GNCC MUDDER; RUSSELL WHIPS ‘EM AGAIN

Kailub Russell Makes it Two-in-a-Row at The Maxxis General GNCC
Jason Thomas Captures His First XC2 Pro Lites Victory of The Season at Round Two

WASHINGTON, Ga. (March 15, 2015) – The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, made its way to Washington, Georgia for the annual Maxxis General GNCC. With rain accumulation through the week leading up to Sunday’s race, Aonia Pass Motocross Park presented muddy conditions all weekend long. However, Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell emerged victorious despite the conditions to secure his second straight victory in as many rounds.

 

 

Russell grabbed the early lead with the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award but AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes tucked in close behind and applied pressure to the two-time champion early on. Russell ran into a few issues on the opening lap, evening dropping back to the fourth place position, but it wasn’t long before he made up the time and gained the lead once again.

 

Sipes pushed hard on the opening lap but the Kentucky rider ran into issues after getting stuck in a mud hole on the second lap. Sipes lost a substantial amount of time working his way out of the mudhole, where he spent the rest of the race catching up.

 

 

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang put himself into a favorable position early on. However, as he worked his way into the second place position, Strang got together with a lapped rider, resulting in a damaged brake rotor on the front side. The 2010 GNCC National Champion came into the pits for a quick front wheel swap and returned to the course a couple positions back. Strang quickly made up that time and returned to the second place position, as a hard charging Thad DuVall began his charge through the pack.

 

 

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR’s DuVall came from outside the top five off the start and moved into the third place position. The West Virginia native experienced a couple issues throughout the three-hour race that caused him to lose substantial time in the overall running, but a late-in-the-race charge allowed him to maintain a podium position heading into the final lap of racing.

 

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn interjected himself into the podium battle early on where he went back and forth with DuVall for a majority of the afternoon. Near the end of the six-lap race, Ashburn went head-to-head with JCR Honda’s Chris Bach to capture the fourth place position. Bach, who also began the race outside the top five, charged his way through the pack to battle for a podium position.

 

 

The XC2 Pro Lites class saw one of the most exciting battles of the day between DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM’s Jason Thomas and Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR’s Nick Davis. Thomas and Davis went back and forth all afternoon, exchanging 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 checkered flag and his first win of the season just 11 seconds ahead of Nick Davis. Thomas finished an impressive seventh overall for the day with Davis coming in eighth.

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)
XC2 Series Standings: