OFF ROAD
AMSOIL GNCC SERIES
ROUND 11, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014
MOUNTAIN RIDGE, SOMERSET, PENNSYLVANIA
P46
While running in the fourth
place position, Bach experi-
enced the worst of what the
rocky terrain had to offer when
he tipped over in a rock garden.
As the bike fell onto the rocks, a
sharp edge ripped a hole in the
water pump cover, which caused
Bach to rush back to his pits for
repair. The JCR crew replaced
the cover and Bach anxiously re-
turned to action but unfortunately
the pit stop caused him to be a
lap down from the leaders.
Ashburn, who stands at over
six feet tall, didn't seem to have
any issues with the rock gardens
and even admits that riding rocks
is one of his favorite things to do.
"I do like the rocks!" Ashburn
said. "We've got a lot of stuff like
this at home so we got a lot of
practice in over the summer and
it worked out to our advantage."
TWO-TIMES A CHAMPION
Russell upped the pace on the
final lap, where he laid down
the fastest lap time of the day
en route to his fifth straight vic-
tory of the season. With a whop-
ping 106-point lead over second
place, Russell wrapped up the
2014 GNCC National Champion-
ship with two rounds remaining in
the series. Russell's second ca-
reer title puts the Ohio-native into
an elite category of multi-time
GNCC Champions as only the
eighth rider to win more than one
title in their career.
ASHBURN BREAKS THROUGH
Whether it was his love for the
rocks or a mere continuation of
his momentum this season, Ash-
burn put in a breakthrough per-
formance at round 11. The Ten-
nessee-native held off Russell for
four of the six laps and showed
impressive speed along the way,
where he finished second place
in XC1 and third overall for the
day. Ashburn now sits one point
ahead of Strang in the champi-
onship standings with a second
place ranking.
GOING FOR GOLD
KTM Support rider Grant Baylor
has the XC2 Pro Lites Champion-
ship all but locked up with only
two rounds left to go, but the
biggest goal on the 17-year-old's
agenda right now is putting his
KTM 250XC in the center of the
overall podium, ahead of Russell
and the rest of the XC1 field, which
is a feat that no XC2 Pro Lites rider
