GNCC Racing

Kailub Russell Earns 40th Career-Victory in GNCC Racing at Ironman Season Finale

Monday, October 31, 2016 | 1:40 PM

FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell earned his 40th career-victory in GNCC Racing on Sunday at the Ironman Grand National Cross Country finale in Indiana. His teammate, Russell Bobbitt, concluded the year with a strong top-five overall finish, while Kacy Martinez earned an impressive 2nd overall out of nearly 900 riders in the 10 a.m. race. 

Held at Indiana’s famed Ironman Raceway, Round 13 of the GNCC Series showcased the largest rider turnout in the series’ history with a massive crowd of fans to match. While Kailub Russell wrapped up the XC1 Pro National Championship one round early, the four-time champion proved his winning desire with a hard-fought performance at the final round.

Kailub Russell earned his 40th win at the AMSOIL Ironman GNCC season finale on Sunday, October 30. 
Kailub Russell earned his 40th win at the AMSOIL Ironman GNCC season finale on Sunday, October 30.  Photo: KTM Images

1 p.m. Race

As the green flag dropped, both Russell and Bobbitt got off to a mid-pack start as they entered the motocross section just outside the top five. By the end of the first lap, it was Russell out front aboard his KTM 350 XC-F, with Bobbitt close behind in 4th, also piloting a KTM 350 XC-F.

Russell was joined by Thad DuVall early on for the lead battle and by lap two the duo had built a sizable gap over the rest of the field. DuVall was able to get into the lead on lap four but a very determined Russell quickly charged back and overtook the top spot. Russell and DuVall continued to battle side-by-side into the final hour of racing but DuVall made a mistake that dropped him back to a 40-second deficit with two laps to go. 

Russell was able to maintain his pace and consistency to ultimately finish 38 seconds ahead of DuVall to claim his 40th career-victory in GNCC Racing. Russell’s career milestone also serves as his 10th race win of the 13-round series, a feat that has never been done until now.

Kailub Russell: “It’s pretty cool to think that I’ve won 40 overalls since I started racing XC1 in 2011. The season has been good – 10 races is the most that anyone has won in a single season so I’m happy to make that happen along with a fourth GNCC title. The race was tough and Thad was riding really well in the first half but I just stayed focus on making good line choices and minimizing the mistakes and it paid off.” 

Bobbitt maintained his 4th place position for the first half of the three-hour race but a small mistake in a slick rock section caused him to drop back a few positions on lap four. From there, the five-time National Enduro Champion climbed his way back up to the 5th place position, where he ultimately finished for the day. 

Russell Bobbitt: “It was definitely rough out there but I had a lot of fun. I just tried to find the smoothest lines and connect things a little better. It was a pretty steady race - I know I have room to improve with GNCCs but a top five finish at the season finale is a good way to end the year and have a good stepping block into next season.” 

Westfield Powersports/KTM-mounted Jordan Ashburn had a solid day of racing to ultimately finish 6th in the XC1 Pro Class, while SRT/KTM’s Cory Buttrick finished 9th. It was a tough ending to the day for SRT/KTM’s Steward Baylor Jr., who experienced a mechanical issue a few miles from the finish while running in the 3rd place position. 

10 a.m. Race 

In the 10 a.m. race, FMF KTM Factory Team rider Kacy Martinez powered her KTM 250 XC-F into a top three position off the start, where she engaged in a battle with Becca Sheets for the lead position. Martinez remained within striking distance of the leader all race until losing some time on the final lap due to lapped traffic. Martinez ultimately finished 2nd in the WXC Class and 2nd overall for the day. 

Overall Results (XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Lites Combined) 

  1. Kailub Russell – KTM
  2. Thad DuVall
  3. Grant Baylor
  4. Ricky Russell
  5. Russell Bobbitt – KTM
  6. Jordan Ashburn – KTM
  7. Benjamin Kelley
  8. Layne Michael
  9. Cory Buttrick – KTM
  10. Vance Francis 

WXC Results

  1. Becca Sheets
  2. Kacy Martinez – KTM
  3. Mackenzie Tricker 

Overall Point Standings

  1. Kailub Russell (316)
  2. Josh Strang (236)
  3. Trevor Bollinger (166)
  4. Jordan Ashburn (161)
  5. Thad DuVall (155)
  6. Steward Baylor Jr. (148)
  7. Ricky Russell (141)
  8. Craig DeLong (137)
  9. Grant Baylor (132)
  10. Layne Michael (122)

WXC Point Standings

  1. Becca Sheets (178)
  2. Kacy Martinez (172)
  3. Brooke Cosner (165)
  4. Kendall Lafollette (135)
  5. Shelby Rolen (134)