Press Release

Russell Wins ITP Powerline Park GNCC and Four Points Separate the 2012 Title Chase

ocscottie
10/8/2012 2:23pm
Thomas takes over XC2 points lead with a victory, Baylor finishes fifth

St. Clairsville, Ohio (October 7, 2012) - Temperatures were a bit on the chilly side in eastern Ohio as Round 11 of the 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series made its way to St. Clairsville, Ohio for the ITP Powerline Park GNCC. Factory FMF/KTM's Kailub Russell bounced back from a tough loss last round to secure his fifth win of the season, now sitting within four points of current points leader Paul Whibley in the championship standings.

As if cold temperatures and challenging obstacles-such as the infamous "Powerline Mud Hole" and the tricky "Rock Garden"-weren't grueling enough, scattered rainfall became yet another factor early in the three-hour afternoon race. AmPro Yamaha's Paul Whibley continued his holeshot tradition by once again grabbing the $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award where he led the opening lap with Factory FMF/KTM teammates Kailub Russell and Charlie Mullins close behind. However, things began to turn sour for Whibley around the halfway point as the current points leader began a series of crashes that caused him to significantly lose time on the leaders as the race wore on. Since Russell was able to land his first-ever XC1 win at Powerline Park in 2011, his confidence looked to be at an all time high this weekend.
2012 Women's Class champ Maria Forsberg grabbed her first-ever AM overall win
The battle for the Youth overall once again came from the usual front-runners of Mike Witkowski (KTM), Jonathan Johnson (KTM) and Cody Pingley (HON)-to name a few. Indiana's Witkowski landed the overall win, as well as the Super Mini (12-13) class-win. South Carolina's Jonathan Johnson finished second overall for the day but was able to secure the (14-15) division win, followed closely by West Virginia's Cody Pingley in third overall, second in the class. Second place in the (12-13) division went to West Virginia's Cody Ruckle, while Pennsylvania's Kaleb Ward took third in the class and both riders rounded out the top five overall.

The 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series returns to action October 20 and 21 for the Amsoil Ironman GNCC in Crawfordsville, Ind. For more information, go to www.gnccracing.com.

XC1 Pro Results:
  1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  2. Charlie Mullins (KTM)
  3. Paul Whibley (YAM)
  4. Thad DuVall (HON)
  5. Rory Mead (KTM)
  6. Takeshi Koikeda (KTM)
  7. Garrett Edmisten (KAW)
  8. Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
  9. Jimmy Jarrett (HON)
  10. Nate Kanney (HON)

XC2 Pro Lites Results:
  1. Jason Thomas (KTM)
  2. Aaron Plessinger (YAM)
  3. Andrew DeLong (HSQ)
  4. Scott Grills (HON)
  5. Steward Baylor (KTM)
  6. Jedediah Haines (YAM)
  7. Chris Douglas (KTM)
  8. Zach Nolan (KTM)
  9. AJ Stewart (YAM)
  10. Ryan Lojak (YAM)

XC1 Pro Standings:
  1. Paul Whibley (274/3 wins)
  2. Kailub Russell (270/5 wins)
  3. Rory Mead (205/2 wins)
  4. Thad DuVall (186/1 win)
  5. Charlie Mullins (168)
  6. Jordan Ashburn (160)
  7. Chris Bach (139)
  8. Garrett Edmisten (137)
  9. Nathan Kanney (133)
  10. Takeshi Koikeda (126)

XC2 Pro Lites Standings:
  1. Jason Thomas (241/2 wins)
  2. Steward Baylor Jr. (237/5 wins)
  3. Andrew DeLong (229/4 wins)
  4. Jedediah Haines (183)
  5. Brad Bakken (156)
  6. Jesse Robinson (156)
  7. AJ Stewart (131)
  8. Zach Nolan (107)
  9. Scott Grills (105)
  10. Cody Gragg (102)
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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