What began as a chart-topping weekend in the GNCC record books with nearly 1900 participants at the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC, quickly turned into something even more remarkable as the afternoon race got underway. Shenandoah Honda/Offroadchampion’s Thad DuVall”†who has been on the verge of a podium finish all season long”†not only stood atop the podium for the first time in 2012 but also secured his first-career XC1 Pro Class win at Unadilla. After a long-time relationship with Factory Yamaha as part of the AmPro Yamaha Racing efforts, DuVall took a chance on a Honda-backed ride for 2012 and since then he’s put in some of the most consistent finishes we’ve ever seen from the West Virginia boy. He took a chance on Honda, the team took a chance on him and coincidentally DuVall gave Honda its first GNCC XC1 win since Paul Whibley’s victory at The General in 2007.

As if that wasn’t monumental on its own, JG Offroad/American Honda’s Nate Kanney had a breakout performance in his home state of New York to secure his first podium finish of the season in front of his friends, family and fans. Kanney didn't get off to the most desirable start but he worked his way into a favorable position as others succumbed to the rigorous obstacles throughout the Unadilla woods.Obermeyer Yamaha-backed Chris Bach put in one of his best rides of the season, battling with Kanney for a majority of the three-hour race. In the last hour, Bach put up a valiant fight against Russell to hold the fourth position but it wasn’t enough to keep the tenacious KTM rider from getting past him in the end.

 

However, AmPro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley hasn’t lost sight of the big picture, as he finished a strong second to gain valuable championship points, maintaining his lead with three rounds to go in the series. Whibley’s biggest threat to the title, FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell, began the three-hour race in the mix with the leaders but a string of events caused Russell to fall back to fifth place for the second half of the race. Russell now sits just 13 points back from Whibley in the standings, which means the final three rounds are going to be a showdown for the championship crown.

 

AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn held strong all day, maintaining the same consistency and levelheaded riding technique as he’s used all season long. Ashburn wasn’t able to break into the podium this round, but he has proven that he can outlast most of his competitors in the long run.

Factory FMF/KTM's Charlie Mullins started off on fire as he led the early parts of the race with Whibley and DuVall but things went south for the defending champ when he lost rear brakes midway through the race. Mullins was forced to pull into the pits to swap out brakes and made his way back out to finish up seventh for the day.