Sunday dawned fine and hot with the soil drying rapidly. By race time conditions were looking pretty good.
We had a nice surprise while hanging out in the pits. A couple of friends from NZ turned up unannounced to check out the racing while they had some downtime from the harvesters they were operating in Texas.

Off the start I got a good jump and was just pipped to the hole shot line by Jordan Ashburn. A couple of corners later he went for a skate on a slick high speed sweeper. I nearly got tangled in his bike and only managed to avoid going down with him by running off the track and into the weeds. Scotty Watkins inherited the lead and took point for the first mile or so. Jimmy Jarrett found a good line and snuck past both myself and Scotty and began to up the pace. The track was tight with a lot of logs to hop over and passing was tough. I had opted to swap to the smoothest G2 throttle cam after Saturdays look lap and I felt this was a smart choice with the WR finding good traction. Also the setup now with my Ohlins suspension was working good and it soaked up all the logs crossings with ease. I managed to get by Scotty when we came to a tree that had fallen on the track overnight. The confusion allowed me to move by and close in on Jimmy. Try as I might I struggled to find a way by Jimmy for the next couple of laps. A brief battle started with Husaberg rider Nick Fahringer when I made some mistakes looking for a way by Jimmy. Thad Duvall joined the race as well and used a hot line to swoop to the lead. I finally got by Jimmy and latched onto Thad. The temperature and humidity was extreme and the low speed technical nature of the track made for a physical combination. I was confident my conditioning was good enough to carry me to the front and remain strong at the end. I got by Thad just before the gas stop and slowly edged away.

Late in the race Thad ended up with some problems and dropped to 5th leaving Jimmy Jarrett to claim 2nd and Scotty Watkins filled the final podium spot.

Its good to be back on the top step of the podium. Finally I feel the result reflects some of the hard work the team is putting in.
Big thanks to Warren Treder and Daniel Bourke for coming over to check out the racing and step in and help out in the pits during the fuel stop.

1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Jimmy Jarrett
3rd: Scotty Watkins

Paul Whibley is supported by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, Ohlins, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions.

The AmPro Yamaha Team is supported by:
FMF Kenda Yamalube Asterisk Cannondale CV4 Cycle Gear E-Batt EBC Brakes Factory Connection Fastway Gaerne Boots GYTR IMS Jonny Signs Leatt Brace Matrix Racing Products Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse Scott Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Twin Air Wiseco ZipTy Racing

FMF KTM's Cory Buttrick got his first-ever GNCC win at a muddy John Penton GNCC.

Millfield, OH (June 6, 2010) – XC1 rookie Cory Buttrick joined ranks with Josh Strang and Charlie Mullins as the only riders to have taken wins in this year’s Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series with a scrappy performance at the Wiseco John Penton GNCC – round eight of the series in Millfield, Ohio.

With a hometown crowd urging him on, the FMF/KTM factory rider claimed his first-ever XC1 win in one of the toughest races of the year.

After heavy morning rains left the course in less then desirable condition, GNCC officials made the call to move the race program back an hour to allow the water to drain. In addition, the afternoon race was shortened from three hours to two. By start time the sun had come out, which might in fact have made matters worse, because instead of having slippery Ohio mud, the riders had to deal with the kind of mud that sticks to fenders and wheels and everything else. However, Buttrick was undeterred by the adverse conditions, and kicked off the race by grabbing the $250 MotorcyceUSA.com Holeshot Award, leading Am Pro/FMF Yamaha riders Paul Whibley and Thad DuVall, Obermeyer/Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Charlie Mullins, FMF/KTM’s Nate Kanney and a host of others through a short section of the motocross course and into the woods. Meanwhile, series points leader FMF/Makita Suzuki’s Josh Strang was near the back of the pack after getting off to a poor start.

DuVall pushed Buttrick through the first few deeply rutted sections, before Buttrick decided it would be better to follow instead of lead.

“On the first lap it was bad because all of the downhill’s had all this water at the bottom of them and I was breaking all of this wet trail, so I let Thad go by,” said Buttrick. The decision was a good one, since DuVall eventually got stuck in a deep mud hole and lost ground.

After a dead-last start, Strang worked his way through the pack for his first podium since the Loretta Lynn's GNCC.

On lap two, Strang got into a rhythm and moved up into second place behind Buttrick, with Kanney, Mullins and Ohio native GEICO/JG Racing/Monster Kawasaki’s Jimmy Jarrett not far behind. However, not long afterwards Mullins encountered problems and dropped out due to a derailed chain.

Strang took the lead on the third lap and held it until the fourth and final lap, when Buttrick retook the point on the motocross section of the course. The order seemed set until the two front-runners encountered a bottleneck near the end of the race.

“I got there and there we bikes everywhere – it was a bad situation,” said Buttrick. “I got there about 30 seconds before Josh and I looked up one line and there we bikes all over and the other way didn’t look any better. Then Josh pulled up and we were sitting there for a while and then we started trying to get through and I dropped into this deep rut and I thought I was done at that point. But then Josh helped me drag the bike out and gave me a shove up this hill to get me going. I stopped at the top of the hill and got off the bike to help him and then I saw Whibley go to the right of us and I saw Kanney go that way too, and then I saw Josh get going so I took off. I can’t thank Josh enough for what he did – it was the best thing anyone has ever done for me during a race. Big thanks to Josh Strang, he’s a class act.”

The shove from Strang was enough to keep Buttrick in the lead and the Ohio native crossed the finish line with fists in the air, taking the win with over a minute to spare.

“I’m so happy. This is the best feeling in the world, but it sure was nerve-wracking,” said Buttrick. “I passed Strang on the last lap and as soon as I did I put the hammer down, but then I started worrying I would burn up all my energy. I was worried about a thousand things. I was wondering if I was even going to make it back around, but then I pulled it all together.”

Paul Whibley got his AmPro Yamaha WR 450 on the podium again, but is still looking for his first win of the season.

Strang finished second in what he considered a battle of survival.

“It was only two hours but it seemed like forever,” said Strang. “The track was kind of hard, with a couple of difficult hills and a few bog holes. I was in the back on the first lap and I got bogged down, but then I got going on the second lap and got up there with Cory. This event got real rutty and slippery and it was pretty gnarly, but a second was good today and I was able to stretch the points lead a little.”

Whibley finished third for his fourth podium of the year.

“This was a tough race,” said Whibley. “On the second lap I got stuck in a rut and it took me so long to lift it out that I lost a lot of time. But then I started picking off riders. I saw Charlie stuck out there, I think he lost a chain, so it was just one of those days. I was actually pretty happy that it rained. I don’t like the dust and I had done well here before in the mud, so I just went out there and tried to pick good lines.”

Jarrett finished the day in fourth, his best ride since injuring his shoulder earlier in the year. Meanwhile, fifth went to Clockwork/Ride PG/KTM rider Chris Bach, with Husqvarna factory rider Glenn Kearney taking sixth. Kanney ended up eighth after suffering a damaged radiator on the final lap. He was sandwiched between Kawasaki riders Kenneth Gilbert in seventh, and Matthew Miller and Eric Bailey in ninth and tenth.

Mullins ran up front early, but bike problems dropped him to 13th on the day.

Mullins was credited with 13^th and trails Strang by 20 points in the series standings (196 points to 176). Buttrick moves into third overall with 154, followed by Whibley with 152 and Bach with 125.

In the XC2 division, another first-time winner stood at the center of the podium. KTM rider Jesse Robinson claimed his first XC2 win after battling all race with GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins and Monster Energy Andrews Cycles’ Jason Thomas.

