Duvall takes first win of the season; Thomas wraps up the XC2 class title at Car-Mate Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/KR4/FAR Husqvarna’s Thad Duvall got hot just as the weather cooled, securing his first AMSOIL GNCC Series overall win of the season Car-Mate Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania, Sunday, and DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM-backed Jason Thomas claimed the 2015 AMSOIL XC2 GNCC Championship.
As the Pro race got underway, Suzuki/Fly Racing/Maxxis Tires’ Chris Douglas grabbed the $250 All Balls Racing XC1 Holeshot Award and took the early lead, followed by N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn, who quickly moved past Douglas and took over the lead.
“My goal today was to get a good start and to get out front,” Ashburn later said. “A gap on the rest of the pack always helps out, and after I had my rear tire replaced I knew I needed to get back to the front because I had the speed to be there.”
Meanwhile, N-Fab AmPro Yamaha-backed Grant Baylor was forced to battle back from a first-turn crash, but he was able to catch the leaders before the end of the first lap and come through the scoring barrels in second place. Ashburn extended his lead by 37 seconds during lap two, but that lead began to dissipate on lap three as Duvall closed it up top less than 10 seconds. Duvall inherited the lead when Ashburn was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to deal with a faulty tube. After a quick wheel change, Ashburn re-entered the race still inside the top five.
Meanwhile, Baylor continued to ride a strong race, running just 10 seconds behind Duvall, and he rook over the lead after Duvall stopped to get a splash of gas. Baylor’s lead was short-lived, however, as Duvall powered back into the lead and held it for the final four laps of the race, claiming the overall win and moving into second overall in the points championship chase–pretty much the only bragging rights spot left as Kailub Russell already clinched the 2015 AMSOIL GNCC title.
“Going into today’s race I was already excited because I tend to ride good in conditions like these,” Duvall said. “I don’t necessarily like riding in the mud, but I always seem to do good. Baylor caught back up to me with two laps remaining and we battled it out, but I felt like I had a lot to give and I ended up in the middle of the box.”
Baylor finished second, and Ashburn captured third place in the XC1 Pro class and overall, ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang and JCR’s Honda-backed Chris Bach. AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes dealt with handlebar issues that dropped him to sixth, with Australian ace and N-Fab AmPro Yamaha rider Daniel Milner seventh, Beta’s Cory Buttrick in eighth, Douglas ninth, and Funmart Cycle/FLY/RidePG.com’s Adam Bonneur 10th.
Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/KR4/FAR’s Nick Davis was able to jump out to the quick lead in the XC2 class, but Thomas and Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/OffRoadViking.com’s Ricky Russell ran right with him. As the race wore on, Davis picked up the pace and went to land yet another win in the Xc2 class as well as an impressive fifth-place overall finish.
“It was really hard to see at the start, and all I could think was ‘this is going to be a long three hours,'” Davis said. “Then everything just started clicking, and I got back ahead of Thomas and Russell, and started pulling away.”
Thomas finished second, which was a good enough net the 2015 XC2 Pro Lites championship. Thomas will step up to the premier XC1 Pro division in 2016.
“It’s been a long year, and we’ve done a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Everyone has been a big part of this, it wasn’t just me,” said Thomas. “My dad was able to make it this weekend, and it’s a big deal because he isn’t here every round like majority of the other guys’ dads. It really meant a lot to me that he could be here.”
Connecticut’s Benjamin Kelley finished third in the XC2 class.
The WXC front-runners dominated the 10 a.m. race once again, with two female competitors even making the overall podium. Factory FMF/KTM’s Kacy Martinez captured her 10th victory of the season, followed by N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Becca Sheets in second, and her teammate Tayla Jones came in third for her first podium appearance of the season.
KTM’s Jesse Ansley added another Youth overall victory, as well as the Super Mini (14-15) class win, moving himself up to first place in the Youth Overall Championship standings, by one point. Ansley was joined atop of the podium by North Carolina native Connor Smith who finished second overall, and Jayce Knopp who worked his way from 11th on the first lap to third overall.
The 2015 AMSOIL GNCC series now heads to St. Clairsville, Ohio, for the ITP Powerline Park GNCC, October 17-18.
2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series, presented by Maxxis
Car-Mate Mountain Ridge
Somerset, Pennsylvania
Results, October 4, 2015 (Round 11 of 13)
XC1
1. Thad Duvall-Hus
2. Grant Baylor-Yam
3. Jordan Ashburn-Yam
4. Josh Strang-Hus
5. Chris Bach-Hon
6. Ryan Sipes-Hus
7. Daniel Milner-Yam
8. Cory Buttrick-Bet
9. Chris Douglas-Suz
10. Adam Bonneur-KTM
2015 AMSOIL GNCC Overall National Championship Points Standings (After 11 of 13 rounds)
1. Kailub Russell-283*
2. Thad DuVall-200
3. Grant Baylor-198
4. Chris Bach-173
5. Josh Strang-166
6. Ryan Sipes-154
7. Jordan Ashburn-132 (tied)
7. Jason Thomas-132 (tied)
9. Trevor Bollinger-94
10. Ricky Russell-93
*Clinched 2015 AMSOIL GNCC National Championship
XC2
1. Nick Davis-Hus
2. Jason Thomas-KTM
3. Benjamin Kelley-KTM
4. Trevor Bollinger-Hon
5. Austin Lee-Yam
6. Mike Witkowski-KTM
7. Ricky Russell-Yam
8. Jedediah Haines-Yam
9. Ryder Lafferty-Hus
10. Callan May-Yam
2015 AMSOOL GNCC XC2 Class Points Standings
1. Jason Thomas-277*
2. Ricky Russell-190
3. Trevor Bollinger-182
4. Nick Davis-180
5. Craig Delong-175
6. Layne Michael-142
7. Tegan Temple-130
8. Cory Buttrick-122
9. Austin Lee-121
10. Callan May-105
*Clinched 2015 XC2 GNCC Championship
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