it has shown in my riding. Today was a tough day for me, because I haven’t ridden in a week, due to my knee, but once I figured out how to compensate for my knee then I started to ride a lot better.”
JCR Honda’s Chris Bach enjoyed a fine peformance at the Black Coal Enduro, finishing second in just his third enduro of the year. Bach won the fourth special test of the day and rode consistently in the other five to finish 14 seconds ahead of Russell in the final tally.
2015 Kenda AMA National Enduro Series
LA Black Coal National Enduro
Lynnville, Indiana
Results: September 27, 2015
Overall
1. Ryan Sipes-Hus
2. Chris Bach-Hus
3. Kailub Russell-KTM
4. Grant Baylor-Yam
5. Josh Strang-Hus
6. Nick Fahringer-Hus
7. Russell Bobbitt-KTM
8. Cory Buttrick-KTM
9. Drew Higgins-KTM
10. Andrew DeLong-Hus
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