“Me and Thomas rode together all day and I just let him be a guinea pig,” said Robinson. “I followed him until the two-lap card and then I decided I needed to go on so I passed him.”

Robinson held a big lead until he got stuck in the mud, which allowed Watkins to catch up.

Privateer Jesse Robinson took his first XC2 win over Jason Thomas and Scotty Watkins.

“Scotty and I raced together until he got stuck and I just kept it going to the finish,” added Robinson.

Watkins got unstuck quick enough to maintain second, matching his best finish of the year.

“Since I’m from Ohio, everyone in the pits said this was a good day for me since it was raining, so I just put my head down and just tried to get around out there with out getting too stuck,” said Watkins. “As the laps went on I got going better and started making good decisions.”

Thomas claimed the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award and finished third despite losing a lot of time on one of the muddy hills.

“I was running up front until I came to this hill and it seemed like every lapper in the race was stuck there,” said Thomas. “I decided to go up and maybe I should have waited because I got stuck and I dropped in this ravine and I didn’t think I was going to get out. I set at the bottom and lost five or six minutes. But then I just let the clutch out and the bike shot up the hill and I ran up and got it and got going again.”

Husqvarna rider Mark Fortner took his best finish of the year with a fourth, just ahead of 2008 XC2 champ Justin Williamson on a Yamaha.

David Snyder (Yam) was sixth, while Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM), Nicholas Hunter (KTM) and Brian Lawson (Yam) where seventh, eighth, and ninth.

FMF/KTM rider Kailub Russell got wire wrapped around his rear wheel and lost an entire lap. Despite finishing the day in 10^th, Russell still maintains the series points lead with 207 points, while Thomas sits second with 190.

Meanwhile, Jordan Ashburn won the Open A class and finished an incredible eighth overall to claim the Overall Amateur Award.

“I got the holeshot in Open A and just pushed hard all day,” said Ashburn. “I crashed more than I can count, but it was still a good day.”

In the morning race, Gary Fridley won the Sportsman A class and in the process also claimed the top overall position. While in the Youth race, KTM rider Grant Baylor won the Super Mini (12-13) class and took the Youth Overall.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return on June 26th and 27th for the MotorcycleUSA.com Snowshoe GNCC, held in Snowshoe, West Virginia.

XC1 Results:

1. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

2. Josh Strang (Suz)

3. Paul Whibley (Yam)

4. Jimmy Jarrett (Kaw)

5. Chris Bach (KTM)

6. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

7. Kenneth Gilbert (Kaw)

8. Nate Kanney (KTM)

9. Matthew Miller (Kaw)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (196/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (176/3 wins)

3. Cory Buttrick (154/1 win)

4. Paul Whibley (152)

5. Chris Bach (125)

6. Glenn Kearney (121)

7. Nate Kanney (112)

8. Barry Hawk Jr. (93)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (91)

10. Eric Bailey (76)

XC2 Results:

1. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

2. Scotty Watkins (Kaw)

3. Jason Thomas (Yam)

4. Mark Fortner (Hsq)

5. Justin Williamson (Yam)

6. David Snyder (Yam)

7. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

8. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)

9. Brian Lawson (Yam)

10. Kailub Russell (KTM)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (207/5 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (190/2 wins)

3. Jesse Robinson (180/1 win)

4. Scotty Watkins (147)

5. Steward Baylor Jr. (132)

6. David Snyder (100)

7. Dustin Gibson (93)

8. Mark Fortner (90)

9. Brian Lawson (86)

10. Nicholas Hunter (80)

MotorcycleUSA.com $250 XC1 holeshot – Cory Buttrick

MotorcycleUSA.com $100 XC2 holeshot – Jason Thomas

Overall Amateur Award – Jordan Ashburn

Charlie Mullins got his 3rd-straight GNCC race win and has narrowed Josh Strang's series points lead to a mere 3 points.

Charlie Mullins came out on top of a four-rider battle to claim an exciting and hard-fought win in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, at the Moose Racing Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

After moving up from a poor start, the Obermeyer/Am Pro/FMF Yamaha rider battled Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Barry Hawk Jr., and FMF/KTM teammates Cory Buttrick and Nate Kanney, before taking the lead for good with two laps to go. All four riders held the lead at one point or another over the course of the three-hour race – which was considered to be one of the tougher events of the year after weekend rain showers made Somerset’s infamous rocks and hillsides more treacherous than ever.

After a race-long battle with Hawk, Mullins, and Kanney, Buttrick secured 2nd-place on the last lap.

The victory was the third-straight for Mullins, and tightens up the championship points chase by moving him to within three points of leader Josh Strang, who finished seventh in Pennsylvania, after admittedly having an off day.

Mullins is obviously on a roll and credits his recent run of success to “the elimination silly of mistakes.”

“I’ve been getting a little smarter in my racing and it’s paying off,” said Mullins. “I’m winning, and it’s great, but there will be a time when I won’t win, so I’m just going to keep working hard and take it a race at a time.”

Mullins may have given some insight into his “smarter racing” tactics with his next quote.

“I actually didn’t want to lead right away,” revealed Mullins. “I was happy to follow someone and see the lines.”

Barry Hawk got his first podium finish since last year's Somerset GNCC, and the Pennsylvania fans loved it!

“After a while, I was able to make some good passes, and I hooked up with Buttrick, Kanney and Barry for a couple of laps,” he added. “I felt like we had a good pace going. Then I got into the lead with a couple of laps to go and I put my head down and charged pretty hard.”

Mullins stretched a small lead at the two-lap board, to a 60 second advantage at the finish.

Buttrick matched his best-ever performance in the XC1 class by making a last lap pass on Hawk to claim the runner-up position. The Logan, Ohio resident got a great start and led most of the opening lap, before being passed by Kanney just before the barrels.

For the next two laps, Buttrick swapped leads with Hawk and Kanney, the trio running a scorching pace over slippery rocks and through deep and rutted mud holes.

Early in the race it looked like it would be Nate Kanney's day for the win, but troubles on the last lap dropped him from the lead pack.

On lap four, however, Mullins moved into the mix.

“With about two laps to go, Charlie passed me, Barry and Kanney, all in the same mud hole,” said Buttrick. “He had a way better line than we did – he went left and we went right, and he came out with the lead.”

Hawk ended the day in third, his first podium since last year’s Somerset race, and he was obviously the favorite of the fans.

“I felt good today, and the fans were great – it seemed every lap, someone was cheering me on and point the way through mud holes,” said Hawk. “Thank you to all the fans out there, cheering me on.”

“This is the most fun I’ve had racing in a long time,” added Hawk. “There were a few sections that were really gnarly – you couldn’t see the bottom and you didn’t know what was in there. There would be three or four of us together and we’d go into one of those sections, and whoever was leading would go to fourth and whoever was in fourth would go into the lead.”

Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Paul Whibley finished two minutes behind Hawk for fourth, and maintains third overall in the series standings. Meanwhile, Kanney settled for fifth after breaking off his front brake assembly.

Factory Husqvarna rider Glenn Kearney also suffered problems, knocking off his rear brake rotor after running as high as second on the opening lap. Strang finished seventh, ahead of a trio of Kawasaki riders: Kenneth Gilbert, Jedediah Haines and Eric Bailey.

Haines was the recipient of the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award, after edging Buttrick to the line after the start.

As for Strang, the Somerset race made two disappointing races in a row.

