Husqvarna's Tayla Jones won her first race of the Grand National Cross Country season at Round six, the Dunlop High Point GNCC, while Kawasaki's Josh Strang finished second.
After seven laps and three-hours of racing it was FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell earning the overall win by 11.5 seconds. Russell would just miss out on grabbing the XC1 holeshot, but would waste no time moving into the number one spot as they headed into the woods. Russell maintained his lead for the duration of the race, clinching his fifth overall win of the season.
Starting at the back of the pack on lap one, Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Josh Strang was on a mission to get to the front and battle for another win. Strang would make the necessary passes and move into second place on the fourth lap of racing, however Strang would run out of time to close the gap between Russell and himself. After six rounds of racing, Strang sits 28 points behind Russell in the National Championship points standings.
FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley returned to racing after suffering a shoulder injury at the start of the season. Kelley made his way across the finish line in third overall after battling for the full length of the three-hour race. With his shoulder injury in the past, Kelley will be looking to battle at the front of the pack for the rest of the season.
Earning fourth overall at High Point was Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jordan Ashburn. Ashburn has been having a great season, and currently sits third in the points standings. Ashburn battled for a top position at the start of the race, and would continue to battle all the way to the checkered flag.
In the 10 a.m. race it was Husqvarna Racing’s Tayla Jones battling back to take her first WXC class win of the season. Jones worked her way up to the lead from a third-place start to the day. Jones faced a tough battle to get to the lead as fellow WXC competitor Factory Beta USA’s Rachel Gutish held the lead for the majority of the race. Gutish would be the first to run into lapped riders, and on the last lap she would find herself back into fourth to cross the finish line.
BABS Racing Yamaha/Maxxis’ Becca Sheets and Enduro Engineering/MEPMX/Fly Racing/KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker would capitalize as lapped riders got into the mix of the front runners. Sheets would move into second with Trick making her way to third in the WXC class. Sheets remains in the points lead after earning the first five WXC class wins of the season.
XC1 Pro Event Results:
1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Josh Strang (KAW)
3. Benjamin Kelley (KTM)
4. Jordan Ashburn (KAW)
5. Joshua Toth (KTM)
6. Dante Oliveira (KTM)
7. Grant Baylor (SHR)
8. Evan Earl (KAW)
9. Andrew DeLong (HON)
10. Layne Michael (YAM)
Overall National Championship Standings:
1. Kailub Russell (175)
2. Josh Strang (147)
3. Jordan Ashburn (96)
4. Craig DeLong (92)
5. Michael Witkowski (87)
6. Jonathan Girroir (80)
7. Grant Baylor (64)
8. Cody Barnes (61)
9. Ricky Russell (59)
10. Liam Draper (52)