Washington, GA—Round four, the Bulldog, of the 2020 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series, presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship concluded on Sunday, May 17 in Washington, Georgia. The Georgia track did not disappoint, as battles between top riders ensued throughout the entire day.
As the green flag waved it was FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell jumping out to grab the $250 All Balls Racing XC1 Holeshot. K. Russell headed into the woods first. As the race wore on, K. Russell maintained the lead, but Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Josh Strang and Coastal Racing Husqvarna’s Ricky Russell continued to close. On the last lap, the two Russells (no relation) got into a heated battle, with Ricky attempting to make a pass for the win. He would crash, however, knocking him out of the race. Strang stayed in K. Russell's tracks and applied pressure all the way to the end. K. Russell came through to the checkered flag 4.2 seconds ahead of Strang, who took second place.
Strang currently sits second in the points standings after four rounds of racing.
Coming through to earn third in the XC1 Open Pro class and fourth overall was AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael. After a strong start to the day, Michael found himself second overall throughout the first two laps of racing. Michael would battle throughout the day, but would hold onto third place in his class at the completion of three hours.
Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jordan Ashburn put in a great ride at the Bulldog GNCC as he finished fourth in the XC1 Open Pro class. Ashburn ran a consistent pace for the duration of the race, keeping his fourth place position for the entire three-hours. Ashburn holds onto the third place position in the points standings.
Returning to racing in Georgia was FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Josh Toth. After reinjuring his leg before the start of the season, Toth was forced to sit out the first three events. Toth would find himself swapping between the fifth and sixth place positions multiple times during the race. At his first race back in 2020 Toth would finish out the day with a fifth place finish in XC1.
After running eighth for majority of the day, it was FactoryONE Sherco’s Grant Baylor pushing throughout the last lap to make his way into the sixth place position. Baylor remains sixth in the points standings. Phoenix Honda Racing’s Andrew Delong came through seventh in XC1, and currently sits eighth in the points standings after four rounds of racing. Rockhill Powersports/TI Dezigns/UFO Plast’s Evan Earl came through the finish line running eighth in XC1 Open Pro.
Rockstar Energy/Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig Delong earned the $100 Hot Cams XC2 after a great jump off the starting line. DeLong would head into the woods on a mission. DeLong found himself in the overall lead on adjusted time, but as the race wore on his adjusted time fell off the leader's pace. However, DeLong was able to capture the XC2 250 Pro class win, and claim third overall on the day.
Earning second in the XC2 250 Pro class was XC Gear/Enduro Engineering/Husqvarna’s Ryder Lafferty. Lafferty had an excellent start to the day after coming through timing and scoring third in the class on the opening lap. Lafferty would move into the second place position, and remain there for the rest of the race.
AmPro Yamaha/St. Lawrence Radiology Mike Witkowski made his way into third after starting out the day back in the fifth place position. Witkowski would put his head down and push through the heat and dust during the three-hours of racing. With two laps to go, Witkowski made the final pass to take over the final podium finishing position.
Trail Jesters KTM’s Jonathan Girroir and Beta USA’s Cody Barnes rounded out the top five in the XC2 250 Pro class at the Bulldog GNCC. Girroir moves back to second in the points standings after four rounds of racing have been completed.
Rounding out the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class was Raines Riding UniversityAtlas Sales/Yamaha’s Jason Raines taking the class win followed by Husqvarna/FXR/Enduro Engineering’s Jake Froman coming through in second and Dominick Morse earning his first podium position with third in the class.
In the WXC race it was BABs Racing Yamaha/Maxxis’ Becca Sheets picking up where she left off at the last GNCC event, earning herself another overall win in the 10 a.m. race. Rockstar Energy/LanMills XC Tayla Jones battled her way through the pack, clinching second overall and in the WXC class. AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer brought home a third place finish in WXC at the Bulldog GNCC. Jumping off the line first earning the $100 Trail Jesters Holeshot award was Enduro Engineering/MEPMX/Fly Racing/KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker.
