Riders headed down to the Cap Cana, Dominican Republic for the Terra Inferno Hard Enduro – an incredible three-day event complete with treacherous jungle courses, harrowing night races and a little time on beach.
But make no mistake Terra Inferno is definitely not a day at the beach.
It's tough. And nobody knows that better than Sunstar’s very own Josh Toth, who embraced every challenge thrown at him.
We recently sat down with Josh to talk about his career and his experiences as a first timer at Terra Inferno.
Tell us about yourself. What are some of your proudest accomplishments in your career?
My proudest career accomplishments would have to be my XC2 championship in GNCC and competing the in the ISDE 6x for Team USA. It is such a rollercoaster physically, mentally and emotionally to finish these events. Looking back, I’m proud to have found a way through all the challenges.
You certainly had a busy 2022.
Yeah, my 2022 season was pretty crazy. I competed in the GNCC, NEPG, US Sprint Enduro, ISDE and a few more events thrown in! All in all, I participated in about 35 races this year, so I didn’t have much time off, but it was awesome!
You had some big finishes.
I was able to win the US Sprint enduro championship and was runner up in the NEPG series. In GNCC, I had a 2nd place finish and several top fives. So I’d have to say it was a successful season.
You just got back from the Terra-Inferno Hard Enduro. Tell us about that race.
Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. Once we arrived and got our bikes, which were all owned personally by locals. So we had some adjustments to make. I got a pretty mint GasGas 300, which was in better condition than most of the bikes. But I also was faced with a few unexpected challenges -- like being the only bike without a headlight and having a tubeless tire system with plugs.
We were pretty limited on parts and tools, so I couldn’t do much but hop on the bike and race it Day One. Unfortunately my front tire did fail me, so I was only able to ride three laps on the first course.
Day Two was the night race. In the jungle. Talk about extreme. The track was lit only by string lights and my MTB helmet lights.
Day Three was beachfront extreme track next to the cabanas of Margaritaville! It was absolutely incredible! We raced through an airplane, a berm over the ocean, and then we jumped onto a suspended platform and even through a janky scaffolding structure. We all had a blast and would love to go back next year!
What’s up next?
My upcoming races will be the first round of the US Sprint enduro series followed by NEPG Rd. 1. I plan on giving it my best and to have a good showing.
Talk about your relationship with Sunstar?
I grew up using Sunstar on my bikes because they always had a reputation for high quality and reliability.
Since using Sunstar on my GasGas bikes this year, I’m extremely impressed with the durability of this chain. Even after countless hours on it, I haven’t had to tighten it up once. I’ve been using the Sunstar aluminum rear sprocket too – again with very little wear. I’m a big fan of their high-quality products!
Any advice for young riders out there?
Keep it fun. You can only do something for so long if you’re not enjoying it. So enjoy it!