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Mullins
Wins Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC
Russell
Tops XC2, finishes second overall
Photo By: Shan Moore
Charlie Mullins got his second win in a row.
Yadkinville, NC (May 9, 2010)
- After putting a halt to Josh Strang's win streak at
the Tennessee round of the series two weeks before,
Charlie Mullins started a streak of his own by
claiming his second-straight win at the
MotorcycleUSA.com Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC in
Yadkinville, North Carolina - round six of the Can-Am
Grand National Cross Country Series.
The Obermeyer/Am Pro/FMF Yamaha
rider capitalized on a good start, blazing speed and
tidy woods riding, working his way from fourth after
the start to first by the end of the second lap. From
there, "Hotrod" needed only to keep it on
two wheels and between the markers and the center step
of the podium was his.
In the meantime, Strang was happy to
be leaving North Carolina with the points lead intact
after a frightening second-lap crash left him dazed
and sore. At the time the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider was
leading the race after grabbing the holeshot and the
$250 MotorcycleUSA.com
Holeshot Award that goes along with it.
"I got sideways over a little
jump in the woods and I clipped a tree and my hand
went off the bars and when I grabbed on again I got a
handful of throttle and it shot me into a tree,"
said Strang. "I went down pretty hard and it rang
my bell."
Photo By: Shan Moore
Paul Whibley matched his best performance of the
year.
Mullins inherited the lead at that
point, with Am Pro/FMF Yamaha's Paul Whibley taking
over second. At one point Mullins held as much as a
minute lead over Whibley, while Glenn Kearney wrung
out the little Husqvarna 250 TXC to move into third,
nearly catching Whibs on the final lap.
At the finish, Mullins took the win
with Whibley in second and Kearney in third.
"I've had two good weekends in
GNCC and my confidence is high right now," said
Mullins. "I'm happy with how things went today
and how I rode and I just want to keep doing what I'm
doing."
Whibley's runner-up finish matched
his best performance of the year and leaves him
sitting third in points.
"I'm pretty happy with
second," said Whibley. "It was a good day; I
was back up at the front and I was racing with the
leaders. I got a good jump at the start and got bumped
around a bit and came out third, but I moved into
second right away. It was a bit dusty and I ended up
going down near the end of the lap - I just spun out
and Charlie got by me. Then when Josh went down I
moved up into second and spent the rest of the race
there."
Kearney was pleased to be back on
the podium after a long dry spell, especially after
the week he had leading up to the race.
"Thursday we were testing
suspension, and Ben (Kearney's brother and mechanic)
had an accident and broke his femur, so it was a long
night Thursday night and then he had surgery on
Friday," said Kearney. "He had the bike all
about ready, but we were waiting on some engine parts,
that showed up on Friday morning, so I learned a
little bit about putting a top end on a four-stroke
and timing valves and that sort of stuff."
Photo By: Shan Moore
Glenn Kearney got a well deserved third.
Fourth place went to Clockwork/RidePG
KTM's Chris Bach, who got shuffled to the rear after
getting off to a good start. Bach fell on the first
lap and bent his clutch lever, but eventually picked
up the pace when Am Pro/FMF Yamaha's Barry Hawk Jr.
passed him.
"I latched onto Barry and I was
able to get into the groove," said Bach. "I
learned a lot just watching him pick lines and I was
able to start moving up."
Bach moved from ninth at one point
to fourth, passing FMF/KTM's Nate Kanney on the final
lap.
Kanney finished fifth, just ahead of
teammate Cory Buttrick and Hawk. Strang managed to get
back in the race after a brief period in the pits and
salvaged a ninth place finish, sandwiched between
Kawasaki riders Jedediah Haines and Eric Bailey.
Despite the ninth place finish,
Strang still holds a 19-point lead over Mullins after
six rounds, 157 to 138, while Whibley sits in third
with 113.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Kailub Russell won the XC2 class and finished second
overall.
