He didn’t win the battle but Kiwi Paul Whibley is now certainly winning the war.

The Kawasaki ace from Pahiatua finished runner-up at the ninth round of 13 in the Grand National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) in the United States at the weekend, forced to settle for the No.2 step on the podium as the series welcomed back defending champion David Knight.

It was a surprise first appearance in the US series for Knight, the Isle of Man native arriving from Europe to race a Kawasaki KX450F very similar to Whibley’s and the pair therefore making it a Kawasaki 1-2 in the race at Snowshoe, West Virginia.

This followed Knight’s shock announcement last week that he was exiting his BMW contract and would also not continue with his 2009 World Enduro Championships campaign.

With the No.1 displayed on his Kawasaki’s number boards, Knight showed he was still a force in the US, finishing the day more than five minutes ahead of GNCC series leader Whibley.

Third best at Sunday’s race was American KTM rider Nathan Kanney, with Strang’s Suzuki team-mate Charlie Mullins fourth and Whibley’s Kawasaki team-mate Jimmy Jarrett rounding out the top five.

“We lined up on the tarmac ready for the live engine start,” Whibley explained.”

“This start system is unique to the Snowshoe event with the riders seeded into rows of five and released at 10-second intervals.  Also unique to the Snowshoe event this year was the 20-plus mile lap. The lap was kind of in two parts, the first part was out on one side of the mountain with the second part out on the other side.

“With the wave of the green flag we were away.  I was on the front row and rounded the first turn in third behind Barry Hawk and Josh Strang. The first mile of the lap was pretty fast gravel roads and I made a couple of moves and got to the lead.  I led the way for the first half of lap one until I got stuck in a mud hole, letting some guys by while I lifted my bike out.  I had lost some time and Josh Strang and David Knight had taken up the sharp end of the field and ran with it.

“The track was pretty good with a mix of fast roads and tight technical rock and root sections that were not to tough but a fair challenge. Some of the roads were a little dusty and in the rocks care was needed to preserve the bike with plenty of riders damaging parts with the slightest slip.

“I didn’t feel comfortable out on the track and soon found myself in a race with Jimmy Jarrett and Charlie Mullins.

“Both of them ended up in front of me until I managed to sort myself out a little and move back by them.  I worked my way up to third but David and Josh were riding great and had gapped me.

“I continued to put in the best times that I could and was solid in third.  As we came through the pits for the last time I got a pit board saying I was up to second. I wasn’t sure what had happened up front but when I crossed the line I saw Knighter, so I guessed Josh had problems.

“I soon learned that he had hit a deer and crashed hard.  That was a tough break for Josh as he had rode a great race and had me beat.

“With my second place result I was able to extend my points lead in the series with only four rounds to go.

“We now have a two-month break in the GNCC series for summer.  Although this will not be a quiet time for me as there are four rounds of the OMA series during this time and a round of the Enduro X series. This will help keep me sharp for the next round of the GNCC series in early September.”

Whibley has been locked in a death struggle all season long with Australian Suzuki rider Strang, the two riders taking turns to lead the GNCC standings, but Strang finished only sixth on Sunday and thus handed Whibley a handy 13-point buffer with just four rounds remaining.

The title contenders will have to wait until September before  resuming their battle for series honours with a lengthy break now in the calendar. Round 10 is set for Unadilla, north-west of New York, on September 13.

XC1 points standings after 9 of 13:

1.Paul Whibley (214/3 wins),

2. Josh Strang (201/4 wins),

3. Charles Mullins (197/1 win)

4. Jim Jarrett (160)

5. Nathan Kanney (139)

6. Barry Hawk (123),

7. Kurt Casselli (121)

8. Jesse Robinson (92)

9.Glenn Kearney (91)

10. Kenneth Gilbert (87)

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com