Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green Claims Seventh Overall Victory This Season with Grant Baylor’s Win at Finale
STANTON, Ala. – The 2025 season of the Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Series, presented by MSR and Beta Motorcycles, concluded in Stanton, Alabama. Riders were gifted a perfect fall day in the mid-60s, along with incredible trail conditions.
The first test of the Motion Pro Gobbler Getter National was eight miles. The host club, Perry Mountain Motorcycle Club, gave racers a longer section, at 9.6 miles, for the second test. Section 3 was 8 miles, followed by a 7.2-mile test. Section 5 was the shortest of the day at 4.8 miles long, while the final test was the longest at 10 miles.
Overall Podium
Notching his second overall win of the season, Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green’s Grant Baylor had to fight through arm pump in the first test, something he said he hadn’t experienced in a couple years. Despite the struggle, he was able to capture second in the opening test. He went on to win the next test before taking the runner-up spot in Test 3. He won the final three tests to propel him to the top of the leaderboard.
“Yeah man, we’re back,” said Grant Baylor. “It feels good to be back, almost 100 percent healthy here. I was struggling a little bit earlier in the year with commitment in these national enduros. The GNCCs weren’t too bad, riding the trail beforehand on the bicycle, but it just took me a little bit longer to get my old self back, loosen up with these things, and just let it flow. These last couple rounds, that’s what I did -- just let it flow and it feels good to be back riding strong. Today was an awesome day. The track was awesome… I knew it was going to be a close day with everybody ripping.”
He finishes the season ranked third in points.
Enduro Engineering Triumph Off-Road Racing Team’s Ricky Russell scored his fourth podium of the season, ending the day in second. He earned third through Test 1 before securing second in Test 2. He then finished the remaining four sections in third aboard his TF450-X.
“The Triumph’s been awesome,” said Ricky Russell. “I’ve been loving it, especially at these enduros. It’s got really good traction, and the dirt here this weekend was epic. The club did a great job. The trails were a blast. I really enjoyed test six at the end, compared to last year… Good conditions make everything more fun… I’m really happy. [It was] my best year in enduros to get second place overall.”
Russell ends the 2025 season second in the championship.
After locking up the 2025 Redline Oil AMA National Enduro Championship at the prior round, Steward Baylor Jr. of Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green rounded out the podium at the Motion Pro Gobbler Getter National. The six-time AMA National Enduro champion decided to switch it up and race a Kawasaki KX250F in Alabama. He went 4-4 through the first two tests before securing the Test 3 win. He wrapped up the day with three-straight second-place results.
“Earlier in the week, I didn’t even know if I’d be racing this weekend,” said Steward Baylor Jr. “I’ve got a couple surgeries [scheduled] that have just been on the back burner since last year. And I wanted to do something different and just ride without pressure. So decided to line up on the 250 today and just see what it was about. It was fun. I’ve always loved this place. Obviously, I think this, of any of the tracks, is probably one of the ones that favors the 450, but we had fun and that was what it was about… In my professional career, I never actually got to ride a 250F. I just wanted to ride a small bike, and we had a blast on it.”
Baylor Jr. also announced on Saturday that the 2026 season will be his last year competing in national enduros full-time.
“It’s kind of bittersweet…,” he said. “Doesn’t mean that I’m retiring from racing, but for the national enduro side. So, yeah, it’s lining up to hopefully tie Randy Hawkins, but obviously we’re going to have a lot of competition with Josh [Toth] back healthy and my brother and Ricky [Russell]. I’m looking forward to my final season and having another year of fun.”
NE Pro2 Podium
2025 NE Pro2 Champion Nicholas Defeo once again showcased his skills. The Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green rider went 1-2-1 in class to open the day. He took wins through the next two sections before earning second in the final test. It marked his fifth NE Pro2 win of the year. Defeo also announced that he’ll be moving up to NE Pro1 for the 2026 season.
In only his second appearance at a national enduro this year, New Jersey’s Jason Tino scored second in NE Pro2. The FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Landers rider went 4-1 before going 2-2-2 and capping off the day with a test win aboard his KTM 250 XC-F.
Rounding out the NE Pro2 podium was Beta USA’s Jhak Walker. Grabbing second in class to kick off the day, he went 3-3 before taking fourth through the final three tests. The Motion Pro Gobbler Getter National marked his sixth class-podium of the season. He finishes the year ranked second.
Women’s Elite Podium
Rieju’s Rachel Gutish edged out Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green’s Rachael Archer for the 2025 Women’s Elite Championship by just three points. Archer was absent at the final round, but Gutish still needed to finish on the podium to secure the championship.
It was Enduro Engineering’s Shelby Turner who ended up taking the class win by over a minute at the event, with four test wins and two runner-up results. It marked her first class-win of the year, and she ends the year ranked third in Women’s Elite.
Gutish, the newly crowned FIM Enduro World Champion in the women’s class, went 2-3-1-2 before rounding out the day with two third-place test results in order to secure the championship.
Maryland’s Brooke Cosner rounded out the podium. She claimed third through the opening test before taking second in Section 2. She collected two more third-place results before earning a test win in the fifth section. She concluded the day with a second-place test result aboard her Kawasaki.
Top Amateurs
The 2025 AA class champion, Lane Whitmer, finished first in class and 11th overall over the weekend. He never finished below second in class through all the tests on the day.
Brayden Baisley earned the 250A class win in Alabama. The Tennessee-based rider swept the day on his Husqvarna. With six podium finishes, he closes out the 2025 season as the runner-up in the 250A class.
View full event results and series standings at nationalenduro.com/scoring. View podium interviews at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmbNDeXOcI.
Overall Results – Motion Pro Gobbler Getter National
1. Grant Baylor (KAW)
2. Ricky Russell (TRI)
3. Steward Baylor Jr. (KAW)
4. Evan Smith (YAM)
5. Ryder Lafferty (HON)
6. Ben Kelley (KTM)
7. Nicholas Defeo (KAW)
8. Jason Tino (KTM)
9. Jhak Walker (BET)
10. Will Sievenpiper (KAW)
About National Enduro Promoters Group (NEPG)
Established in 2008, National Enduro Promoters Group (NEPG) has operated the AMA National Enduro Series, in collaboration with local off-road motorcycle clubs around the country, designing fun and challenging single-track trail for both professional and amateur racers to enjoy. For more information, visit NationalEnduro.com.
About High Gear Success
High Gear Consulting LLC DBA High Gear Success is a motorsports communications and marketing strategy company located in Pataskala, Ohio, that helps motorsports companies, event organizers and racers get noticed, improve operations and increase revenue. Fueled by passion, CEO Heather Wilson Schiltz focuses strategies on engagement and awareness in order to drive results. Learn more at HighGearSuccess.com.
Photos by Mack Faint