RUSSELL WINS GNCC ROUND TWO
Kailub Russell makes it two on the bounce in GNCC…
The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, made its way to Washington, Georgia for the annual Maxxis General GNCC.
With plenty of rain falling during the week in the build up to Sunday’s race, everyone was set for a mud race at Aonia Pass Motocross Park. However, KTM’s Kailub Russell emerged victorious despite the conditions to secure his second straight victory in as many rounds.
Russell took the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award to grab an early lead but Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes tucked in close behind and applied pressure to the two-time champion. Russell hit problems on the opening lap – even dropping back to fourth – but it wasn’t long before he made up the time and regained the lead once again to win.
© Ken Hill
Sipes pushed hard on the opening lap but then ran into issues after getting stuck in a mud hole on the second lap. Losing a serious amount of time caught in the mud, he spent the rest of the race catching up.
Husqvarna’s Josh Strang put himself into a favourable position early on. However, as he worked his way into second position, he clashed with a lapped rider resulting in a damaged front brake.
Forced to pit for a quick front wheel swap he returned to the race a couple positions back. Quickly making up that time, he fought his way back to second.
Husqvarna mounted Thad DuVall came from outside the top five off the start and moved into the third place position. Although running into trouble a couple of times throughout the three-hour race, a late charge allowed him to maintain a podium position heading into the final lap of racing.
Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn was involved with the battle for the podium early on going back and forth with DuVall for a majority of the afternoon. Near the end of the six-lap race, Ashburn then went head-to-head with Honda’s Chris Bach to grab fourth. Bach, who also began the race outside the top five almost grabbed fourth from Ashburn but had to settle for fifth.
© Ken Hill
Yamaha’s Grant Baylor finished sixth, with KTM’s Russell Bobbitt in seventh. Visiting Canadian Motocross Lites Champion Tyler Medaglia finished eighth in XC1 with Adam Bonneur and Sipes rounding out the top ten in XC1.
The XC2 Pro Lites class saw one of the most exciting battles of the day between Jason Thomas and Nick Davis. The duo swapped and changed the lead several times throughout the three-hour race.
On the final lap it was Davis who had the advantage coming into the final segment of the racetrack but Thomas was able to make his move in time to take the chequered flag and his first win of the season finishing just 11 seconds ahead of Nick Davis. Thomas finished an impressive seventh overall for the day with Davis coming in eighth.
Following a rough start to the season at round one, Trevor Bollinger bounced back to take the final step of the podium in third.
Davis holds a four-point lead over Thomas in the XC2 Pro Lites Championship standings as the series heads to North Carolina in two weeks for the FMF Steele Creek GNCC.
The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series continues with round three on March 29.
© Ken Hill
Results – The Maxxis General GNCC Round 2
XC1 Event Results
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Josh Strang (HSQ)
Thad DuVall (HSQ)
Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
Chris Bach (HON)
Grant Baylor (YAM)
Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
Tyler Medaglia (HSQ)
Adam Bonneur (KTM)
Ryan Sipes (HSQ)
XC2 Event Results
Jason Thomas (KTM)
Nick Davis (HSQ)
Trevor Bollinger (KTM)
Craig Delong (HSQ)
Layne Michael (HON)
Cory Buttrick (BET)
Justin Sode (BET)
Sam Evans (KTM)
Callan May (YAM)
Brad Bakken (YAM)
Overall National Championship Standings
Kailub Russell (60)
Josh Strang (50)
Thad DuVall (39)
Chris Bach (37)
Nick Davis (28)
Jordan Ashburn (28)
Grant Baylor (26)
Jason Thomas (26)
Tyler Medaglia (26)
Craig DeLong (16)
XC2 Series Standings
Nick Davis (55)
Jason Thomas (51)
Craig Delong (34)
Layne Michael (31)
Cory Buttrick (29)
Ricky Russell (25)
Brad Bakken (23)
Trevor Bollinger (23)
Tegan Temple (19)
Phillipe Chaine (17)