that much since my knee injury,"
Russell explained, "and racing
hard in the hot and humid condi-
tions really took a toll on me.
I'm glad I finished the full three
hours in one piece and I was
able to gain points toward the
championship."
Russell still managed to
salvage a second-place finish,
and immediately sought medical
attention after the race.
Behind the lead duo, it
seemed no one wanted
third place. Rocky Mountain
ATV*MC/KR4/FAR Racing
Husqvarna's Thad Duvall as run-
ning third until he ran out of gas
on the fourth lap. That handed
the final XC1 Pro podium position
over to FMF KTM's Russell Bob-
bitt, who was locked in a battle
with Baylor.
"I was coming around the last
lap and I got a pit board from
the team saying, 'I'm impressed,'
and then I immediately crashed
well within their sights," Bobbitt
said with a laugh. "After I went
down, Baylor was able to capital-
ize on my mistake and take over
the podium position."
Baylor inherited the point, and
put his SRT KTM on the XC1 Pro
podium in third (carding fourth
overall behind Bollinger). It
marked Baylor's first XC1 Pro po-
dium. Bobbitt recovered to finish
fifth overall while Jason Thomas
carded a remarkable sixth-place
finish followed by Ryan Sipes
and Daniel Milner.
In the XC2 ranks, Bollinger
continued to shine with an-
other commanding victory, this
time claiming a historic overall
podium finish. Bollinger wasn't
the only XC2 rider in the top-ten,
as second-place class finisher
Jesse Groemm finished eighth
overall.
"Last year I wasn't sure if I
could race this season, but luck-
ily JCR Honda picked me up and
Johnny [Campbell] had faith in
me," said Bollinger. "I've worked
really hard this winter and it feels
good to be able to get my team
on the overall podium."
In the morning race, FMF
KTM's Kacy Martinez claimed
another big win, topping the
WXC class while also taking the
overall victory. CN
VOL. 53 ISSUE 10 MARCH 15, 2016 P41
Defending champion Kailub Russell
(1) got out to a good start, but
struggled in the Georgia heat and
humidity and eventually finished
second.
JCR Honda's Trevor
Bollinger topped the
XC2 class once again,
this time breaking into
third overall for his
career-first podium.
