technical, and it just took a lot
out of me. I was struggling there
at the end, but I gritted out that
last lap to take second."
Russell's bike misfired at the
start, forcing him to come from
last to round out the podium in
third.
"I knew after lap two that it
was going to be a long race," said
Russell. "I got such a bad start
again. My bike didn't fire, and I had
to fight my way through. Having
to expend all that extra energy to
bridge that gap was taxing. It was
deceivingly rough and just beat
the piss out of your body, your
arms. My wrists and fingers are
pretty shot right now, but I'm hap
-
py to land back on the podium."
Draper, winless on the year,
finished fourth, continuing the
steady consistency that keeps
him firmly in the title hunt, nine
points behind Ashburn.
Riordan delivered a dominant
performance in the XC2 class,
securing his second win of the
season and cracking the top five
overall, finishing more than a
minute clear of second-in-class
Brody Johnson, with Tino third.
Earlier, Josh Strang finished
sixth, ahead of Grant Baylor and
Kelley, who continues to slide in
the standings after another tough
outing. Kelly's FMF KTM Factory
Racing teammate Grant Davis
ended the day after just one lap,
still feeling the effects of a crash
from the previous round.
Ashburn, despite his struggles,
managed to salvage a top-10
finish and retain the points lead.
"Just one of those days," he
admitted. "I couldn't stay on the
ground, but we'll bounce back."
In the WXC division, Brandy
Richards kept her hot streak
alive, capturing her third straight
victory in a thrilling late-race
duel with Korie Steede. The win
wasn't decided until the final
mile, when Steede pushed too
hard in a final attempt to pass,
ran wide into the bushes, and
handed Richards the opening
she needed to seal the deal.
"It came down to the very
end," Richards said. "We battled
the whole race. That last mis
-
take made the difference."
Danielle McDonald rounded
out the WXC podium, with Joc-
elyn Barnes and Lilley Sheets
finishing in the top five.
Shan Moore
OVERALL (Top 10)
1. Steward Baylor Jr (Kaw)
03:11:12.414
2. Craig DeLong (Hus) 03:12:11.039
3. Kailub Russell (Yam) 03:12:35.539
4. Liam Draper (Yam) 03:12:36.933
5. Angus Riordan (Hon) 03:14:03.993
6. Josh Strang (Bet) 03:14:29.370
7. Grant Baylor (Kaw) 03:15:14.299
8. Ben Kelley (KTM) 03:15:22.139
9. Brody Johnson (Hus) 03:16:00.268
10. Jordan Ashburn (Hon)
03:17:01.720
WIND
IN THE
P40
Defending GNCC
champ Ben Kelley
(1) got off to a
fast start but
slipped back to
eighth overall.
