Mullins set the fastest lap and was finally able to get a GNCC win this season. Photo: Krista Shaw
How fast and how fit are the top XC1 pros? Just take a look at the lap times from the Ironman GNCC–one of the gnarliest courses we’ve seen at a GNCC in quite some time. The top-five riders all set their fastest laps on the 5th lap of the race and are all within 11-seconds of each other. Yeah, that’s right, inside the 2-hour mark of the race Mullins, Whibley, DuVall, and Russell all went faster than they had gone all day. If that doesn’t show how insanely tough those guys are I don’t know what will. For the first 6 laps of the race we saw probably the best 3-way battle for the lead we’ve seen all year, but the race ended up being decided by the worst laps of the race for each of the riders. Whibley obviously had his gas issues which dropped him out of podium contention, Thad DuVall had to back it down on the last lap to make sure his bike stayed together, and Kailub Russell had his issues on the 3rd lap getting stuck on Ironman hill. The only rider without a major incident was Mullins who kept it together for his first, and long overdude, win of the 2012 GNCC season.
XC1 PRO CLASS LAP TIMES | ||||||
| Lap Time Rank | Finish | Rider | Best Lap Time | Lap # | Worst Lap Time | Lap # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | CHARLES MULLINS | 0:27:14 | 5 | 0:27:42 | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | PAUL WHIBLEY | 0:27:16 | 5 | 0:35:24 | 7 |
| 3 | 2 | THADDEUS DUVALL | 0:27:23 | 5 | 0:28:05 | 7 |
| 4 | 3 | KAILUB K RUSSELL | 0:27:25 | 5 | 0:28:47 | 3 |
| 5 | 7 | RORY MEAD | 0:27:35 | 2 | 0:32:37 | 7 |
| 6 | 4 | CHRISTOPHER BACH | 0:27:39 | 3 | 0:30:15 | 6 |
| 7 | 6 | JORDAN ASHBURN | 0:27:42 | 2 | 0:30:06 | 7 |
| 8 | 11 | NATHAN KANNEY | 0:29:03 | 2 | N/A | N/A |
| 9 | 8 | TAKESHI KOIKEDA | 0:29:08 | 2 | 0:32:31 | 3 |
| 10 | 10 | JIMMY JARRETT | 0:30:24 | 2 | 0:31:52 | 4 |
| 11 | 9 | ADRIAN SMITH | 0:31:29 | 4 | 0:35:17 | 6 |
| 12 | 12 | BRENDEN M RITZMAN | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 13 | 13 | GARRETT EDMISTEN | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Steward Baylor set the fastest lap and took the win setting up a showdown at Loretta Lynn’s between him and Jason Thomas for the championship. Photo: Krista Shaw
The lap times in the XC2 Pro Lites class prove why there’s been a 3-way battle for the championship this season–these guys are pretty evenly matched! Steward Baylor takes the fastest lap of the day, and ultimately the win, but his best lap time is only one second faster than both DeLong and Jason Thomas. DeLong ran into some issues that kept him out of the battle for the lead most of the day, but Baylor and Thomas were stuck to each other like glue all day long. Hell, look at their worst lap times, they’re only separated by a second as well! I have a feeling we’re going to see a pretty intense down-to-the-wire battle next weekend at Loretta Lynn’s to decide this championship…
XC2 PRO LITES CLASS LAP TIMES | ||||||
| Lap Time Rank | Finish | Rider | Best Lap Time | Lap # | Worst Lap Time | Lap # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | STEWARD BAYLOR JR | 0:27:30 | 2 | 0:28:46 | 6 |
| 2 | 3 | ANDREW R DELONG | 0:27:31 | 2 | 0:30:30 | 7 |
| 3 | 2 | JASON THOMAS | 0:27:31 | 3 | 0:28:45 | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | SCOTT W GRILLS | 0:29:08 | 2 | 0:30:48 | 7 |
| 5 | 5 | SHANE D HUFFORD JR | 0:29:14 | 3 | 0:31:28 | 7 |
| 6 | 7 | AJ STEWART | 0:29:14 | 2 | 0:33:36 | 7 |
| 7 | 9 | CHRISTOPHER DOUGLAS | 0:29:24 | 3 | 0:36:15 | 6 |
| 8 | 16 | RYAN ECHOLS | 0:29:24 | 2 | 0:32:45 | 4 |
| 9 | 6 | NICK DAVIS | 0:29:43 | 2 | 0:31:59 | 7 |
| 10 | 18 | BRAD BAKKEN | 0:29:50 | 2 | N/A | N/A |
| 11 | 8 | JEDEDIAH HAINES | 0:30:01 | 3 | 0:34:33 | 7 |
| 12 | 11 | MORGAN MOSS | 0:30:21 | 2 | 0:40:02 | 4 |
| 13 | 12 | MICHAEL J MCGINNIS | 0:31:25 | 3 | 0:47:44 | 2 |
| 14 | 10 | NATHAN D FERDERER | 0:31:36 | 2 | 0:35:22 | 6 |
| 15 | 13 | LUCAS A STATOM | 0:33:18 | 2 | 0:38:24 | 6 |
| 16 | 14 | LARRY S SILVIA | 0:35:51 | 2 | 0:40:35 | 5 |
| 17 | 15 | BRANDON HOUTS | 0:36:50 | 3 | 0:40:40 | 5 |
| 18 | 17 | JASE MARTIN | 0:37:15 | 3 | 0:50:39 | 4 |
| 19 | 19 | AARON PLESSINGER | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 20 | DNF | MATTHEW CROUCH | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 21 | DNF | DANIEL L SANDERS | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
