VOL. 53 ISSUE 43 NOVEMBER 1, 2016 P29
holding down third when he had
a run-in with a mud hole. This al-
lowed Baylor, on the N-Fab/Am-
Pro Yamaha, to get by Russell.
Baylor then sprinted to the
finish to take third place, just 30
seconds ahead of Russell.
"I had a lot of trouble in the
beginning with my setup and
thought about calling it a day,"
said Russell. "But I just couldn't
do that because it was the last
race, and I refused to go out
that way. I was determined to
give it my all, and then I came
back up and was fighting for
a podium position. I was run-
ning third on the last lap, and I
got pointed to the wrong line in
a mud hole. I ended up going
down pretty bad, and Grant was
able get around me, which he
was definitely hard charging,
but I still wanted—and feel like I
deserved—the podium."
Newly crowned AMA National
Enduro Champion Russell Bob-
bitt filled out the top five overall,
crossing the finish line about two
minutes and 30 seconds behind
Ricky Russell. Jordan Ash-
burn (KTM) and Benjamin
Kelley (Yamaha) took sixth
and seventh, respectively.
Eighth overall was the top
XC2 Pro Lites rider Layne
Michael on the Coastal
Racing/ MSR Husqvarna.
He took the lead away from
fast starter Mike Witkowski
on the first lap and never
looked back. He finished
approximately 30 seconds
ahead of his nearest class
rival Vance Francis (Honda),
who worked his way up from
just inside the top 10. It was
his first-ever podium finish.
Sandwiched in between
was XC1 rider Cory Buttrick
(KTM).
Third in XC2 Pro Lites was N-
Fab/AmPro Yamaha Josh Toth.
"I just tried to get to the front
and ride like I know I can," said
winner Michael. "I had a small
crash on the first lap but re-
grouped and kept going. As the
race went on I started feeling
sick, but I maintained on the
last lap and came out with the
win. The year didn't start out that
great, but it feels great to come
back after summer break and
get these results." CN
OVERALL
1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Thad Duvall (Hus)
3. Grant Baylor (Yam)
4. Ricky Russell (Suz)
5. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
6. Jordan Ashburn (KTM)
7. Benjamin Kelley (Yam)
8. Layne Michael (Hus)
9. Cory Buttrick (KTM)
10. Vance Francis (Hon)
Layne Michael
scored the XC2
Lites-class win.
Kailub Russell
capped off the
2016 GNCC
season with his
40th career win.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KEN
HILL
