Press Release

Strang Wins Motosport.com Snowshoe GNCC




Photo By: Shan Moore
Josh Strang took home $5000 with the win.
Snowshoe, W. Va (June 26, 2011) -FMF/Makita Suzuki's Josh Strang claimed the $5,000 top prize at this year's Motosport.com
Snowshoe GNCC by taking a narrow victory over WMR
Off-road/Clockwork/FMF/Planet Fitness KTM's Nate Kanney after an
exciting, race-long battle in what turned out to be an extremely
difficult event.

Snowshoe
GNCC is considered "America's Toughest Race" and this year was tougher
than usual after scattered showers turned the rooted and rocky mountain
course into an extremely treacherous one. And due to the many mud holes
and slippery climbs found along the trail, several riders held the lead
at one point or another, as one rider would lead only to get stuck or
fall and hand the spot over to someone else. In all, Am Pro Yamaha's
Paul Whibley, FMF/KTM Charlie Mullins, JG Racing/GEICO Powersports
Honda's Rory Mead, Am Pro Yamaha's Thad DuVall and KTM rider Stu Baylor,
along with Strang and Kanney, all held the lead somewhere during the
three-hour race.



Photo By: Shan Moore
Nate Kanney was a close second.
Heading
into the fifth and final lap, the lead group consisted of Baylor,
Mullins, Strang, and Kanney, however, Mullins and Baylor got stuck part
way into the lap, leaving Kanney with the lead and Strang in second.

Near
the end of the final lap, Strang got by Kanney in a mud hole and
managed to stay out of trouble for the rest of the race. At the finish,
Strang edged Kanney by just two seconds to take the win.

"I was
just hoping to finish up front and I was happy to follow Nate, he's had
some good rides here the last few years," said Strang. "If I could have
followed him over the line I would have been happy, so to get in front
of him there at the end and get the win was fantastic."

Kanney,
who was the 2010 Snowshoe winner, was hoping to capitalize on a late
mistake by Strang, but the opportunity never presented itself.



Photo By: Shan Moore
Charlie Mullins rounded out the podium.
"On
the last lap, I knew Strang was there and I knew he was going to be
strong and I didn't really want to be leading at that point - it's not
necessarily good to be leading here on the last lap," said Kanney. "So I
thought if Strang passed me I was going to let him have it let him take
all the risk. After he went around me we put the hammer down and we got
through everything clean. He got really close to getting stuck in one
place but he didn't, and after that I never had a chance to catch him."

With
the win, Strang extended his lead in the 2011 Can-Am Grand National
Cross Series to 11 points over Mullins, who ended the day in third.

"It
was pretty challenging out there and I made a mistake on the
next-to-last lap and lost a lot of time," said Mullins. "I was able to
charge back and catch Baylor, but by then Nate and Josh were gone. I'm
pretty disappointed but I think this is the best I've ever ridden here,
so I feel good about that."

Fourth in the XC1 division went to
Mead, a New Zealand native who just recently moved to the States to give
the GNCC series a try. Meanwhile, fifth went to fellow Kiwi Paul
Whibley, who threw his chain several times over the course of the race.



Photo By: Shan Moore
Rory Mead was fourth.
FMF/KTM's
Kailub Russell ran with the lead pack early, but eventually finished
sixth ahead of factory Husaberg rider Nick Fahringer.

Cory Buttrick put his FMF/KTM into eighth, ahead DuVall and KTM rider Kenny Gilbert.

Each
year the Snowshoe GNCC awards a generous overall purse, which this year
was courtesy of St. Lawrence Radiology Group and Friends of Coal.

After
challenging for the overall win, Stu Baylor ended the day third in the
overall standings and he won the XC2 division, his fourth class win of
the year.

"It was crazy out there," said Baylor. "I just kept
pushing and found myself in the overall on the last lap, and about miles
from the end I made a mistake in a mud hole and my glove was covered in
mud and I just couldn't hold on and I just kept dropping back. But I
knew I was winning my class and I just held on."

After nearly winning the overall last year, WP/RidePG KTM rider Jesse Robinson settled for second in the XC2 division this year.

"Just
making it through this race with your bike in one piece is a plus,"
said Robinson. "There was nothing pretty about my ride, I just held on
to the handle bars and took it to the finish."

Rounding out the podium was Pennsylvania KTM rider Andrew DeLong, who struggled with suspension problems for most of the day.



Photo By: Shan Moore
Stu Baylor won the XC2 class.
KTM
rider Zack Nolan was fourth, some 45 seconds behind DeLong, while JG
Off-road/GEICO Powersports Honda's Scotty Watkins was fifth, another 12
minutes back.

Zachery Smith was sixth on a KTM, with FAR Husqvarna's Morgan Moss nailing down the seventh position.

Justin Williamson (KTM), AJ Stewart (Yam) and Peter Weiss (Yam) rounded out the top 10.

In
the A.M. race, six-time National Hare Scrambles Champ Jason Raines
(Yam) battled with Brandon Higgins for most of the race, but came on
strong to take the overall and Sportsman A class wins.

Randall
Riggs (Yam) topped David Fallas (KTM) and Adam Cable (Yam) to win the
Masters A (50+) class, while Maria Forsberg (KTM) beat out Nina Cobb
(Hon) and Dawn Silvia (KTM) to take the Women's class win.

In the Youth race, Gary Myers (Yam) edged Anthony Stone (KTM) to win the overall and the Super Mini (14-15) division.

Austin Lee (KTM) was third overall and first in the Super Mini (12-13) class.

The
2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series heads to Millfield,
Ohio for the Wiseco John Penton GNCC on July 9 & 10. ATV racing
will take place on Saturday, followed by bike racing on Sunday. For
more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.


XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)

2. Nate Kanney (KTM)

3. Charlie Mullins (KTM)

4. Rory Mead (Hon)

5. Paul Whibley (Yam)

6. Kailub Russell (KTM)

7. Nick Fahringer (Hsb)

8. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

9. Thad DuVall (Yam)

10. Kenny Gilbert (KTM)


XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (153/2 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (142/2 wins)

3. Paul Whibley (119/2 wins)

4. Nate Kanney (97)

5. Cory Buttrick (94)

6. Kailub Russell (84)

7. Chris Bach (72)

8. Mike Lafferty (64)

9. Jimmy Jarrett (53)

10. Garrett Edmisten (46)


XC2 Results:

1. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

2. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

3. Andrew DeLong (KTM)

4. Zack Nolan (KTM)

5. Scotty Watkins (Hon)

6. Zachery Smith (KTM)

7. Morgan Moss (Hsq)

8. Justin Williamson (KTM)

9. AJ Stewart (Yam)

10. Peter Weiss (Yam)


XC2 Standings:

1. Steward Baylor Jr. (151/4 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (117/1 win)

3. Andrew DeLong (112)

4. Jesse Robinson (102/1 win)

5. Brad Bakken (90)

6. Scotty Watkins (85)

7. Jordan Ashburn (81)

8. Morgan Moss (71)

9. Shane O/Banion (69)

10. Zachery Smith (63)


About GNCC Racing:

The
Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series is America's premier
off-road racing series. Founded in 1979, 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 1,800 riders through tracks
ranging in length from eight to 12 miles, competing for more than $3
million in prizes. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud,
dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both
survival and speed. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.

0 comments

The Latest