With his goals accomplished, FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell will sit out the rest of the season to take care of his knee injury.
It isn’t like Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell has to worry about his recent knee injury costing him either championship title that he set out to win in 2015.
The defending AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Champion became the first racer in history to clinch both the GNCC and Kenda AMA National Enduro championships in the same season. He and his father, Jeff Russell, also made history as the first father and son to win an AMA National Enduro title.
But bringing home both titles early while nursing a torn ACL suffered at the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) was undoubtedly a painful process, so it is that with both missions accomplished, Russell will Park his factory KTM and undergo the surgery and recovery process so that he can return to racing 100-percent healthy in 2016.
Russell’s departure means that the competition in the XC1 Pro class at the upcoming Car-Mate Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania, will take on a decidedly different look, as his absence leaves the field wide open for the sport’s top off-road stars to battle for a race win without his towering presence.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang may have the most momentum, heading into the Mountain Ridge GNCC, thanks to a win at last weekend’ Parts Unlimited Unadilla GNCC. Strang, the 2010 GNCC Champion, showed that he has come all the way back from the shoulder injury that he suffered early in the 2015 season. Although Strang sits fifth in the overall GNCC points standings, he is expected to be a top finisher in Pennsylvania.
But there are a few racers who could step up and earn the overall win, including N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor, who comes into the Mountain Ridge GNCC secure in the knowledge that he scored a runner-up finish at last year’s event while aboard his 250cc XC2 machine. Now in his rookie XC1 season, Baylor holds second place in the points championship with only three points separating him from third-placed Thad DuVall.
Coming off his best finish of the season at Unadilla, the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC & KR4/FAR-backed DuVall could have a breakout race in Pennsylvania. He has been a consistent finisher all season, posting numerous top-five finishes although a race win has proved to be elusive.
JCR Honda’s Chris Bach sits in fourth in the GNCC points race, and he does have one win in 2015, but after a consistent first half of the year, he finished an off-form sixth at Unadilla. No doubt, Bach will be looking to get back to the top of the podium.
AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna-backed Ryan Sipes, a worthy choice for off-road rider of the year after becoming the first American to win the overall individual win at the ISDE, has enjoyed consistently improving performances in the AMSOIL GNCC series. Sipes heads to Mountain Ridge primed for his first-ever GNCC win.
N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn is currently seventh in the championship standings, although he is only five points behind Sipes. Ashburn will look to move up in the points race in the remaining rounds.
The battle for the XC2 class championship isn’t over, but DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM’s Jason Thomas is clearly in the catbird seat with a 76-point lead over Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/OffRoadViking.com’s Ricky Russell. Husqvarna Support Team rider Craig Delong is only six points behind Ricky Russell in third. E&H Honda’s Trevor Bollinger is fourth, followed by Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR-backed Nick Davis.
With an almost-perfect season thus far, Factory FMF/KTM’s Kacy Martinez has already wrapped up the WXC Championship, but she will try to continue her class dominance in the final three rounds as she battles against N-Fab AmPro Yamaha teammates Becca Sheets and Jessica Pattereson.
Youth bike racing will kick off the Mountain Ridge GNCC program Sunday at 8 a.m., followed by amateurs and Women at 10 a.m. The top amateurs and pros will race at 1 p.m.
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