Paul Whibley stretched his GNCC title advantage with a victory at Unadilla as main rival Joshua Strang could only manage fifth.
The Kawasaki rider was straight back in his stride following a two-month summer break to claim a fourth win of the season, tying the haul of Suzuki’s Stang.
The race itself was a classic off-road battle as five riders fought for victory at the legendary course in upstate New York. The last lap saw the battle for the win down to two riders, with New Zealander Whibley managing to defeat KTM’s Nathan Kanney to claim the top step of the podium.
“It was a good race, we were all just going back and forth out there,” said Whibley. “Nathan rode a great race, I was just able to put enough time between me and him on the last lap to stay comfortable and win it.”
Second was Kanney’s best result of the season and came at his home event. “It seems like, most of the time in the GNCC, when a guy comes up on you who is faster, you just let them by,” he said. “But today I decided to get all rambunctious and get back in front!
“We were all battling, Thad (DuVall) caught me at one point and was riding amazing. It was good to see all of us up there, but Whibs got a few lappers in between me and him on the last lap and I just couldn’t close back in.”
DuVall and Makita Suzuki team-mates Charles Mullins and Strang were all in the hunt for much of the race. DuVall and Mullins had made contact at the first corner, but both fought back to the lead pack.
Strang lost significant ground in the title race when a crash, then the loss of his left shift lever, saw him drop down the order. He fought back to finish fifth, but drops 27 points behind in the battle for the championship.
The XC2 class was again won by KTM’s Kailub Russell who rallied from third to take the victory. Early in the race Russell’s team-mate Cory Buttrick and Yamaha’s Jason Thomas fought for the lead until Thomas suffered a heavy crash.
“I hit my head pretty good, but my mechanic Joey put ‘Dig Deep’ on the pit board and I just kept thinking what my dad would have said to me which would have been even worse!”
Thomas managed to grab a podium in third and Russell assumed the lead when Buttrick fell while lapping a backmarker.
“Cory made it easy on me, he was just lying there,” said Russell whose seventh win of the year gives him a healthy 59-point lead over his team-mate in the standings. “It was a tough day. I would make a mistake, catch back up, make another mistake and go backwards.”
GNCC (Bike) results – Round 10, Unadilla
XC1 Top Ten
1 Paul Whibley, Kawasaki
2 Nathan Kanney, KTM
3 Kurt Caselli, KTM
4 Charles Mullins, Suzuki
5 Joshua Strang, Suzuki
6 Barry Hawk Jr, Yamaha
7 Jim Jarrett, Kawasaki
8 Ben Bouwens, Yamaha
9 Ryan Gainey, Honda
10 Adam Reeves, Yamaha
XC2 Top Ten
1 Kailub Russell, KTM
2 Cory Buttrick, KTM
3 Jason Thomas, Yamaha
4 Scott Watkins, Kawasaki
5 Jake Korn, KTM
6 David Snyder, Yamaha
7 Eric Bailey, Kawasaki
8 Robert Santheson III, Kawasaki
9 Brian Lawson, Yamaha
10 Nathan Alering, Kawasaki
Championship Standings (after 10 rounds)
XC1
1 Paul Whibley – 244pts
2 Joshua Strang – 217
3 Charles Mullins – 215
4 Jim Jarrett – 174
5 Nathan Kanney – 164
6 Kurt Caselli – 142
7 Barry Hawk Jr – 138
8 Jesse Robinson – 97
9 Kenneth Gilbert – 97
10 Glenn Kearney – 97
XC2
1 Kailub Russell – 277
2 Cory Buttrick – 218
3 Jason Thomas – 212
4 Scott Watkins – 193
5 Jake Korn – 162
6 Robert Santheson III – 121
7 Brian Lawson – 120
8 Eric Bailey – 104
9 Andrew Matusek – 94
10 Mat Herrington – 91
Watch GNCC highlights as part of Motors TV’s winter programming.
Andy Wilkinson
International
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