On The Pegs November 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 11 | Page 96

On The Pegs
Third on the weekend went to KR4/Husqvarna’s Layne
Michael.
“I had some good rides and I was able to turn it into a
podium finish for the weekend, so I’m happy with how I
rode,” said Michael. “I was battling with Grant for most of
the weekend, but he ended up having an issue so I had a
pretty good buffer over him near the end of the day.”
Michael finished off the season strong with three-
straight podium finishes, and was fourth overall in the
final standings.
“The season started off kind of slow, I just wasn’t riding
good, but I adjusted a few things for the second half of
the series and things started to work for me,” said Mi-
chael.
Jordan Ashburn missed the podium with a fourth over-
all finish. The Beta USA-backed Tennessee rider started
the event with a strong second in the opening test of the
weekend and then settled into fourth for the remainder
of the event.
Fifth overall and first in the Pro2 division went to KR4
Husqvarna’s Liam Draper. Amazingly, the New Zealander
dominated the Pro2 class by winning all 12 tests over the
course of the two-day event.
SRT Husqvarna’s Evan Smith finished in sixth, 29-sec-
onds ahead of Billy Schlag. Schlag also took second in the
Pro2 division on his TrailPros/Ride on Moto KTM.
The remainder of the overall top 10 was occupied by
Pro2 riders, with Braxton McGee (Hsq), Jesse Ansley (KTM)
and JR Cook (KTM), claiming eighth through 10th.
In the final series standings, Strang finished the season
with 363 points, compared to 358 for Steward Baylor.
Grant Baylor was third overall with 317, while Layne Mi-
chael (304) and Ryan Sipes (290) rounded out the top five.
Sipes missed the Hidden Valley event to compete in the
Red Bull Straight Rhythm in California, while Grant Baylor
finished 24th overall when he trashed a rear hub.
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On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 11 - November 2018
LAYNE MICHAEL
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