“The track looked good and I was looking forward to riding it,” said the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider. “I got a good start, and I rode pretty good for a lap and a half, but I went down at the start of the second lap and things just started going downhill from there. I probably crashed every lap after that.”

Jason Thomas got his 2nd race win of the season.

In the XC2 division, Monster Energy Andrews Cycles’ Jason Thomas turned in a strong ride to take an impressive win over KTM riders Kailub Russell and Jesse Robinson.

Thomas and Russell battled back and forth during the early going; however, Thomas finally broke away, and ultimately finished with a two-minute advantage over Russell.

“I got a good start and led going into the woods,” said Thomas. “Kailub got around me towards the end of the lap, but I managed to get him back going into the rock section, and just rode a smart race after that. I knew it was going to be difficult towards the end, and I got stuck a couple of times just thinking a bit too much – I changed my line when I shouldn’t have. But I had a big lead and just rode into the finish.”

Despite finishing second, Russell still maintains a 27-point lead in the XC2 standings.

“The championship is what’s most important, and I’m solid in the points standings right now,” said Russell. “It was a tough day; Jason was riding pretty good. I would go down, catch back up and then go down again. I just could never get around him.”

Robinson’s finish gives him three-straight third place finishes and he sits solidly in third place in the standings.

Meanwhile, KTM’s Steward Baylor Jr. finished fourth after grabbing the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award, while GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins finished a strong fifth.

Dustin Gibson (KTM) was sixth, ahead of Yamaha riders Charles Huegel IV, Brian Lawson, and David Snyder. Ryan Echols finished 10^th on a KTM.

Yamaha rider Ronnie Burnfield won the Sportsman A class and in the morning race, and in the process claimed the Overall Amateur Award.

“I got second off the line and took the lead shortly after we got into the woods, and then I just rode my own race,” said Burnfield. “I had one bad lap and went down a few times, but I came in a got goggles and gloves and got hydrated and went back out and three good laps.”

In the Youth race, Layne Michael took top honors, his third time to do so this year.

“I got a decent start and took the lead in the first couple of turns and just pushed hard,” said Michael, who celebrated his 16^th birthday with the win.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return on June 5th and 6th for the Wiseco John Penton GNCC, held in Millfield, Ohio.

XC1 Results:

1. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

2. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

3. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

4. Paul Whibley (Yam)

5. Nate Kanney (KTM)

6. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

7. Josh Strang (Suz)

8. Kenneth Gilbert (Kaw)

9. Jedediah Haines (Kaw)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (171/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (168/3 wins)

3. Paul Whibley (131)

4. Cory Buttrick (124)

5. Chris Bach (109)

6. Glenn Kearney (106)

7. Nate Kanney (99)

8. Barry Hawk Jr. (87)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (77)

10. Eric Bailey (76)

XC2 Results:

1. Jason Thomas (Yam)

2. Kailub Russell (KTM)

3. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

5. Scotty Watkins (Kaw)

6. Dustin Gibson (KTM)

7. Charles Huegel IV (Yam)

8. Brian Lawson (Yam)

9. David Snyder (Yam)

10. Ryan Echols (KTM)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (196/5 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (169/2 wins)

3. Jesse Robinson (150)

4. Scotty Watkins (122)

5. Steward Baylor Jr. (118)

6. Dustin Gibson (93)

7. David Snyder (85)

8. Brian Lawson (74)

9. Mark Fortner (72)

10. Nicholas Hunter (67)

XC1 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award – Jedediah Haines

XC2 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award – Steward Baylor Jr.

Overall Amateur Award – Ronnie Burnfield

Charile Mullins grabbed his 2nd straight victory and cut into Josh Strang's points lead.

After putting a halt to Josh Strang’s win streak at the Tennessee round of the series two weeks before, Charlie Mullins started a streak of his own by claiming his second-straight win at the MotorcycleUSA.com Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC in Yadkinville, North Carolina – round six of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series.

The Obermeyer/Am Pro/FMF Yamaha rider capitalized on a good start, blazing speed and tidy woods riding, working his way from fourth after the start to first by the end of the second lap. From there, “Hotrod” needed only to keep it on two wheels and between the markers and the center step of the podium was his.

In the meantime, Strang was happy to be leaving North Carolina with the points lead intact after a frightening second-lap crash left him dazed and sore. At the time the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider was leading the race after grabbing the holeshot and the $250 MotorcycleUSA.com Holeshot Award that goes along with it.

After grabbing the holeshot and leading early, Josh Strang had a nasty crash that forced him into the pits. He resumed racing and ended the day in 9th place.

“I got sideways over a little jump in the woods and I clipped a tree and my hand went off the bars and when I grabbed on again I got a handful of throttle and it shot me into a tree,” said Strang. “I went down pretty hard and it rang my bell.”

Mullins inherited the lead at that point, with Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Paul Whibley taking over second. At one point Mullins held as much as a minute lead over Whibley, while Glenn Kearney wrung out the little Husqvarna 250 TXC to move into third, nearly catching Whibs on the final lap.

At the finish, Mullins took the win with Whibley in second and Kearney in third.

“I’ve had two good weekends in GNCC and my confidence is high right now,” said Mullins. “I’m happy with how things went today and how I rode and I just want to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Whibley’s runner-up finish matched his best performance of the year and leaves him sitting third in points.

Paul Whibley looked solid all day, but wasn't able to close the gap on Mullins.

“I’m pretty happy with second,” said Whibley. “It was a good day; I was back up at the front and I was racing with the leaders. I got a good jump at the start and got bumped around a bit and came out third, but I moved into second right away. It was a bit dusty and I ended up going down near the end of the lap – I just spun out and Charlie got by me. Then when Josh went down I moved up into second and spent the rest of the race there.”

Kearney was pleased to be back on the podium after a long dry spell, especially after the week he had leading up to the race.

“Thursday we were testing suspension, and Ben (Kearney’s brother and mechanic) had an accident and broke his femur, so it was a long night Thursday night and then he had surgery on Friday,” said Kearney. “He had the bike all about ready, but we were waiting on some engine parts, that showed up on Friday morning, so I learned a little bit about putting a top end on a four-stroke and timing valves and that sort of stuff.”

Glenn Kearney made it to the podium for the first time since the 2007 season.

Fourth place went to Clockwork/RidePG KTM’s Chris Bach, who got shuffled to the rear after getting off to a good start. Bach fell on the first lap and bent his clutch lever, but eventually picked up the pace when Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Barry Hawk Jr. passed him.

“I latched onto Barry and I was able to get into the groove,” said Bach. “I learned a lot just watching him pick lines and I was able to start moving up.”

Bach moved from ninth at one point to fourth, passing FMF/KTM’s Nate Kanney on the final lap.

Kanney finished fifth, just ahead of teammate Cory Buttrick and Hawk. Strang managed to get back in the race after a brief period in the pits and salvaged a ninth place finish, sandwiched between Kawasaki riders Jedediah Haines and Eric Bailey.

Despite the ninth place finish, Strang still holds a 19-point lead over Mullins after six rounds, 157 to 138, while Whibley sits in third with 113.

Kailub Russell easily won the XC2 Pro Lites class and nearly won the overall for the race on adjusted time.

In the XC2 division, FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell took the win by almost four minutes over Monster Energy Andrews Cycles’ Jason Thomas, and moved far enough up into the XC1 ranks to finish second overall for the day. The defending class champ passed Kearney on the final lap and was catching Whibley when he ran out of time.

