Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/506850
IN THE WIND P44 KAILUB RUSSELL SWEEPS FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO I n his first race on the all-new 2016 KTM 250 XC-F, Factory FMF/KTM's Kailub Russell took five of eight special test wins on day one, and four of six test wins on day two to capture the overall victory at round two of the Kenda Full Gas Sprint En- duro Series. A late addition to the series, the event also served as the East Coast AMA ISDE Qualifier for riders wanting to qualify for one of Team USA's Club, Senior, and Women's teams. Thirty rid- ers from as far away as Oregon raced Letter of Intent, with Fac- tory Beta's Cory Buttrick taking the E2 class, and overall LOI wins on the weekend. The Newburg, West Virginia race location featured a rolling 2.5-mile grass track cross test and a four-mile woods enduro loop. On the first day of the event, racers would compete on each test a total of four times. Kailub Russell came out swing- ing in test one, the cross test, taking the win by four seconds over his teammate Russell Bob- bitt. KR4/FAR/Husqvarna's Thad DuVall was the second rider to take off on the cross test, but a mechanical issue that required a mid-test repair saw him finish 137 th in that test—2:44 slower than Russell—putting him in a deep hole that he tried to climb out of the rest of the weekend. DuVall, who was recently se- lected to represent the USA on its ISDE Trophy Team this year in Slovakia, rebounded in the sec- ond test of the day—the enduro test—taking the win by three seconds over Russell. DuVall would go on to win two more tests on the day (the only other rider besides Russell to win a test) and claw his way back into the overall picture finishing day one in sixth place overall. FMF/KTM's Russell Bobbitt started the day out with his fast- est cross test time, and second- fastest of the session behind Russell. Bobbitt would continue to post fast times throughout the day to secure second place after the first day of racing. The battle behind Bobbitt was heated with Factory Beta's Cory Buttrick and Ride MPS/Honda's Layne Michael ending the day with less than two-tenths of a second separating them for third and fourth overall, respectively. Fifth-place overall on day one went to Benjamin Kelley who was riding LOI in the E2 class. The second day of racing would see the riders tackle the same special tests as day one, but in reverse direction. Kailub Russell started day two the same as day one with a win on the cross test; the first of four test wins for him on the day. Thad DuVall clawed his way into fifth overall after posting some seriously fast times throughout the day, taking two test wins from Russell in the process, making PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW FREDRICKSON Factory KTM's Kailub Russell made his debut aboard the new 2016 250 XC-F a winning one, taking wins on both days of the Full Gas Sprint Enduro for the overall victory.