VOL. 50 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 15, 2013
P89
MULLINS A
AKES IT
CLOSE
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN HILL
THE 2013 GNCC
CHAMPIONSHIP WILL
CONCLUDE WITH ANOTHER
WINNER-TAKE-ALL FINALROUND SHOWDOWN
fter 12 rounds of intense
competition, the battle for
the 2013 GNCC Championship will again be decided
in dramatic fashion at the final
round, as KTM's Charlie Mullins
claimed his fifth win of the season and with it narrowed Kailub
Russell's points lead down to just
two at the ITP Powerline Park
GNCC in Ohio. Mullins made the
win look fairly easy, but the KTMmounted Mullins certainly had his
work cut out for him during the
three-hour event after taking the
lead from returning XC1 Champion Paul Whibley.
Whibley, on the AmPro Yamaha, made his return to competition after having surgery on
his wrist. Right from the start,
he showed he was back with a
vengeance, as he secured the
All Balls $250 Holeshot Award
and led the race into the woods.
Whibley set the pace, while dust
choked the riders behind him.
The course, however, was also
littered with mud holes keeping things interesting, and Mullins managed to keep Whibley
in check in the early going and
eventually took over the lead on
lap two.
Mullins powered his KTM to
a sizable lead but couldn't relax
knowing that his teammate and
series rival, Kailub Russell, had
taken over second place midway
Charlie Mullins closed the gap to just
two points after winning the Powerline
Park GNCC in Ohio.