“I had the overall in the back of my mind, but I was mainly just trying to maintain my own race,” said Russell. “Once I got around Kanney and Buttrick I was just kind of by myself and I felt kind of lost out there. Then on the second to last lap I caught up to Glenn, and I just kind of slipped in behind him and he made a mistake and I moved around him. Right after that I saw Whibs, but I couldn’t get him.”

In the meantime, Thomas and KTM rider Jesse Robinson battled for much of the race over second.

“Jesse caught me at some point in the race, and I made a mistake and he went around me,” said Thomas. “All I could think about at that point was the championship and I dug deep and went after him. We were in the bottom along the creek and I was wide open and he turned around to see if I was there and I went around him. If he hadn’t looked back I probably wouldn’t have passed him. He stayed on me all the way to the finish and I knew I just needed to stay on two wheels to get second.”

In deed, Thomas stayed on two wheels to finish second, while Robinson ended up third.

KTM young-gun Steward Baylor Jr. ended the day in fourth, ahead of GEICO/JG Off-Road/Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins. Mark Fortner was sixth on a Husaberg, and David Snyder, who won the $100 MotorcycleUSA.com Holeshot Award on his Yamaha, was seventh. Meanwhile, Bryan Lawson (Yam), Nicholas Hunter (KTM), and Chris Spear (Suz) rounded out the top 10.

Beta rider Hayden O’Kelley won the Open A class and in the process finished 13^th overall, which was good enough for the Overall Amateur Award.

In the A.M. race, Tyler MacDonald won the overall, his fourth time to do so this year.

“I got the holeshot and led about half the first lap and then I sunk my front wheel in a mud hole,” said MacDonald. “I dropped back to third and then I just put my head down and caught those guys. The last two laps I pretty much pulled away.”

Grant Baylor, who celebrated his birthday on Friday, was the overall winner in the Youth race.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series will return on May 22^nd and 23rd for the Moose Mountain Ridge GNCC, held in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

XC1 Results:

1. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

2. Paul Whibley (Yam)

3. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

4. Chris Bach (KTM)

5. Nate Kanney (KTM)

6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

8. Jedediah Haines (Kaw)

9. Josh Strang (Suz)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (157/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (138/2 wins)

3. Paul Whibley (113)

4. Chris Bach (109)

5. Cory Buttrick (99)

6. Glann Kearney (91)

7. Nate Kanney (116)

8. Barry Hawk Jr. (66)

9. Eric Bailey (65)

10. Kenneth Gilbert (64)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Jason Thomas (Yam)

3. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

5. Scotty Watkins (KAw)

6. Mark Fortner (Hsb)

7. David Snyder (Yam)

8. Bryan Lawson (Yam)

9. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)

10. Chris Spear (Suz)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (171/5 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (139/1 win)

3. Jesse Robinson (129)

4. Scotty Watkins (106)

5. Steward Baylor Jr. (100)

6. Dustin Gibson (78)

7. David Snyder (73)

8. Mark Fortner (64)

9. Brian Lawson (61)

10. Nicholas Hunter (60)

XC1 MotorcycleUSA.com Holeshot Award – Josh Strang

XC2 MotorcycleUSA.com Holeshot Award – David Snyder

Overall Amateur Award – Hayden O’Kelley

Charlie Mullins battled with Josh Strang nearly the entire race, making a last lap pass to take the win.

Hurricane Mills, TN (April 25, 2010) - Charlie Mullins has been showing great speed all year. However, the Obermeyer/Am Pro/FMF Yamaha rider has had trouble putting a complete race together in GNCC competition. At round five of the 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, Mullins did just that – he put it all together, claiming his first victory of the year and ending Josh Strang’s win streak at four.

The race could have very easily ended in a fifth win for Strang, the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider led just as much of the race as Mullins. In fact, the two riders pretty much ran nose to tail for the last half of the race in one of the most exciting finishes of the year. But it was Mullins who held the upper hand at the finish; taking advantage of a line he spotted on the previous lap to pass Strang for the lead.

“Josh was leading going into the final lap, and on the lap before we went into this creek bottom and at one point we took this line up high on the bank. But I saw another line that went straight through, and I decided if I was in position I would take the other line on the last lap and try to pass him there,” said Mullins. “When we got back to that spot, he went high and I took the straight line and came out ahead of him.”

Strang took his first loss of the season in stride, stating that his main goal for the season is the overall championship.

Strang pushed Mullins for the final few miles, and things got even more exciting when Mullins bobbled within sight of the finish, however, the North Carolinian was able to hold on to the lead and got to the finish five seconds before Strang.

“We had a good race and I just didn’t give up,” added Mullins. “In the first few races I just made too may mistakes. And at this race I just calmed down and rode mistake-free and that was the difference.”

Despite finishing second, Strang still holds a 37-point lead in the series standings over Mullins.

“I think Charlie rode a great race,” said Strang. “There were parts of the track where I was faster and parts were Charlie was faster, but I think overall I did the best I could. The goal is to be number one at the end of the year, so to get a second place – I can’t be bummed about that. We walked away with good championship points.”

Nate Kanney put in his best performance of the year for 3rd.

Mullins was third at the start of the race behind FMF/KTM’s Cory Buttrick and Am Pro/FMF Yamaha’s Paul Whibley, who earned the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award for getting to the first turn stripe before anyone else. FMF/KTM’s Nate Kanney was also in the mix, along with Clockwork/RidePG KTM’s Chris Bach and Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney.

Whibley dropped off the pace after he damaged his clutch lever, but Kanney and Bach pushed Mullins and Strang for the first half of the race, and then dropped back into their own private battle over third, which Kanney ended up winning.

“Chris and I had a good race out there,” said Kanney. “It would have been nice to have stayed up there with Charlie and Josh, but I stalled the bike trying to get around a lapper and once they put a few lappers between us they were able to pull away.”

Bach ended the day with a fourth, his best ride since turning in a couple of podium finishes at the first two rounds of the series.

Kailub Russell continued his win streak with a win in XC2

“I actually got off to a decent start and that has been a problem at the last few races,” admitted Bach. “When you don’t get a good start then you have to deal with stuff you don’t have to deal with when you are up front. So we knew I needed to do what ever it took to be with the lead pack at the start and luckily I got a good start and got in that lead pack. Once I got with that lead pack then I was able to get in that lead pace and that made a huge difference. I just stuck with those guys all day.”

FMF/KTM’s Cory Buttrick came out on top of a race-long battle with Kearney to take fifth, with Kearney settling for sixth, ahead of Jimmy Jarrett, on the GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki. Whibley managed to salvage an eighth, while Kawasaki riders Eric Bailey and Jedediah Haines rounded out the top 10.

In the XC2 division, Monster Energy Andrews Cycles’ Jason Thomas claimed the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award to start the race, but in the end it was FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell who grabbed the win – his fourth of the season.

Early on, Russell trailed Thomas and GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins. However, Russell got stronger as the race wore on and he eventually took the win by almost two minutes over Watkins.

“I got into third behind Scotty and Thomas and they were pushing pretty hard, but I never could get into the lead,” said Russell. “On the third or fourth lap I was finally able to take the lead but I had trouble shaking those guys until the end of the race. It ended up being a pretty good race.”

KTM rider Jesse Robinson finished third, despite having to go to the pits to clean the mud out of his eyes and ears.

“On the third lap I hit this rock and it dumped me in a big mud hole and I was covered,” said Robinson. “I had to come in the pits and wash off and change goggles. It got in my ears and threw my balance off and I just had to come in and clean it out. It was just one of those days where I tried to go fast and I made some mistakes.”

