Cycle News Team | February 22, 2021
The Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) 2021 series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship Series, completed the first round of races on Sunday, February 21, 2021 in Union, South Carolina. For the second consecutive year, cold conditions and partly sunny greeted the nation GNCC Racing.
Returning from a start in seventh place to take his first overall victory at Big Buck, was Grant Baylor of KLM Milwaukee GasGas. As Baylor constantly advanced through the driver’s field, he moved into the lead with three laps to go. Baylor bowed his head and forced the construction of an advantage of almost 20 seconds by crossing the finish line for a waving checkered flag.
Thad Duvall, from Rockstar Energy Factory at Husqvarna Racing, took second overall place on the day. After losing most of 2020 to an injury, Duvall was looking forward to racing again in front of the pack. Duvall moved into second place after two laps of racing and remained there until the checkered flag flew.
Winning some extra cash was Josh Strang of Babbitt Online / Monster Energy / Kawasaki Team Green, who crossed the finish line for the $ 250 All Balls Racing XC1 Open Pro Holeshot prize. Strang fought throughout the race while returning to the third place on the last lap of the race.
Jordan Ashburn took fourth overall on board his new Magna1 Motorsports / Husqvarna team. Ashburn had a roller coaster ride as he maintained the lead at one point, and still managed to stay third for most of the race. However, Ashburn would be unable to hold a strong Strang and would cross the line 12 seconds ago.
After maintaining the initial lead, Ben Kelley (FMF / KTM Factory Racing) had to regain ground on the third lap, managing to set the time and score in seventh. As the race progressed, Kelley began to choose the drivers and make the passes last. When the checkered flag was waved, Kelley had regained an overall position in the top five.
Sixth in the day was Ricky Russell of Coastal GasGas Factory Racing. Halfway through the race, Russell found himself running third overall, but was unable to hold on to some of his tough competitors as the race progressed. Russell also missed most of the 2020 season after a fourth round injury healed him, and he is now on board a new GasGas motorcycle for the 2021 season.
Layne Michael of AmPro Yamaha lapped on the first lap in second place and continued to fight ahead in the first laps of the race. As the race progressed, Michael was unable to hold on to some of his competitors, reaching the finish line in seventh in XC1 and eighth overall.
Coming to eighth place in the XC1 class was Josh Toth of FMF / KTM Factory Racing, who had just had surgery on his hand two weeks ago. After starting at the back of the pack, Toth remained focused and tried to push to make the necessary passes towards the front of the pack. However, Toth ran out of time when he crossed the finish line in eighth.
Factory Beta’s Cory Buttrick raced consistently with his new 430RR Beta bike. Buttrick would remain ninth in the XC1 during the three-hour race.
After traveling to the United States just a few days ago and being trapped in the Texas ice storm, Benjamin Herrera of RedBull / MCS Racing Sherco completed the top 10 in the XC1 Open Pro class. Herrera, who is an enduro driver hard, he left his comfort zone to try his luck at the GNCC event and managed to reach the top 10 and 16th overall in the day.
Who won the $ 100 Hot Cams XC2 Holeshot prize was Mike Witkowski of AmPro Yamaha. As the group of XC2 250 Pro class riders went through time and scoring, Witkowski would find himself in fourth place, with Jonathan Girroir of Coastal GasGas Factory Racing at the front. Witkowski lowered his head and pushed, making the move to the main stick. After six laps of intense racing, Witkowski would cross the finish line first in his class, with more than a minute difference to the second.
Craig DeLong of Husqvarna Racing’s Rockstar Energy Factory climbed forward after an early day in the middle of the heat. DeLong would finish second in the XC2 250 Pro class after fighting fellow XC2 competitors for several laps of the race. DeLong, who is currently defending his 2020 XC2 Championship, was happy to finish in second place and will be ready to fight for a victory in Florida.
Completing the XC2 podium was Lyndon Snodgrass from Babbitt Online / Monster Energy / Kawasaki Team Green. After winning a podium at Ironman in 2020, Snodgrass returned from Australia to face XC2. Snodgrass would have a day of comings and goings, as he changed positions several times before making the last lap to stay on the last podium. Max Motorsports / FXR / Forma Boots’ Evan Smith took fourth place in the XC2 with Phoenix Racing Honda’s Cody Barnes, finishing in the top five. After leading the first lap, Girroir would finish sixth on the day.
When the FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am class took off, Lojak Cycle Sales / Yamaha’s Chase Colville won the $ 100 Lojak Cycle Sales XC3 Holeshot prize. Colville would soon feel pressure from Jonathan Johnson of Magna1 Motorsports / Husqvarna, as Johnson would take the lead on the first lap. Johnson and Colville would fight for most of the day, changing the lead halfway. Colville would lead when they got around on the fourth lap, but Johnson would soon regain the lead with the white flag waving. Johnson achieved victory in the FMF XC3 class, with Colville 29 seconds away. The 2020 FMF XC3 Champion and Zack Hayes of Carolina KTM / Moose Racing / XC Gear struggled to come back from fifth place to close the podium in third.
The 10am race started, more than 670 riders made it into the South Carolina forest, and when the WXC class took off, it was Babie’s Online / Monster Energy / Kawasaki Team Green’s Korie Steede winning the $ 100 Trail Jesters WXC Holeshot prize. As the group of WXC riders headed for the AmPro Yamaha Rachael Archer forest, they were leading the way and started pushing even harder. Archer would continue to put a gap over the rest of the field for the duration of the 2 hour race, as she would end up crossing the line one minute before the competition.
Fighting to return for second place overall and the end of the WXC class, was the WXC champion in title and the Becca Sheets of BABS Racing Yamaha / Maxxis / Pro Circuit. The leaves would start the day on the third when she went around the opening lap, but she would soon fall to the fourth before making the necessary passes when the white flag fluttered indicating another lap to finish. Factory Beta’s Rachel Gutish completed the WXC podium in the first round after racing ahead of the pack for most of the day.
- Grant Baylor (GG)
- Thad Duvall (Hus)
- Josh Strang (Kaw)
- Jordan Ashburn (Hus)
- Ben Kelley (KTM)
- Ricky Russell (GG)
- Mike Witkowski (Yam)
- Layne Michael (Yam)
- Craig DeLong (Hus)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (Kaw)