Press Release

Whibley Wins Highly Contested 2012 GNCC Championship

ocscottie
11/5/2012 4:12pm
Jason Thomas Clinches First-Ever XC2 Title

Hurricane Mills, Tenn. (November 4, 2012) - It was a head-to-head battle at Saturday's Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series finale between AmPro Yamaha's Paul Whibley and FMF/KTM's Kailub Russell in the XC1 Pro class. After a nearly flawless race at the Parts Unlimited Loretta Lynn's GNCC, Whibley went on to win the season finale and secure his second-career title.

Whibley kicked off the afternoon by grabbing his thirteenth straight $250 MotoSport.com Holeshot Award, getting out front early on. Meanwhile, Whibley's championship rival, Russell, was held up in the first corner after getting tangled with another rider off the start. Although Russell began the opening lap in nearly last place, he managed to work his way into fourth place by the start of Lap 2.

"I just rode my own race today and couldn't ask for the season to end a better way," Whibley said. "It's been an awesome year, we've had some huge battles with a lot of the guys and it's been exciting for the fans being this close down to the final round."
The morning race action featured an intense battle for the Super Senior A class win that pushed Kentucky's Greg Elrod (KTM) and Missouri's Rick Matteson (KTM) to the top of the overall podium, in first and second place respectively. Rounding out the podium in third overall was Masters A winner Randall Riggs of Cumberland, Md. Factory FMF/KTM's Maria Forsberg put the finishing touches on her record-setting perfect season, grabbing her thirteenth straight Women's class win this season.
Forsberg captured a perfect season, winning 13 of 13 GNCCs this season
The young stars of tomorrow put on an impressive display all morning, but it was West Virginia's Kevin Sutphin (KAW) who took not only the Super Mini (14-15) class-win, but also the final Youth overall-win of the season. However, Pennsylvania's Kaleb Ward (KAW) came through for second place less than eighteen seconds behind, while topping the Super Mini (12-13) division. Virginia's Luke Ross (HON) earned the final spot on the podium.

The 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series wraps up its final round tomorrow in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. with ATV racing action. For more information, go to www.gnccracing.com.

XC1 Pro Results:
  1. Paul Whibley (YAM)
  2. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  3. Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
  4. Thad DuVall (HON)
  5. Takeshi Koikeda (KTM)
  6. Rory Mead (KTM)
  7. Adrian Smith (YAM)
  8. Nathan Kanney (HON)
  9. Brenden Ritzman (HON)
  10. Chris Bach (YAM)
XC2 Pro Lites Results:
  1. Andrew DeLong (HSQ)
  2. Jason Thomas (KTM)
  3. Jedediah Haines (YAM)
  4. Steward Baylor (KTM)
  5. Scott Grills (HON)
  6. Chris Douglas (KTM)
  7. AJ Stewart (YAM)
  8. Ricky Mair (KTM)
  9. Samuel Evans (KTM)
  10. Zach Nolan (KTM)
XC1 Pro Standings:
  1. Paul Whibley (320/4 wins)
  2. Kailub Russell (316/5 wins)
  3. Rory Mead (234/2 wins)
  4. Thad DuVall (229/1 win)
  5. Charlie Mullins (198/1 win)
  6. Jordan Ashburn (196)
  7. Chris Bach (168)
  8. Nathan Kanney (156)
  9. Takeshi Koikeda (155)
  10. Garrett Edmisten (153)
XC2 Pro Lites Standings:
  1. Jason Thomas (291/2 wins)
  2. Steward Baylor Jr. (285/6 wins)
  3. Andrew DeLong (280/5 wins)
  4. Jedediah Haines (217)
  5. AJ Stewart (159)
  6. Brad Bakken (159)
  7. Jesse Robinson (156)
  8. Scott Grills (139)
  9. Zach Nolan (118)
  10. Michael McGinnis (118)

About GNCC Racing:

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series is America's premier off-road racing series. Founded in 1975, the 13-round championship is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 1,500 riders through tracks ranging in length from ten to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed and draw talent from all over the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised and airs every week on NBC Sports Network. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.
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