Thomas ended up dropping back to fifth, behind KTM rider Dustin Gibson. Yamaha rider David Snyder finished sixth, ahead of KTM rider Nicholas Hunter.

Meanwhile, Brian Lawson (Yam), Mark Fortner (Hsq) and Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM), who broke a chain, rounded out the top 10.

Kawasaki rider Jordan Ashburn turned in a strong ride, which netted him the win in the Open A division. It was also good for his third Overall Amateur Award of the year.

Meanwhile, in the Youth race, Grant Baylor edged Aaron Plessinger by three seconds to win the overall.

Tyler McDonald came out on top of a battle with Matthew Nix to win the morning race, his third such win of the year.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return on May 8^th and 9th for the Motorcycle-USA.com Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC, held in Yadkinville, North Carolina.

XC1 Results:

1. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

2. Josh Strang (Suz)

3. Nate Kanney (KTM)

4. Chris Bach (KTM)

5. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

6. Glenn Kearney (KTM)

7. Jimmy Jarrett (Kaw)

8. Paul Whibley (Yam)

9. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

10. Jedediah Haines (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (145/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (108/1 win)

3. Chris Bach (91)

4. Paul Whibley (88)

5. Cory Buttrick (84)

6. Glenn Kearney (70)

7. Nate Kanney (67)

8. Eric Bailey (54)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (54)

10. Barry Hawk Jr. (52)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Scott Watkins (Kaw)

3. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

4. Dustin Gibson (KTM)

5. Jason Thomas (Yam)

6. David Snyder (Yam)

7. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)

8. Brian Lawson (Yam)

9. Mark Fortner (Hsq)

10. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (141/4 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (114)

3. Jesse Robinson (108)

4. Scott Watkins (90)

5. Steward Baylor Jr. (82)

6. Dustin Gibson (78)

7. David Snyder (59)

8. Mark Fortner (49)

9. Nicholas Hunter (48)

10. Brian Lawson (48)

Josh Strang extended his points lead with his fourth consecutive win this season.

Union, S.C. (April 11, 2010) – Josh Strang has had plenty of practice popping the cork on a champagne bottle. And he’s getting quite accustomed to giving podium speeches. In the four rounds of the 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series held so far, the FMF Makita Suzuki rider has stood on the middle step of the podium in each case and he’s given no indication that the rest of the season won’t be any different. Strang’s latest conquest came at the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina, giving him four-straight wins and a healthy lead in the point standings.

“Four in a row is awesome! I’m super happy with that,” said Strang. “This was a tough one, and it was a little stressful during the first lap, because of the dust.”

Strang started outside of the top five when the three-hour race got underway, and dusty conditions made it difficult for passing. However, once he got back into the trees where the dust wasn’t as bad Strang was able to make several passes, moving his way into second place by the end of the second lap. At that point, first place was held by Am Pro Yamaha’s Thad DuVall, who had taken advantage of a bottleneck to move into the lead. And Strang didn’t take long to pass DuVall, doing so in a dusty section near the halfway point of the race. From there, the rest of the race was somewhat routine for the transplanted Aussie, as he finished the race with over 20 seconds to spare over DuVall.

“The conditions were definitely difficult today, but I just raced my own race,” said Strang, who was making his first ride on the 2010 RM-Z450. “I just kept going and made some passes, and then when I got in the lead I was able to push a little harder to make sure I stayed there.”

Thad DuVall led the majority of the race before being passed by Strang with a lap to go.

DuVall held on for the runner-up spot – his first podium finish of the year.

“Cory Buttrick crashed on the first lap and it held everyone up and I was able to take advantage of that and get to the front,” said DuVall. “Once I got in the lead I knew that Josh would be coming and I just backed off a bit and let him catch me. I thought I could ride with him but I just made a little mistake coming into the barrels and he got away. I caught him on the last lap but he kicked up a rock and knocked the lens out of my goggles and that was it.”

Defending series champ Paul Whibley was in the hunt early, as well, and he claimed the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award to start the race. However, the Am Pro Yamaha rider fell in a mud hole on the first lap and lost ground to DuVall and Strang, and early leader Jimmy Jarrett, on the GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki.

“Josh and Thad were riding great today, I just couldn’t match them,” said Whibley. “It’s good to be on the podium, but I’m not pleased with how things went.”

Defending champ Paul Whibley ended up 3rd for the day, but is itching to grab his first win of the season.

Whibley spent the last two laps holding off Obermeyer Yamaha’s Charlie Mullins, who ended up settling for fourth.

Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney turned in his best ride of the year with a fifth, and at one time he ran as high as third. Buttrick recovered from his first-lap crash to finish sixth on his FMF/KTM. Meanwhile, Am Pro Yamaha’s Barry Hawk Jr. finished seventh ahead of KTM riders Chris Bach and Nate Kanney. Kawasaki-mounted Eric Bailey was 10^th.

In the XC2 division, FMF KTM’s Kailub Russell took his third-straight win of the series, after battling early on with round-one winner Jason Thomas. Russell got stronger as the day went on, however, while Thomas faded.

“I got a good start and caught up to the XC1 guys and we got to this section where everyone was going about two miles per hour and then Thomas caught up to me,” said Russell. “That took me by surprise and he got around me. But I found a good line and passed him back and I rode pretty good the rest of the day.”

KTM rider Jesse Robinson overcame a couple of crashes and a long pit stop to finish second.

Kailub Russell won XC2 extending his points lead and nabbed a 5th overall finish in the process.

“I tried to ride hard at the beginning but I just couldn’t get comfortable, so I just backed off a bit and ended up going faster,” said Robinson.

Steward Baylor Jr. completed a KTM sweep of the XC2 podium by finishing third. He also made history by becoming the youngest rider to make an XC2 podium – doing so at the age of 15.

“It feels awesome to get on the podium,” said Baylor. “But for some reason, I just can’t stay off the ground on the first lap and I was coming from behind all day.”

Baylor snatched the final step of the podium from Thomas on the final lap, leaving Thomas to settle for fourth on his Andrews Cycles Yamaha. Meanwhile, GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins rounded out the top five.

Yamaha rider Ryan Belue won the Four-stroke A Lites class and in the process claimed the Overall Amateur Award, his first time to ever do so. Jordan Ashburn was turning some extremely fast laps and was in contention for the Overall Amateur Award, but was slowed when he fried his brakes. However, he still ended up winning the Open A division.

In the morning race, Tyler MacDonald, who rides under the Am Pro Yamaha tent, took the win in the Sportsman A race, topping Yamaha-mounted Matthew Nix and FMF Makita Suzuki’s Rodney Smith.

“I got the holeshot but I crashed in the second corner,” said MacDonald. “I caught back up with Matthew and we battled and caught up with Rodney. We ended up passing him with two laps to go.”

Smith led the early laps, but reinjured the thumb he dislocated a few weeks ago and dropped off the pace.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return in 2 weeks for the Acerbis Loretta Lynn’s GNCC, held in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee on April 24-25.

XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)

2. Thad DuVall (Yam)

3. Paul Whibley (Yam)

4. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

5. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

8. Chris Bach (KTM)

9. Nate Kanney (KTM)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw).

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (120/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (78)

3. Paul Whibley (75)

4. Chris Bach (73)

5. Cory Buttrick (68)

6. Glenn Kearney (55)

7. Thad DuVall (50)

8. Nate Kanney (46)

9. Barry Hawk Jr. (44)

10. Kenneth Gilbert (44)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

3. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

4. Jason Thomas (Yam)

5. Scott Watkins (Kaw)

6. David Snyder (Yam)

7. Dustin Gibson (KTM)

8. Jason Greer (Yam)

9. Mark Fortner (Hsq)

10. Brain Lawson (Yam)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (111/3 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (98/1 win)

3. Jesse Robinson (87)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (71)

5. Scott Watkins (65)

6. Dustin Gibson (60)

7. David Snyder (44)

8. Mark Fortner (37)

9. Josh Weisenfels (37)

10. Nicholas Hunter (34)

Mullins grabbed his 2nd win of the 2010 season and moved him within 12 points of the series lead

Charlie Mullins took a Texas-sized win in the windy high-desert plains of West Texas, at round four of the Rekluse/AMA National Enduro Series near Lubbock. The Obermeyer/Am Pro Yamaha-backed rider won three of the six timed sections and beat out FMF KTM’s Cory Buttrick by a total of 23 seconds at the end of the 74-mile event to claim his second win of the series. The win was a small bit of restitution after the bad luck Mullins suffered at the second round of the series where he won five of the six tests, but lost the race because of a damaged brake pedal.

“I’ve had some not-so-good finishes the past month, and it feels good that I kind of turned it around here in Texas,” said Mullins. “This is really different terrain from what I’m used to and it was a challenging race, but I’m really happy to get a win and get the monkey off my back.”

The Texas race was one of two trips the series makes westward this year, and it offered terrain not normally seen by the series-regulars. In spite of the change of scenery, Mullins showed good speed all day, however it was local pro Cole Kirkpatrick who took the early lead in the race, even though he suffered rear brake problems during the first 10-mile section. Kirkpatrick stayed in contention for the win until the fifth section where he was held up by a rider in a mud bog, costing him nearly 45 seconds.

Buttrick followed up a 2nd-place finish at last weekend's GNCC with a 2nd at the National Enduro

After a slow start, Buttrick came on strong at the midway point of the race, but it was his consistency that put him in the runner-up position, having posted the second-fastest time on three different occasions.

“I knew everyone was going to be close today, and I knew it was going take a mistake-free ride, but it took me a while to get going,” said Buttrick. “It took a lot of getting used to in this terrain, but I’m glad to come away with a second. I had a few little crashes in the last section that kept me from gaining any on Mullins, but he was really riding well.”

Also getting a slow start was factory Husaberg rider Michael Lafferty, who was as far down as sixth during the early going. The eight-time national champ turned it on at the finish, however, winning the last test, which put him on the final step of the podium.

Mike Lafferty finished 3rd on the day which is good enough to take over the series points lead

“I was slow off the start – I don’t know why. I thought my times were okay but it turned out they were not up to par with everyone else. Charlie’s definitely got a lot more speed going on than the rest of us right now,” said Lafferty. “I just kept plugging along and I think it was a matter of me still getting used to the ‘Berg. It just took me a little while to get moving and once the sections got a little longer in the last part of the race, then I really felt a lot better and I came around. This place out here is tough and you just have to salvage all you can get and keep digging.”

Lafferty’s tenacity paid off in the championship title chase, since defending champ Russell Bobbitt, who came into the Texas race with the series points lead, finished the day in fifth, relinquishing the lead to Lafferty. It also helped that fellow Husaberg rider Nick Fahringer finished in fourth, putting himself between Lafferty and Bobbitt. With four of the ten rounds complete, Lafferty holds a three-point lead over Bobbitt (90 to 87), with Buttrick in third at 80 points. Mullins (78) and Fahringer (70) round out the top five.

O/A: 1. Charlie Mullins (Yam); 2. Cory Buttrick (KTM); 3. Michael Lafferty (Hsb); 4. Nick Fahringer (Hsb); 5. Russell Bobbitt (KTM); 6. Glenn Kearmey (Hus); 7. Cole Kirkpatrick (KTM); 8. Andrew DeLong (KTM); 9. Josh Gaitten (KTM); 10. Cameron Kirkpatrick (KTM).

Standings after 4 rounds: 1. Michael Lafferty (90/1 win); 2. Russell Bobbitt (87); 3. Cory Buttrick (80/1 win); 4. Charlie Mulllins (78/2 wins); 5. Nick Fahringer (70).

Strang led wire to wire at the Steel Creek GNCC

Josh Strang fended off intense race-long pressure from FMF/KTM young-gun Cory Buttrick to win a muddy FMF Steele Creek GNCC – his third-straight victory of the 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country season.

A record crowd turned out to watch nearly 1500 competitors go at it in a driving rainstorm in Morganton, North Carolina, where Strang proved he can win in all conditions, having won the opening round in Florida in the sand, round two of the series in the Georgia clay, and then round three’s rain and mud. The conditions at the Steele Creek campgrounds were perfect when the race got underway, but a steady rain moved into the area just as the flag dropped to start the 3-hour race. From there, conditions deteriorated quickly as the rain got harder, and in fact, the race had to be shortened after a gnarly hill at the 8-mile mark became so muddy nearing the three-hour mark that nearly 40 riders were stranded on it, forcing organizers to pull the plug and revert the scoring to the previous lap.

Strang got his first-ever holeshot on a 450 and never looked back

But the going was good when Strang grabbed a rare holeshot to start the race, pocketing the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award in the process. Meanwhile, Buttrick quickly found his way to Strang’s rear fender and the two riders proceeded to pull away with Am-Pro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley, Buttrick’s FMF/KTM teammate Nate Kanney and GEICO/JG Racing/Monster Kawasaki’s Jimmy Jarrett in pursuit.

At the two-hour mark, the Strang-Buttrick battle had intensified as the two pulled nearly a minute gap over Kanney, Whibley and Mullins, who were locked in their own separate battle over third. However, XC2 rider Kailub Russell was starting to make waves of his own, and on the third lap he turned the fastest lap of the race, and by the end of the lap he had moved into third place overall. Russell would turn the fastest lap again on lap four, but could still not catch the two leaders, Strang and Buttrick.

Buttrick kept Strang in check for the majority of the race for his first XC1 podium

On lap six, one of the muddy hills had become so bad that riders were stuck from top to bottom and when Strang arrived there was no place to go.

“When we got to the hill there were riders all over it,” said Strang. “And there were people telling me that we weren’t going to make it. So I decided if I stopped then Cory would stop.”

At that point, the organizers decided it would not be possible to finish the race in the time allowed and riders were sent back to the pits and the scoring was reverted to the fifth lap.

Officially, Strang led the event from start to finish and took the win by some 11 seconds over Buttrick, with Mullins, Whibley and Kanney rounding out the top five.

A motivated Kailub Russell won XC2 and finished 3rd overall

“It got pretty slippery out there and I had to ride cautious, and Cory was keeping me honest the entire way,” said Strang. “It’s great to win the first three races. They’ve all been so different, with the sand, the clay and the mud. But I’ve worked hard and it is paying off. I’m having a blast right now and I think that’s been the difference.”

Buttrick was thrilled to finish second, after a disappointing showing at the first two rounds.

“I just tried to stick with Strang all day,” said Buttrick. “There were a couple of times I felt a little faster, but then I decided to play it cool. On a day like today, with the conditions, a second is as good as a win. I needed this in a bad way.”

Paul Whibley ended up 4th after running in the top-3

“When we got to the bottom of the hill I saw Josh shut his bike off and I was so mad, I wanted to keep on going,” added the 18-year-old. “But then I heard [Trail Boss] Jeff Russell come over the radio saying, ‘no one move.’ So then I knew it was over.”

