Racing

2018 Tomahawk GNCC To Kailub Russell

Russell claims sixth win of the 2018 series in New York

June 15, 2018

Kailub Russell wasted little time in establishing a lead after the start of the Tomahawk GNCC in New York. The FMF KTM rider quickly passed Rockstar Energy/Leatt/Maxxis' Ryan Sipes after the start of the three-hour race and then tried to sprint away from the pack. However, JCR Honda's Trevor Bollinger was having none of it and latched onto the fleeing KTM rider for the remainder of the race. At the finish, it was Russell claiming his sixth win of the year with Bollinger grabbing a career-best runner-up finish less than a second behind. Third went to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Thad Duvall. Here's the race as told by photos.

Most agreed the Tomahawk course was fast and slippery, and Kailub Russell admitted he pushed as hard as he dared. “This is a tough place and I wasn’t really comfortable pushing any harder than I was, just because the track doesn’t allow it. But I wanted to just throw it out there and ride my pace, and if Thad caught me in the end, I would deal with it then,” Russell said. “Trevor [Bollinger] rode a good race and he was right on me, but I didn’t make any mistakes and everything just came together.”Darrin Chapman

Thad Duvall came into the race riding a wave of confidence having won the previous race in Ohio. However, an extra gas stop kept the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider from challenging for the win. “For whatever reason, we didn’t get the gas mileage we were expecting and we had to make an extra pit stop because of that,” Duvall said.Darrin Chapman

Bollinger has been showing signs of breaking into the top tier of the GNCC ranks, and in New York the JCR Honda rider showed he is fully capable of winning at this level with a well-deserved runner-up finish.Darrin Chapman

Josh Strang finished fourth on his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna FX 450 after spending much of the race battling with N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell and FMF KTM’s Josh Toth.Darrin Chapman

Ryan Sipes grabbed the holeshot to start the XC1 race and pulled a short-lived lead heading into the woods for the first time. The Rockstar Energy/Leatt/Maxxis Husqvarna rider dropped off the pace midway into the race and eventually finished 18th.Darrin Chapman

Toth finished sixth overall and first in the XC2 250 Pro class. At the end of the first lap, the FMF KTM rider came through the timing and scoring zone running second overall on adjusted time, just one second behind Kailub.Darrin Chapman

With the Tomahawk win, Kailub now holds a 24-point lead over Duvall in the series standings.Darrin Chapman

AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell was in podium contention during the early part of the race and eventually earned his second-best finish of the season with a fifth overall.Darrin Chapman

Bonanza Plumbing/Trail Jesters KTM’s Mackenzie Tricker took a 10-second victory over KR4/Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones to claim the victory in the WXC division.Darrin Chapman

Tricker (center), KR4/Husqvarna’s Jones (left), and Yamaha-mounted Brooke Cosner

Bonanza Plumbing/Trail Jesters KTM’s Tricker (center), KR4/Husqvarna’s Jones (left), and Yamaha-mounted Brooke Cosner graced the WXC podium.Darrin Chapman