VOL. 54 ISSUE 10 MARCH 14, 2017 P31
"I was kicking myself for not
putting on roll-offs [goggles] be-
cause of the rain," Russell said.
"It started pouring on the first
lap and I was pulling tear-offs left
and right. I couldn't see, went
the wrong way and got passed
by a few guys at the beginning."
Kailub Russell pitted for new
goggles on the first lap, which
cost him some time. But after
that, Russell settled down and
cause it kept the track intact and
made for some good traction."
Baylor salvaged a hard-earned
third, while RPM KTM rider Chris
Bach took fourth. Ricky Russell
slipped back to fifth overall.
As for early front-runner Ryan
Sipes, he eventually had a run-in
with a lapped rider and took a
footpeg to his side in the crash.
He got up quickly and continued
on but later was forced to pull
out due to the injury.
The FMF XC3 125 Pro-Am
class saw similar faces on the
box. Coastal Racing Husqvar-
na's Jack Edmondson took
home another win, with N-Fab
AmPro Yamaha's Paul Whibley
and Jason Thomas following.
The WXC class dominated the
morning race, and the overall
podium consisted of Rocky
Mountain ATV-MC KR4 Husqvar-
na's Tayla Jones, Trail Jesters'
McKenzie Tricker and Fly Racing
Maxxis Seat Concepts KTM's
Becca Sheets. CN
XC1:
1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Thad Duvall (Hus)
3. Steward Baylor (KTM)
4. Chris Bach (KTM)
5. Ricky Russell (Yam)
XC2:
1. Josh Toth (Yam)
2. Craig DeLong (Hus)
3. Layne Michael (Hus)
4. Jesse Groemm (KTM)
5. Drew Higgins (Beta)
got into his race pace, and by
the third lap, he held the lead,
though Duvall was right there
with him.
For the remainder of the race,
Russell and Duvall played cat
and mouse. Russell couldn't
shake Duvall, but the KTM rider
maintained his position down to
the end with Russell taking the
checkered flag 2.531 seconds
ahead of Duvall.
"Thad was riding really good,
I expected that from him and we
battled down to the end," Rus-
sell said. "It was nice to get a win
today, the track was really rough
and tough. I'm glad it rained be-
(Above) Thad
Duvall chased
Russell right to
the very end.
(Left) Josh Toth
got another win
in XC2.