Despite finishing third in the XC1 division, Mullins couldn’t have started the race any worse than he did.

“I started dead last, and on the first lap a guy ended up going down in front of me and I ended up going down in a ravine,” said Mullins. “But a little luck played in my favor today, I latched onto Whibley and he got me going into the second-to-last lap. I’m not happy with how I rode, but I kind of lucked out and I’ll take third.”

Whibley finished the day in fourth, ahead of Kanney, with Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney rounding out the top six. Rookie sensation Chris Bach was seventh, with Am-Pro Yamaha’s Barry Hawk Jr., Kenneth Gilbert (KAW) and Eric Bailey (KAW) finishing eighth, ninth and tenth.

Completing an unbelievable ride on a 250F was Russell, who ended the day with third overall, in addition to taking the win in the XC2 class, topping Monster Energy/FAR/Andrews Yamaha rider Jason Thomas and GEICO/JG Racing/Monster Kawasaki Scott Watkins.

“Jason led for over a lap and then he took a bad line and I took a better one and got by him,” said Russell. “I just put my head down after that and started catching the pros. I rode with Charlie and Whibley and enjoyed the race.”

Thomas admittedly struggled with the conditions, despite grabbing the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com holeshot award.

“I didn’t feel good all day and I just struggled,” said Thomas. “Maybe because it was wet, the two-stroke was spinning a lot more than the four-strokes and I just had problems. I crashed at one point and hurt my hand again, but I was able to come back and finish second.”

Top Amateur was Open A rider Jordan Ashburn once again.

In the morning race, Shane Watts and Rodney Smith went at it like old times in the Sportsman A class, with Watts getting the win on this 250 KTM, while Smith finished second on his fuel injected RMX450Z.

“It’s been a long time since I raced with Rodney and it kind of brings back memories of the glory days, fighting for the championship,” said Watts. “It’s a bit of a bummer that he ended up going down.”

“I got a pretty good start and I got out front and then me and Shane started battling like we used to,” explained Smith. “We came to a spot in the track – a big ravine -  and Shane skidded sideways and missed it and slid into it. I was upside down and when I finally got out it was in fourth. It took a lap to regroup and I got back into second.”

Maria Forsberg won the Women’s division on her factory KTM, beating defending champ Mandi Mastin on a Yamaha and JG Off-road’s Ashley Crouch from Texas.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return in 3 weeks for the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC, held in Union, S.C. on April 10-11.

XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)

2. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

3. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

4. Paul Whibley (Yam)

5. Nate Kanney (KTM)

6. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

7. Chris Bach (KTM)

8. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (Kaw)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (90/3 wins)

2. Chris Bach (60)

3. Charlie Mullins (60)

4. Paul Whibley (54)

5. Cory Buttrick (53)

6. Glenn Kearney (39)

7. Homero Diaz (35)

8. Nate Kanney (34)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (34)

10. Eric Bailey (31)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Jason Thomas (Yam)

3. Scott Watkins (Kaw)

4. Steward Baylor (KTM)

5. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

6. Dustin Gibson (KTM)

7. Mark Fortner (Hsq)

8. Brain Lawson (Yam)

9. David Snyder (Yam)

10. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kaliub Russell (81/2 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (80/1 win)

3. Jesse Robinson (62)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (50)

5. Scott Watkins (49)

6. Dustin Gibson (46)

7. Josh Weisenfels (37)

8. Jake Korn (30)

9. David Snyder (29)

10. Mark Fortner (25)

Josh Strang battles early in the race with Russell Bobbitt.

Washington, Georgia (March 7th, 2010) – For the second race in a row, Josh Strang put his FMF Makita Suzuki on the top step of the podium, declaring himself the man to beat in this year’s Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. The 21-year-old Australian’s latest win came at the Maxxis General GNCC, round two of the 13-round series in Washington, Georgia, and gives him a 14-point lead in the series standings.

“I’ve worked hard for this and it feels good,” said Strang. “And to get two wins is great. I got a good start, perhaps the best start I’ve ever got on the 450, and I rode well. I think I was better prepared for this race than I was in last week’s race in the sand and my bike worked awesome, so it was a good day for us.”

Early on in the three-hour race, Strang trailed Am-Pro Yamaha’s Thad DuVall, who threatened to run away and hide during the first two laps. However, DuVall’s day came to an end when he crashed heavily at about the midway point of the race.

“I rode kind of steady on the first lap and then Thad passed me and he simply checked out,” said Strang. “But then I came around and DuVall was on the side of the track – I guess he crashed – and I stopped to see if he was okay. He got going again and he passed me and then he crashed again – he just freakin’ ate it.”

Chris Bach kept rode a smart, steady race and nabbed his 2nd GNCC XC1 podium finish in as many races.

After DuVall dropped out, Strang cruised to an easy victory, crossing the finish line with two minutes to spare over Am-Pro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley, who was happy to be on the podium after running out of gas at the opening round in Florida.

“I was actually racing with Josh [Strang] during the middle part of the race, but I tangled with a lapper and stalled my bike and lost maybe half a minute,” said Whibley. “After that, Josh got away and I could never catch him. That’s pretty much my race.”

Chris Bach rebounded from a poor start to finish third, his second-straight podium finish.

“The first lap was chaos,” said Bach. “I just stayed safe for a while and then started moving up. I caught up to Whibley and I thought if I latched onto to him we would ended up in the top five, which is where I wanted to be.”

Indeed, Bach followed Whibley into the top five, and then when DuVall crashed out and FMF KTM’s Nate Kanney got stuck in a rut, Bach inherited third.

Paul Whibley was glad to be on the podium after a tough race in Florida.

“This is great, having back to back rides like this,” said Bach. “I want to keep it going all year.”

Fourth went to AM-Pro Yamaha’s Charlie Mullins, who came from last place, after getting caught up in a first turn crash. Meanwhile, fifth went to FMF KTM’s Nate Kanney. Kanney ran as high as second place on the opening lap, but was taken out two different times by lappers, moving him back down the order. During the final hour, Kanney made his way back towards the front but got stuck in one of the many mud holes and dropped back to fifth.

Cory Buttrick finished sixth, ahead of three-time AMA National Enduro Champion Russell Bobbitt, who also claimed the holeshot at the start of the race, collecting the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award. Bobbitt managed the holeshot on perhaps the only 250 two-stroke in the XC1 class.

Mexican national enduro champ Homero Diaz was eighth on a KTM, while Kawasaki riders Ken Gaffney and Eric Bailey rounded out the top 10.

Defending XC2 Champ Kailub Russell grabbed his first win of the season after a fierce battle with Jason Thomas and Jesse Robinson.

FMF KTM’s Kailub Russell got back to his winning ways, taking a hard-earned win in the XC2 class. The defending XC2 champ battled for most of the race with Monster Energy/FAR Racing/ Andrews Cycles-backed Jason Thomas and Ride PG’s KTM-mounted Jesse Robinson, before making his move on the final lap to take the win.

“I felt like I rode horrible today, but I was able to get it done,” said Russell. “The first few laps I had arm pump like crazy and I couldn’t do anything. But I finally got in a groove and things started clicking.”

Thomas earned the $100 Motocycle-USA.com Holeshot Award to kick off the race, and then fell in behind Robinson to check out the lines.

“Jesse had awesome lines so I followed him for a while,” said Thomas, who is recovering from a dislocated wrist. “He had smoother lines and I was able to pick up on them. Then I managed to pass him on the last lap to take second.”

