Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell continues to steamroll the competition at the Big Buck GNCC in South Carolina.
Kailub Russell is still in another orbit when it comes to the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series.
The two-time and defending GNCC Champion has been flying high above his competition all season, and no one could bring him back to earth yet during Sunday’s VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina. Russell earned GNCC career win number 26 and easily extended his win streak to a perfect four-for-four in 2015; he has won the last five GNCC rounds, dating back to last year’s series finale Ironman GNCC.
Russell grabbed the holeshot at the start of the XC1 Pro race, bagging the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award and the two-time GNCC National Champion quickly pulled clear of the field. Meanwhile, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang moved into second place ahead of Johnny Campbell Racing Honda’s Chris Bach, who had to work to maintain third place AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes and N-Fab AmPro Yamaha teammates Daniel Milner and Grant Baylor. Bach, Sipes, Milner and Baylor would swap positions throughout the 3-hour race.
Strang was relentless in his pursuit of Russell, and he managed to close the gap to the leader, running just 15 seconds behind him on the trail. Russell also showed that he is human after all when he crashed twice in the first two laps, slowing his pace. However, when Russell was upright, he was fast, and he built a 41-second lead in the latter stages of the race, crossing the finish line to remain perfect thus far in 2015. Afterward, Russell spoke of his crashes and admitted that this win didn’t come easy.
“I crashed on the opening lap in a pretty fast section but was able to recover quickly and didn’t lose the lead,” Russell. said “This [second] time I kind of lawn-darted myself into a tree, and that one hurt. I still managed to get going without losing my lead, but I had to charge hard throughout the remaining laps to put a gap on the field again.”
Russell’s fourth straight win matches the performance of none other than Strang, who ran off four straight wins in the first four rounds of the year en route to the 2010 GNCC Championship. The streak now gives Russell a one-race cushion over the second-placed Strang in the 2015 AMSOIL GNCC National Championship standings, 120-100. Strang has finished second in all four rounds, something that is not likely to sit well with the former champion.
Despite starting the race outside the top five, South Carolina native Grant Baylor was able to slice through the field en route to a third-place finish overall. Baylor was particularly strong on the final lap as he made up 16 seconds on runner-up Strang and finished just 4 seconds behind him at the finish. Bach was a solid fourth, followed by Moto-Tech/KTM’s Steward Baylor in fifth. Sipes dropped behind Steward Baylor on the last lap and finished sixth.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong returned to GNCC racing after suffering a collarbone injury that forced him to miss the last two rounds of the series, and the defending AMA National Enduro Champion had a decent round, finishing seventh, ahead of HR Motorsports/Honda-backed Takeshi Koikeda. Chris Douglas finished ninth and Funmart Cycle/FLY/RidePG.com’s Adam Bonneur completed the top 10 in XC1.
N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn experienced a rear brake issue on the opening lap that kept him in the pits for more than 15 minutes to repair the problem. Ashburn suffered a serious setback in his championship bid when he wasn’t able to get back out in time to salvage any championship points. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR Husqvarna’s Thad DuVall also experienced rear brake issues and finished 24th overall also failing to score any points toward the championship.
In the XC2 Pro Lites class, Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/OffRoadViking.com’s Ricky Russell made his return to racing for the first time since the season opener and, despite suffering a broken arm just one month ago, put in a Herculean effort to score the class win at the Big Buck GNCC. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR Husqvarna’s Nick Davis grabbed the $100 Hot Cams XC2 Pro Lites Holeshot Award, with Husqvarna support rider Craig DeLong moving into second place ahead of DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM-backed Jason Thomas. RideMPS.com/AMSOIL/Honda’s Layne Michael also figured into the lead battle early.
But Russell was able to move into the lead and go on to capture his first win of the year. Michael battled wheel to wheel with DeLong, Michael before moving into second place. A hard-charging Trevor Bollinger made up a lot of time lost early in race to finish third place aboard his Moto-Tech KTM ride.
Nick Davis and Jason Thomas experienced issues that kept them out of contention for the win. Thomas finished 13th in the class, and Davis finished 19th.
The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series takes a one-week break before resuming April 25 and 26 with the Limestone 100 GNCC in Springville, Indiana.
2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series
VP Racing Fuels Big Buck Creek GNCC
Union, South Carolina
Sunday, April 12
XC1
1. Kailub Russell-KTM
2. Josh Strang-Hus
3. Grant Baylor-Yam
4. Chris Bach-Hon
5. Steward Baylor-KTM
6. Ryan Sipes-Hus
7. Andrew Delong-Hus
8. Takeshi Koikeda-Hon
9. Chris Douglas-KTM
10. Adam Bonneur-KTM
AMSOIL GNCC National Championship Point Standings-After 4 of 13 rounds*
1. Kailub Russell-120/4 wins
2. Josh Strang-100
3. Grant Baylor-65
4. Thad DuVall-60
5. Chris Bach-55
6. Jordan Ashburn-44
7. Jason Thomas-38
8. Craig DeLong-36
Ryan Sipes-36
10. Trevor Bollinger-34
*Indicates the overall National Championship standings that will determine the 2015 GNCC Champion.
XC2
1. Ricky Russell-Yam
2. Layne Michael-Hon
3. Trevor Bollinger-KTM
4. Craig Delong-Hus
5. Scott Grills-Yam
6. Austin Lee-Yam
7. Callan May-Yam
8. Ryder Lafferty-Hus
9. Cory Buttrick-Bet
10. Ryan Lojak-Yam
XC2 Class Point Standings-After 4 of 13 rounds
1. Jason Thomas-89
2. Layne Michael-81
3. Craig Delong-70
4. Trevor Bollinger-65
5. Nick Davis-57
6. Cory Buttrick-55
7. Ricky Russell-55
8. Scott Grills-42
9. Callan May-41
10. Austin Lee-36
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