lap, Russell had already built a
32-second lead over Draper, with
Baylor in third.
From there, Russell controlled
the pace, taking advantage of the
clear track ahead while his pur-
suers struggled with the increas-
ingly difficult conditions en route
to a relatively easy win.
"It feels great to finally get a
win on the year," said Russell.
"It was looking pretty dismal at
times. Everybody's riding at such
a high level, you just can't really
pick your way through like I used
to be able to, I just don't have
that dog in me anymore."
Russell was particularly
pleased to win on a 450 for the
first time in his career (his first
win on a Yamaha last year came
on a 250F) at a track where the
larger machine's characteristics
worked to his advantage.
"It was my first win on a 450.
I knew I needed the power," he
said, "the extra little power. Over-
all, the bike worked great."
Behind Russell, Draper deliv-
ered one of his strongest perfor-
mances of the season, finishing
second and putting himself back
into the championship conversa-
tion heading into the finale.
"I knew the start was going
to play a big role in today's race,
and you had to be at the front to
be in this battle, and I was able
to get a good start," said Draper.
"There at the end, I knew it was
going to be tough to get Kailub,
so I just rode smart and bought
it back in because the track was
brutal. You didn't know what was
under the silt."
For Baylor, the afternoon was
considerably less rewarding.
After three DNFs in the open-
ing five rounds, many had written
the Kawasaki rider out of the
championship picture. However,
a remarkable midseason turn-
around had put him back into
contention for his first GNCC
title.
Running third for much of
the afternoon, Baylor appeared
headed for another valuable
points haul despite crashing and
dislodging his airbox cover. His
mechanic was forced to make
repairs in the field, securing the
cover with tape while Baylor
VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P53
Grant Davis (2) leads
Russell (557) and the
rest of the XC1 class
into the first turn.
Jhak Walker won the XC2 class.
