FMF Makita Suzuki's Strang Takes Maxxis General
GNCC
Kailub Russell wins XC2 class
 For
the second race in a row, Josh Strang put his FMF Makita Suzuki on
the top step of the podium, declaring himself the man to beat in
this year's Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. The
21-year-old Australian's latest win came at the Maxxis General
GNCC, round two of the 13-round series in Washington, Georgia, and
gives him a 14-point lead in the series standings.
"I've worked hard for this and it feels
good," said Strang. "And to get two wins is great. I got
a good start, perhaps the best start I've ever got on the 450, and
I rode well. I think I was better prepared for this race than I
was in last week's race in the sand and my bike worked awesome, so
it was a good day for us."
Early on in the three-hour race, Strang trailed
Am-Pro Yamaha's Thad DuVall, who threatened to run away and hide
during the first two laps. However, DuVall's day came to an end
when he crashed heavily at about the midway point of the race.
"I rode kind of steady on the first lap and
then Thad passed me and he simply checked out," said Strang.
"But then I came around and DuVall was on the side of the
track - I guess he crashed - and I stopped to see if he was okay.
He got going again and he passed me and then he crashed again - he
just freakin' ate it."
 After
DuVall dropped out, Strang cruised to an easy victory, crossing
the finish line with two minutes to spare over Am-Pro Yamaha's
Paul Whibley (right), who was happy to be on the podium after
running out of gas at the opening round in Florida.
"I was actually racing with Josh [Strang]
during the middle part of the race, but I tangled with a lapper
and stalled my bike and lost maybe half a minute," said
Whibley. "After that, Josh got away and I could never catch
him. That's pretty much my race."
Chris Bach rebounded from a poor start to finish
third, his second-straight podium finish.
"The first lap was chaos," said Bach.
"I just stayed safe for a while and then started moving up. I
caught up to Whibley and I thought if I latched onto to him we
would ended up in the top five, which is where I wanted to
be."
Indeed, Bach followed Whibley into the top five, and then when
DuVall crashed out and FMF KTM's Nate Kanney got stuck in a rut,
Bach inherited third.
"This is great, having back to back rides
like this," said Bach. "I want to keep it going all
year."
Fourth went to AM-Pro Yamaha's Charlie Mullins,
who came from last place, after getting caught up in a first turn
crash. Meanwhile, fifth went to FMF KTM's Nate Kanney. Kanney ran
as high as second place on the opening lap, but was taken out two
different times by lappers, moving him back down the order. During
the final hour, Kanney made his way back towards the front but got
stuck in one of the many mud holes and dropped back to fifth.
Cory Buttrick finished sixth, ahead of
three-time AMA National Enduro Champion Russell Bobbitt, who also
claimed the holeshot at the start of the race, collecting the $250
Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award. Bobbitt managed the holeshot on
perhaps the only 250 two-stroke in the XC1 class.
Mexican national enduro champ Homero Diaz was
eighth on a KTM, while Kawasaki riders Ken Gaffney and Eric Bailey
rounded out the top 10.
 FMF
KTM's Kailub Russell (left) got back to his winning ways, taking a
hard-earned win in the XC2 class. The defending XC2 champ battled
for most of the race with Monster Energy/FAR Racing/ Andrews
Cycles-backed Jason Thomas and Ride PG's KTM-mounted Jesse
Robinson, before making his move on the final lap to take the win.
"I felt like I rode horrible today, but I
was able to get it done," said Russell. "The first few
laps I had arm pump like crazy and I couldn't do anything. But I
finally got in a groove and things started clicking."
Thomas earned the $100 Motocycle-USA.com
Holeshot Award to kick off the race, and then fell in behind
Robinson to check out the lines.
"Jesse had awesome lines so I followed him
for a while," said Thomas, who is recovering from a
dislocated wrist. "He had smoother lines and I was able to
pick up on them. Then I managed to pass him on the last lap to
take second."
Robinson was pleased with second, and even more
pleased to have led part of the race.
"This is probably the best ride I've ever
had here," said Robinson. "I passed Kailub and pulled a
little bit of a lead, but then I had to pit for gas and they
caught up."
KTM riders Steward Baylor and Dustin Gibson
rounded out the top five.
For the second race in a row, Open A rider
Jordan Ashburn claimed the Top Amateur Award.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series
resumes on March 20-21 with the FMF Steele Creek GNCC in
Morganton, North Carolina.
|
