Josh Toth Charges to Fourth at The John Penton GNCC
Thursday, May 26, 2022 | 1:20 PM
JOSH TOTH CHARGES TO FOURTH AT THE JOHN PENTON GNCC
MILLFIELD, Ohio – FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Josh Toth finished just off the XC1 Open Pro podium with a hard-fought fourth-place at Round 7 of the 2022 AMA Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series in Millfield, Ohio. Battling through tough conditions at The John Penton GNCC, Toth managed to come away with his fourth top-five finish of the season.
The Connecticut native powered his KTM 350 XC-F into the top three off the line, quickly making the pass into second. He fought muddy conditions after rainfall hit the area the night before and the morning of the race. Running through his tear-offs at a rapid pace early on, Toth was forced to make a quick pit stop to grab fresh goggles on the opening lap. As a result, he lost time and dropped back to eighth. He charged hard and was able to get back into the top-five until losing his footing once again when he got caught up with some other riders down a steep hill. Having to make a second run at the hill, his goggles once again got coated with mud and after making another pit stop, he was able to pick back up his momentum and finish fourth.
Josh Toth: “I got a pretty decent start and worked my way into second. I tried to make some moves early on and just stayed behind the leader but I kept getting hammered with roost and went through all my tear-offs, so I had to stop for goggles after lap one. It dropped me back but I felt pretty good and made some moves back to the top-five. Then, I hit a short hillclimb where some of the guys were and made a mistake running into the back of somebody. I got hung up and had to make another run at it and it covered my goggles and gloves in mud. It was super difficult for a lap and a half, but then after pitting, I felt good and fresh and fought to the end for fourth.”
Reigning XC1 Open Pro Champion, Ben Kelley, was unable to compete at Round 7 due to an injury sustained at last weekend’s National Enduro. Winning the first six of seven rounds, Kelley still holds the GNCC championship points lead with five rounds remaining in the series.
KTM-supported rider Brandy Richards secured her third podium of the season with an impressive second-place finish in WXC. Trail Jesters KTM Racing’s Korie Steede claimed fourth in the class, while Mackenzie Tricker rounded out the top five.
Next Race: Mason-Dixon GNCC – Mount Morris, Pennsylvania – June 5, 2022
XC1 Open Pro Results – The John Penton GNCC
1. Josh Strang, KAW, 03:05:16.549
2. Ricky Russell, GAS, +11.830
3. Jordan Ashburn, HQV, +08.120
4. Josh Toth, KTM, +11.796
Overall Championship Standings
1. Ben Kelley, 180 points
2. Jordan Ashburn, 136
3. Trevor Bollinger, 118
OTHER KTM
5. Josh Toth, 95