When the checkered flag flew at the conclusion of the 8 a.m. youth race it was Team Green Kawasaki’s Jack Joy earning the overall win and YXC1 Super Mini Sr. class win. Fellow Team Green Kawasaki rider Grant Davis battled back and forth throughout the race, earning second overall on the day. Rounding out the youth top three overall was YXC1 Super Mini Sr. competitor Cole Forbes.
Two highlight shows featuring ATVs and motorcycles will be featured on MAVTV at a later date—view the full broadcast schedule
For more information on the GNCC series, visit the official website at www.gnccracing.comor call (304) 284-0084. Join the conversation on the series Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to always hashtag #GNCC.
Bulldog GNCC Results
The Bulldog - Overall Race
May 17, 2020Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kailub Russell | 02:44:54.850 | Boonville, NC | KTM | ||
2 | Josh Strang | 02:44:59.053 | Inverell, Australia | Kawasaki | ||
3 | Craig Delong | 02:47:41.574 | Morgantown, PA | Husqvarna | ||
4 | Layne Michael | 02:47:44.427 | Fairmont, WV | Yamaha | ||
5 | Ryder Lafferty | 02:47:49.772 | Millville, NJ | Husqvarna |
The Bulldog - XC2 Pro Race
May 17, 2020Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Craig Delong | 02:47:41.574 | Morgantown, PA | Husqvarna | ||
2 | Ryder Lafferty | 02:47:49.772 | Millville, NJ | Husqvarna | ||
3 | Michael Witkowski | 02:50:35.619 | North Liberty, IN | Yamaha | ||
4 | Jonathan Girroir | 02:52:31.779 | Southwick, MA | KTM | ||
5 | Cody J Barnes | 02:54:47.299 | Sterling, IL | Beta |
Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jason Raines | 03:01:55.456 | Travelers Rest, SC | Yamaha | ||
2 | Jake Froman | 03:03:28.479 | Lynnville, IN | Husqvarna | ||
3 | Dominick Morse | 03:03:36.539 | Newark Valley, NY | KTM | ||
4 | Michael Delosa | 03:05:28.457 | Gillett, PA | KTM | ||
5 | Chase A Colville | 03:07:08.859 | West Sunbury, PA | Beta |
The Bulldog - WXC Race
May 17, 2020Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Becca N Sheets | 01:50:53.419 | Circleville, OH | Yamaha | ||
2 | Tayla Jones | 01:51:16.019 | Yass, Australia | Husqvarna | ||
3 | Rachael Archer | 01:51:32.438 | New Zealand | Yamaha | ||
4 | Rachel Gutish | 01:56:41.530 | Terre Haute, IN | Beta | ||
5 | Brooke Cosner | 01:58:51.699 | Mchenry, MD | Sherco |
Championship Standings
Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kailub Russell | Boonville, NC | 295 |
2 | Josh Strang | Inverell, Australia | 253 |
3 | Jordan Ashburn | Cookeville, TN | 206 |
4 | Steward Baylor | Belton, SC | 188 |
5 | Craig Delong | Morgantown, PA | 186 |
Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Craig Delong | Morgantown, PA | 323 |
2 | Michael Witkowski | North Liberty, IN | 313 |
3 | Jonathan Girroir | Southwick, MA | 280 |
4 | Cody J Barnes | Sterling, IL | 231 |
5 | Liam Draper | Auckland, New Zealand | 208 |
Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Zack Hayes | Sumter, SC | 346 |
2 | Jason Raines | Travelers Rest, SC | 280 |
3 | Michael Delosa | Gillett, PA | 226 |
4 | Jason Lipscomb | Parkersburg, WV | 220 |
5 | Jake Froman | Lynnville, IN | 184 |
Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Becca N Sheets | Circleville, OH | 280 |
2 | Rachael Archer | New Zealand | 260 |
3 | Rachel Gutish | Terre Haute, IN | 219 |
5 | Tayla Jones | Yass, Australia | 186 |
4 | Brooke Cosner | Mchenry, MD | 160 |