In his first race back from injury this season, Moto-Tech/KTM's Steward Baylor put in an impressive ride to finish sixth overall after being forced to make his way through the pack, alongside his brother Grant. Milner put forth his best GNCC performance of the season with seventh overall, while Factory FMF/KTM's Russell Bobbitt took eighth overall. After experiencing a few crashes along the way, Sipes finished the day with ninth place in XC1 and 14th overall, while Husqvarna Canada/Parts Unlimited Canada's Tyler Medaglia rounded out the top ten in XC1 with 25th overall.
The XC2 Pro Lites battle heated up at the third round as DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM's Jason Thomas emerged victorious after three hours of racing. Thomas began the day with the $100 Hot Cams XC2 Pro Lites Holeshot Award and the early lead in the class. Thomas had early competition from the usual suspects like Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR's Nick Davis and Moto-Tech/KTM's Trevor Bollinger, but as the race wore on the top three began to spread out.
Thomas and Davis came together about halfway through the race, causing both riders to go down just after the finish line. With Bollinger in the lead, RideMPS.com/AMSOIL/Honda's Layne Michael made his way past the downed riders for second, and the lead duo got back up and began charging once again.
However, Davis ran into a mechanical issue that would ultimately remove him from the race and any chance at salvaging championship points for the day. Thomas went on to capture his second straight XC2 victory of the season, with Michael holding on for second and Bollinger, a Morganton, North Carolina native, capturing a third place finish in front of his hometown crowd.
Main Photo: Kailub Russell does it again with his third straight win of the season in his home state of North Carolina.
Credit: Ken Hill
FMF Steele Creek GNCC - Morganton, North Carolina
Round 3 of 13 - Sunday, March 29
XC1 Event Results:
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Josh Strang (HSQ)
Thad DuVall (HSQ)
Grant Baylor (YAM)
Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
Steward Baylor (KTM)
Daniel Milner (YAM)
Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
Ryan Sipes (HSQ)
Tyler Medaglia (HSQ)
*Overall National Championship Standings:
Kailub Russell (90)
Josh Strang (75)
Thad DuVall (60)
Grant Baylor (44)
Jordan Ashburn (44)
Jason Thomas (38)
Chris Bach (37)
Nick Davis (28)
Tyler Medaglia (26)
Craig DeLong (25)
*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2015 National Champion.
XC2 Event Results:
Jason Thomas (KTM)
Layne Michael (HON)
Trevor Bollinger (KTM)
Craig Delong (HSQ)
Scott Grills (YAM)
Austin Lee (YAM)
Cory Buttrick (BET)
Trevor Barrett (HSQ)
Callan May (YAM)
Brad Bakken (YAM)
XC2 Series Standings:
Jason Thomas (71)*
Layne Michael (56)
Nick Davis (55)
Craig Delong (52)
Trevor Bollinger (44)
Cory Buttrick (43)
Brad Bakken (34)
Callan May (27)
Scott Grills (26)
Phillipe Chaine (25)
* Reflects a penalty administered for a rule infraction at round three.
