GNCC Racing

Factory FMF/KTM Report - Snowshoe

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 | 8:55 AM

Snowshoe, WV – Factory FMF/KTM rider Kailub Russell took his third consecutive victory at the ninth round of the GNCC Series in front of an excited crowd at the Snowshoe Ski Resort. His teammate, Charlie Mullins, finished just 10 seconds behind him after the three-hour battle to finish 2nd overall for the day.

Russell and Mullins leaped off to decent starts at the beginning of the race. The two KTM riders battled for the lead until Russell suffered a crash early on in the first lap. He quickly recovered and moved back up to 2nd place before he suffered another tip over that set him back to 7th place. 

Russell_IXR_5220!“My second crash on the first loop hurt me more than the first as I had to dig my bike out of the woods and lost about 30 seconds. Once I was back on track, it took me a while to get back into a podium position as it was difficult to make passes in the wooded sections and a little sketchy to try and pass everyone in the wide open parts. Eventually, I got it done and found myself back in 2nd position before the halfway point of the race,” stated Russell.

XC1_Podium_IXR_5357!Once in 2nd position, he dropped the hammer and turned lap times faster than his teammate Mullins, which allowed him to close the gap and challenge for the lead. With two laps to go he was able to get by Mullins on an uphill ski slope and move into the lead position. From there he went on to finish the race without any mistakes to claim his third consecutive win. Mullins remained in the hunt and finished only 10 seconds down when the checkered flag flew. Now heading into the summer break the two KTM teammates are tied for the points lead.

In the XC2 Pro Lites class, rookie rider, Grant Baylor, took his third win of the season. Baylor caught and passed Jason Thomas for the lead on the final lap to secure the win and strengthen his points lead.

XC1_Podium_IXR_5357!Next Event: New Berlin, NY – September 7-8, 2013

Overall Results (XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Lites Combined) –

  1. Kailub Russell – KTM
  2. Charlie Mullins – KTM
  3. Thad Duvall
  4. Chris Bach – KTM
  5. Grant Baylor – KTM
  6. Jason Thomas – KTM
  7. Shane Hufford – KTM
  8. Paul Whibley
  9. Scott Grills
  10. Layne Michael – KTM

Overall Point Standings XC1 Pro Class –

  1. Kailub Russell – 230
  2. Charlie Mullins – 230
  3. Chris Bach – 158

Overall Point Standings XC2 Pro Lites Class –

  1. Grant Baylor – 209
  2. Jason Thomas – 190
  3. Andrew Delong – 121