Darrin Chapman

Kailub Russell Tops Wild Boar GNCC In Florida

FMF KTM riders adds second-consecutive GNCC win in 2018

Kailub Russell overcame a mistake-filled opening lap to claim his second victory in as many races of the 2018 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country series this past weekend in Palatka, Florida. After crashing multiple times, the FMF KTM rider finally settled into a groove at the midway point of the race and began working his way to the front.

With a lap and a half to go in the three-hour race, Russell passed Tely Energy Racing’s Steward Baylor to take the lead. From there, the North Carolina rider held his ground to claim a 16-second win over Baylor while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thad Duvall rounded out the podium.

Trail Jesters KTM Racing’s Ben Kelley took advantage of a hard crash by FMF KTM’s Josh Toth to finish fourth overall and first in the XC2 250 Pro class, while Toth regrouped to finish second and fifth overall.

2018 Wild Boar GNCC Overall Results

  1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
  2. Steward Baylor (KTM)
  3. Thad Duvall (Husqvarna)
  4. Ben Kelley (KTM)
  5. Josh Toth (KTM)
  6. Trevor Bollinger (Honda)
  7. Layne Michael (Husqvarna)
  8. Pascal Rauchenecker (Husqvarna)
  9. Josh Strang (Husqvarna)
  10. Craig DeLong (Husqvarna)
Welcome to the Moose Racing Wild Boar GNCC, which is held on the Rodman Plantation, a 6,000-acre cattle and timber farm that routinely hosts mud-bog events.Darrin Chapman
Kailub Russell’s win marked the 49th career GNCC victory for the North Carolina rider and second straight of the 2018 season. Russell now holds a 14-point lead over Steward Baylor in the XC1 Open Pro point standings.Darrin Chapman
Steward Baylor got off to a great start to the XC1 race and led the three-hour event for the first two hours before giving way to Russell with just over a lap to go.Darrin Chapman
Thad Duvall put himself in position to challenge for a win at the Wild Boar GNCC by battling through the pack with Russell. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider admitted struggling during the final two laps and eventually settled for third.Darrin Chapman
Trail Jesters KTM Racing’s Ben Kelley claimed a career-first XC2 250 Pro class win at the Wild Boar. Kelley battled most of the race with fellow Connecticut rider Josh Toth before passing the FMF KTM pilot on the final lap to take the win.Darrin Chapman
Toth crashed hard on the final lap while trying to avoid a lapped rider. The incident allowed fellow KTM rider Kelley to move within striking distance. Toth gave up a position to Kelley on the final lap but held on to finish fifth overall and second in XC2 250 Pro.Darrin Chapman
JCR Honda’s Trevor Bollinger rode a steady race to claim sixth, finishing about two-and-a-half minutes behind Toth.Darrin Chapman
Coastal Racing Husqvarna’s Layne Michael battled with KR4 Husqvarna’s Pascal Rauchenecker for seventh, eventually beating the Austrian rider to the finish by 30 seconds.Darrin Chapman
Russell took a giant step toward a sixth GNCC title with his performance at the Wild Boar GNCC.Darrin Chapman
To the victor go the spoils! Russell takes his spot at the center of the XC1 podium flanked by third-place finisher Thad Duvall (left) and runner-up Steward Baylor (right).Darrin Chapman
Kelley (center), Rauchenecker (left), and Toth (right) graced the XC2 podium.Darrin Chapman
KR4 Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones takes her rightful spot at the center of the Women’s WXC race podium after taking the win over Fly Racing/Maxxis/Seat Concepts KTM-backed rider Becca Sheets (left) and Beta USA’s Rachel Gutish (right).Darrin Chapman