KTM: Russell Erns 2nd at Mountaineer Run GNCC

Russell Earns 2nd at Mountaineer Run GNCC

Masontown, WV – Factory FMF/KTM rider Kailub Russell earned 2nd overall at the seventh round of the GNCC Series after an all day battle for the lead.

Russell had a bad jump off the line but quickly made up time and was able to complete the first lap in 3rd place. His teammate, Charlie Mullins, had a better start and was sitting in 2nd position behind KTM support rider Rory Mead after the first lap. The three KTM riders battled out front with Mead holding down the lead for the first two laps.

When Mead had to pit on the start of lap three, Russell inherited the lead. Unfortunately, he suffered a crash after sliding out in a tight right-hand corner at the end of the pit row and passed the lead to Mullins. The reigning champion raced on while Russell recovered and found himself back in 2nd place. A lap later, Mullins suffered a mechanical problem that caused him to DNF the race. This handed the lead back to Russell briefly before Paul Whibley was able to make a pass to takeover the number one spot.

Russell and Whibley rode wheel to wheel through the remaining laps of the race. On the final lap, Russell tried every move he had in order to get around Whibley and ended up making a mistake that caused him to go off course and lose time. He recovered to finish the race in 2nd place. Now seven rounds into the series he sits 5 points down from Whibley in the overall series point standings.

The XC2 class was missing its point’s leader as Steward Baylor did not compete in the West Virginia round. Baylor, who hurt his wrist earlier this season, chose to sit this round out in order to heal his wrist. He still maintains the points lead and will return at the next round at the end of June.

Factory FMF/KTM rider Maria Forsberg continues her win streak in the Women’s GNCC class. She took her most dominating win of the season after crossing the checkered flag nearly 14 minutes ahead of the 2nd place rider. She now holds a 23 point lead in the championship points.

Next Event: Snowshoe, WV – June 23-25, 2012

Overall GNCC XC1 Class -
Paul Whibley
Kailub Russell – KTM
Rory Mead – KTM
Thad Duvall
Takeshi Koikeda – KTM 
Garrett Edmisten
Jordan Ashburn
Chris Bach
Jesse Groemm – KTM
Nate Kanney

Overall GNCC XC2 Class –
Andrew Delong
Jason Thomas – KTM
Jesse Robinson
Jedediah Haines
AJ Stewart
Ryan Lojak
Michael McGinnis – KTM
Zack Nolan – KTM
Brad Bakken
Lucas Statom

Overall Women’s GNCC Class –
Maria Forsberg – KTM
Rachel Gutish – KTM
Samantha Steiner – KTM
Becca Sheets
Leeann Bange
Ashley Copeland
Dawn Silvia – KTM
Heather Cosner – KTM
Samantha Fisher
Brooke Cosner – KTM

Overall Point Standings GNCC XC1 Class –
Paul Whibley – 177
Kailub Russell – 172
Charlie Mullins – 129

Overall Point Standings GNCC XC2 Class –
Steward Baylor – 161
Jason Thomas – 143
Jesse Robinson – 132

Overall Point Standings Women’s GNCC Class –
Maria Forsberg – 140
Hannah Otto – 117
Leeann Bange – 112