XC1 Open Pro
As the green flag waived, it was Russell who powered his KTM 350 XC-F off the line to capture the XC1 holeshot as he led the class into the woods. He made a mistake in the “John Penton section” on the opening lap and went down, which allowed his teammate Ben Kelley to get by for the lead. Russell patiently worked his way back into the lead by lap two and from there, he maintained a comfortable gap over the rest of the field. He was able to break away on the sixth and final lap to ultimately claim victory by just under one-minute.

Kailub Russell: “It’s awesome to get the win in front of family and friends cheering me on at the family farm. I felt really good, so I put the hammer down and tried to gap those guys. Knowing this was the last time cruising around for a win here at the professional level, I definitely was able to soak it in for a minute. I had a nice little lead and I was able to cruise it on in and enjoy the last mile or so.”

With six rounds remaining, Russell holds a 33-point lead in the XC1 Open Pro Championship, where he continues to fight for an eighth-consecutive title.

Ben Kelley got off to a great start in the XC1 Open Pro class as he battled Russell for the early lead. After settling into second, Kelley was able to overtake the lead when Russell went down on the opening lap and he led for the remainder of the lap until Russell got past on lap two. Kelley battled for a podium position early on but he dropped back toward the end and wasn’t able to make up the time, ultimately finishing fourth on the day.

Ben Kelley: “After Kailub passed me back for the lead, I found myself in a battle for second until I lost their draft and started to tire the last two laps. It was a long, hot race on a rutted and technical track. I still have some work to do to get back to race form and be able to run the speed up front for three hours but overall, I’m feeling pretty happy with fourth place on the day.”

Josh Toth didn’t get the best start as he rounded the opening lap in the eighth-place position in the XC1 Open Pro class. He quickly worked his way up to sixth by the second lap and he put on a big charge to bring himself within striking distance of a top-five position. On lap five, Toth went down in a slick spot and lost substantial time, ultimately finished sixth for the day. 

XC2 250 Pro
In the XC2 250 Pro class, Tely Energy Racing/KTM’s Jonathan Girroir earned his fifth podium finish of the season with a consistent ride all afternoon. He got off to a fifth-place start and he maintained a top-five position throughout all six laps of the race. With three laps to go, Girroir moved into third and from there he finished strong with a third-place podium.