OFF ROAD
AMSOIL GNCC SERIES
ROUND 11, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014
MOUNTAIN RIDGE, SOMERSET, PENNSYLVANIA
P44
side the top five. However, that
didn't seem to hold him back too
much as the number-seven Ya-
maha came through with a seven
second lead over Whibley and
Strang by the end of lap one.
"I kind of pushed the front end
out in the first corner and got into
sixth or seventh place," Ashburn
said. "Once we got to the rock
garden I started picking people
off and went from there."
Whibley dropped a few posi-
tions by the second lap, while
Russell pushed his way into the
lead battle. From there, it quickly
became a three-way challenge
for the lead spot between Ash-
burn, Russell and Rocky Moun-
tain ATV*MC/N-Fab AmPro Ya-
maha's Josh Strang. Less than
15 seconds separated the trio on
lap three as they entered the first
pit stop of the three-hour race, a
moment that perhaps changed
the dynamic of the race altogeth-
er. All three pit-crews were simul-
taneously fueling their riders and
it was Ashburn who took off first,
immediately followed by Russell.
In the heat of the moment Strang
took off next, but his pit crew ap-
parently hadn't finished his fuel-
ing process and Strang experi-
enced an overflow in his lap. The
2010 GNCC Champion took off
anyway, setting his sights on the
lead duo ahead but it wasn't long
before he returned to the pits in
what appeared to be intense pain
and discomfort.
Strang's misfortune allowed
Russell and Ashburn to break
away from the rest of the field,
while opening up the third place
position to a variety of battles tak-
ing place behind him.
Factory Husqvarna's Andrew
Delong jumped up one position,
followed by JCR Honda/Rock-
star Energy's Chris Bach and
Rockstar Energy Racing/WMR
KTM's Ryan Sipes, who was in
the early stages of putting togeth-
er a career-best performance in
GNCC. But just as the XC1 riders
began their quest for an over-
all podium finish, XC2 Pro Lites
leader Grant Baylor started inch-
ing toward the front, not only on
the adjusted time clock but also
in the physical running order.
Delong said, "I was pushing so
hard on the first lap that I fell about
15 times. But I think it helped me
to hook up with Grant because
he was going really good. I knew
Jordan Ashburn gave Russell a race.
(Above right) Grant Baylor put in an
amazing ride by finishing second
overall from the XC2 Pro Lites
division.
(Right) Ashburn (7) drops his bike in
the first turn ahead of Paul Whibley
(5) and Josh Strang (4).