Robinson was pleased with second, and even more pleased to have led part of the race.

“This is probably the best ride I’ve ever had here,” said Robinson. “I passed Kailub and pulled a little bit of a lead, but then I had to pit for gas and they caught up.”

KTM riders Steward Baylor and Dustin Gibson rounded out the top five.

For the second race in a row, Open A rider Jordan Ashburn claimed the Top Amateur Award.

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series resumes on March 20-21 with the FMF Steele Creek GNCC in Morganton, North Carolina.

XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)

2. Paul Whibley (Yam)

3. Chris Bach (KTM)

4. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

5. Nate Kanney (KTM)

6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

7. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)

8. Homero Diaz (KTM)

9. Ken Gaffney (Kaw)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (60/2 wins)

2. Chris Bach (46)

3. Charlie Mullins (39)

4. Paul Whibley (36)

5. Cory Buttrick (28)

6. Homero Diaz (25)

7. Glenn Kearney (24)

8. Kenneth Gilbert (22)

9. Eric Bailey (20)

10. Nate Kanney (18)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Jason Thomas (Yam)

3. Jesse Robinson (KTM)

4. Steward Baylor (KTM)

5. Dustin Gibson (KTM)

6. Scott Watkins (Kaw)

7. Jake Korn (KTM)

8. Brad Bakken (KTM)

9. Josh Weisenfels (Kaw)

10. Robby Norwood (Kaw)

XC2 Standings:

1. Jason Thomas (55/1 win)

2. Kailub Russell (51/1 win)

3. Jesse Robsinson (46)

4. Steward Baylor (32)

5. Dustin Gibson (31)

6. Jake Korn (30)

7. Josh Weisenfels (30)

8. Scott Watkins (28)

9 Robby Norwood (21)

10. David Snyder (17)

Lake Wales, Florida (March 2nd, 2010) —

\Nearly 1200 riders representing eight countries attended the series opener, which saw no less than five different riders hold the lead at one point or another in the highly competitive XC1 division.

At the drop of the green flag, it was defending series champ Paul Whibley taking the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award on his Am-Pro WR450F. Meanwhile, Strang was at the back of the pack after his bike failed to start on the first kick. At the end of the first lap, however, it was last year’s River Ranch winner, Charlie Mullins, holding a lead the Obermeyer/Am-Pro Yamaha rider eventually turned into a 45-second advantage. And at the midway point of the race, Mullins looked to be well on his way to his second-straight River Ranch win, however he eventually fell victim to one of the waterholes that littered the rough and sandy 14-mile course.

“There was one little pond that we were hydroplaning across, and I splashed up some water and my engine sucked it on and quit on me,” said Mullins. “I kicked and kicked and finally got it going, but after that I was pretty winded for the rest of the race.”

Mullins’ ordeal left Strang with a bit of breathing room out front, until late in the race when Bach moved up to challenge. During the first two hours of the race, Bach had methodically worked his way up into a top-three position, and when Mullins drowned out, it left only Strang in front of him.

“I got a surprisingly good start, which I wasn’t expecting to get, but unfortunately someone in front of me made a mistake in a mud hole and covered me with mud,” said Bach. “I had to stop and pull all the tear-offs off my goggles and by the time I got going I was all the way back in last.”

“After I got going, I just settled down and was moving up,” added Bach. “I was watching my pit board and it said I was in fifth, and then fourth, and then the next thing I knew I was in third behind Mullins and Strang. Then when Mullins had problems, I knew the only one left in front of me after that was Strang.”

Bach caught Strang during the final hour, and passed him in the palmetto section. However, Strang retook the lead when Bach stopped for gas. Bach took the lead again when Strang fell in the palmetto section, but Strang reclaimed the lead, this time for good, when Bach took a wide line around a lapper about two miles before the finish.

“I’m stoked to get the win and get off to a good start for once,” said Strang, who has had bad luck at the Florida race in each of the last three years.

Perhaps the biggest story of the race was Bach, a privateer from Indiana who was making his first ride in the XC1 class after finishing as the top Amateur in last year’s series.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this and I sure didn’t think it would come today,” said Bach. “Performance SuperCycle and Clockwork KTM are helping me, and I owe them a lot of thanks, but it is basically a privateer effort.”
Despite his troubles, Mullins was able to salvage a third.

“I’ll take third, I’m okay with that,” said Mullins. “It’s a long season and I just gotta keep at it. I was happy with the way I rode, I was able to put the bad luck out of my mind and keep pushing.”

Whibley held the fourth position on the final lap, but ran out of gas within a mile of the finish, handing fourth to GEICO/JG Racing/Monster Kawasaki’s Jimmy Jarrett.

Australian Husqvarna rider Glenn Kearney ran as high as fifth, but went over the bars on lap four and dropped back a couple of spots. Kearney worked back up and passed Jarrett for fifth, but crashed again on lap five.

“I finally passed Whibley when he ran out of fuel on the last lap and I thought I was going to end up with fifth, but then DuVall caught me by surprise at the end and I ended up with sixth,” said Kearney.

Am-Pro Yamaha’s DuVall wound up with fifth, ahead of Kearney, while seventh went to veteran Barry Hawk, also on an Am-Pro Yamaha.

Factory FMF/KTM Off-Road’s Cory Buttrick, who moved into the XC1 class for 2010, finished eighth, with Mexico’s Enduro Champion Homero Diaz finishing ninth on a KTM, ahead of the unlucky Whibley.

In the XC2 division, Jason “UK7″ Thomas took advantage of the new rule, which allows 250 two-strokes to compete with 250 four-strokes in the Lites class this year, riding a Monster Energy/FAR Racing/ Andrews Cycles-backed YZ250 two-stroke to a first place finish in the division.

Last year’s champ Factory FMF/KTM Off-Road’s Kailub Russell went down in the first turn, but recovered to finish third, despite tearing the skin off his hand on the choppy course.

“I just washed out the front in the first turn, but going into the woods I was already in third, so I was pumped about that,” said Russell. “The skin ripped on my hand and it was pretty bad after that.

Jesse Robinson, riding a two-stroke KTM, capitalized on Russell’s injury to claim second.

“I was behind Thomas at the start but I kind of pumped up, and then Kailub caught me,” said Robinson. “Later in the race, I just picked it up and moved into second.”

Meanwhile, Kawasaki rider Josh Weisenfels and KTM-mounted Jake Korn rounded out the top five.

John Day grabbed the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award at the start of the XC2 race.

Open A Rider Jordan Ashburn claimed the Top Amateur Award.

The second round of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series, The Maxxis General GNCC, is this weekend, March 6-7, in Washington Georgia.

For more information, log on to www.gnccracing.com.

XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)
2. Chris Bach (KTM)
3. Charlie Mullins (Yam)
4. Jimmy Jarrett (Kaw)
5. Thad DuVall (Yam)
6. Glenn Kearney (Hus)
7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)
8. Cory Buttrick (KTM)
9. Homero Diaz (KTM)
10. Paul Whibley (Yam)

XC2 Results:
1. Jason Thomas (Yam)
2. Jesse Robinson (KTM)
3. Kailub Russell (KTM)
4. Josh Weisenfels (Kaw)
5. Jake Korn (KTM)
6. Dustin Gibson (KTM)
7. Steward Baylor (KTM)
8. Scott Watkins (Kaw)
9. Travis Hullfish (Kaw)
10. Corey MacDonald (Yam)