KTM Race Report: Russell Wins The General GNCC

Factory FMF/KTM rider and the reigning GNCC champion, Kailub Russell, took a hard fought win at the second round of the GNCC Series on a very slick and muddy course dubbed “The General.”

The reigning champion had his share of difficulties at the opening round of the series a week prior finishing a disappointing 14^th overall. He more than made up for it at the second round of the series, where he once again came from behind, but this time to take the win.

Russell rode a smart race through the mud at the General, which ended up paying off in the end. Photo: Hill

Russell was dead last off the start line but quickly made his way through the pack to move into 5^th place by the end of the first lap. His teammate, and the winner of the first round, Charlie Mullins, was alongside him in the battle up front sitting in 2^nd place. The top five riders battled it out for the next few laps swapping the lead each time one rider stopped for goggles or got stuck in a mud hole allowing the others to get by.

“It was such a mess out there,” stated Russell. “The rainfall caused standing water and mud all over the track so it was almost impossible to read lines. I tried to ride a smart race in order to make as few mistakes as possible which ended up paying off in the end.”

Mullins was leading the race before getting stuck on the fourth lap. Photo: Hill

Mullins led for the second and third laps before he got stuck on the fourth lap of the race. He lost a lot of time after he got stuck which dropped him back to 5^th place in his class. That allowed Russell to move ahead out front. Russell went on to lead the final two laps of the race to take the win by only a 4 second margin over XC2 Pro Lites rider Grant Baylor. The KTM support rider and reigning XC2 Pro Lites champion, put together a tremendous ride through the mud-covered course to nearly overall the race. He won his class by an impressive margin and finished 2^nd overall for the day.

Grant Baylor finished an impressive 2nd overall for the day and won his XC2 Pro Lites class. Photo: Hill

His older brother, Steward Baylor, was not as fortunate. Baylor got stuck in the mud on the last lap and fell back a few positions to finish the race in 8^th place. Mullins was able to hang on to 5^th place in his class and 6^th in the overall score. After two rounds, Mullins still holds the points lead over Paul Whibley in second and Russell in third.

Kacy Martinez has two wins in a row in the Women's WXC class. Photo: Hill

Factory FMF/KTM rider Kacy Martinez put together her second win in a row in the Women’s WXC class. She had a decent jump off the line and moved into the lead within the first mile of the race. At one point she had a minute and a half lead before getting stuck in the mud. She was able to recover from that mistake and climb back out to the front of the pack to take the win and increase her lead in the series point standings.

Next Event: Morganton, NC – March 29-30, 2014

The Maxxis General Podium. Russell, Baylor and Ashburn rounded out the top 3 overall for the day. Photo: Hill

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

Kailub Russell – KTM
Grant Baylor – KTM
Jordan Ashburn
Paul Whibley
Josh Strang
Charlie Mullins – KTM
Rory Mead – KTM
Steward Baylor – KTM
Chris Bach
Trevor Bollinger

Overall Point Standings XC1 Pro Class –

Charlie Mullins – 45
Paul Whibley – 43
Kailub Russell – 37

Overall Point Standings XC2 Pro Lites Class –

Rory Mead – 55
Grant Baylor – 45
Ricky Russell – 43

Overall Results Women’s (WXC) Class –

Kacy Martinez – KTM
Becca Sheets
Jessica Patterson
Brooke Cosner – KTM
Sarah Baldwin – KTM
Netelkos Eden – KTM
Amanda Maheu
Mandi Mastin – KTM
Cassidy Brown – KTM
Samantha Steiner – KTM

Overall Point Standings Women’s (WXC) Class –

Kacy Martinez – 40
Jessica Patterson – 36
Becca Sheets – 35