In the XC2 division, FMF/KTM's Kailub
Russell took the win by almost four minutes over
Monster Energy Andrews Cycles' Jason Thomas, and moved
far enough up into the XC1 ranks to finish second
overall for the day. The defending class champ passed
Kearney on the final lap and was catching Whibley when
he ran out of time.
"I had the overall in the back
of my mind, but I was mainly just trying to maintain
my own race," said Russell. "Once I got
around Kanney and Buttrick I was just kind of by
myself and I felt kind of lost out there. Then on the
second to last lap I caught up to Glenn, and I just
kind of slipped in behind him and he made a mistake
and I moved around him. Right after that I saw Whibs,
but I couldn't get him."
In the meantime, Thomas and KTM
rider Jesse Robinson battled for much of the race over
second.
"Jesse caught me at some point
in the race, and I made a mistake and he went around
me," said Thomas. "All I could think about
at that point was the championship and I dug deep and
went after him. We were in the bottom along the creek
and I was wide open and he turned around to see if I
was there and I went around him. If he hadn't looked
back I probably wouldn't have passed him. He stayed on
me all the way to the finish and I knew I just needed
to stay on two wheels to get second."
In deed, Thomas stayed on two wheels
to finish second, while Robinson ended up third.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Josh Strang grabbed the holeshot to start the race.
KTM young-gun Steward Baylor Jr. ended
the day in fourth, ahead of GEICO/JG Off-Road/Monster
Energy Kawasaki's Scotty Watkins. Mark Fortner was
sixth on a Husaberg, and David Snyder, who won the
$100 MotorcycleUSA.com
Holeshot Award on his Yamaha, was seventh. Meanwhile,
Bryan Lawson (Yam), Nicholas Hunter (KTM), and Chris
Spear (Suz) rounded out the top 10.
Beta rider Hayden O'Kelley won the
Open A class and in the process finished 13th overall,
which was good enough for the Overall Amateur Award.
In the A.M. race, Tyler MacDonald
won the overall, his fourth time to do so this year.
"I got the holeshot and led
about half the first lap and then I sunk my front
wheel in a mud hole," said MacDonald. "I
dropped back to third and then I just put my head down
and caught those guys. The last two laps I pretty much
pulled away."
Grant Baylor, who celebrated his
birthday on Friday, was the overall winner in the
Youth race.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country Series will return on May 22nd and 23rd for
the Moose Mountain Ridge GNCC, held in Somerset,
Pennsylvania.
XC1 Results:
1. Charlie Mullins (Yam)
2. Paul Whibley (Yam)
3. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)
4. Chris Bach (KTM)
5. Nate Kanney (KTM)
6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)
7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)
8. Jedediah Haines (Kaw)
9. Josh Strang (Suz)
10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)
XC1 Standings:
1. Josh Strang (157/4 wins)
2. Charlie Mullins (138/2 wins)
3. Paul Whibley (113)
4. Chris Bach (109)
5. Cory Buttrick (99)
6. Glann Kearney (91)
7. Nate Kanney (116)
8. Barry Hawk Jr. (66)
9. Eric Bailey (65)
10. Kenneth Gilbert (64)
XC2 Results:
1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Jason Thomas (Yam)
3. Jesse Robinson (KTM)
4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)
5. Scotty Watkins (KAw)
6. Mark Fortner (Hsb)
7. David Snyder (Yam)
8. Bryan Lawson (Yam)
9. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)
10. Chris Spear (Suz)
XC2 Standings:
1. Kailub Russell (171/5 wins)
2. Jason Thomas (139/1 win)
3. Jesse Robinson (129)
4. Scotty Watkins (106)
5. Steward Baylor Jr. (100)
6. Dustin Gibson (78)
7. David Snyder (73)
8. Mark Fortner (64)
9. Brian Lawson (61)
10. Nicholas Hunter (60)
XC1 MotorcycleUSA.com
Holeshot Award - Josh Strang
XC2 MotorcycleUSA.com
Holeshot Award - David Snyder
Overall Amateur Award
- Hayden O'Kelley
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