ailub Russell took a giant step toward claiming a sixth-consecutive GNCC title by winning a hard-fought battle at this weekend’s AmsOil Grand National Cross Country Series opener at Big Buck Farm in Union, South Carolina. The FMF KTM Factory rider edged Thad Duvall for the overall win, leading the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing-backed West Virginian across the finish line by a just few feet.
Duvall led much of the race after moving into the top spot midway into the opening lap. Russell, however, took control of the race on the final lap and managed to hold off the hard-charging Duvall to claim the first victory of the season.
Local boy Steward Baylor, who won the Big Buck race last year, also had his turn at the front of the pack. The Tely Energy KTM rider, however, eventually settled into the third-place slot after taking an errant rock to the face. Meanwhile, Trevor Bollinger turned in his best-ever performance in the GNCC series, putting his JRC Honda into fourth ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang.
Last year’s XC2 Pro class champion Josh Toth picked up where he left off in 2017 by winning the XC2 Pro class at the Big Buck. Toth’s ride was also good enough for sixth overall. Seventh overall and second in the XC2 Pro division went to Trail Jesters KTM’s Ben Kelley, who finished the three-hour race eight seconds behind Toth.
Eighth and ninth went to Coastal Racing Husqvarna teammates Layne Michael and Austrian Pascal Rauchenecker. Michael was making his first XC1 appearance, while Rauchenecker— a World Enduro “regular”— will be staying in the States this year to contest the entire GNCC series. Austin Lee rounded out the top 10 on a Honda.