New Zealand’s Paul Whibley will swap the No.3 on his Yamaha for No.2 next season after a stunning late-season challenge for the Grand National Cross-country Championships title in the United States.

The man from Pahiatua won the first of two days on Friday and finished third on day two on Sunday at the series-ending double-header – the 12th and 13th rounds of the GNCC – in Tennessee at the weekend, capping off an eventful season of highs for the former Manawatu forestry worker.

Yamaha’s Whibley not only recovered from a disastrous start to the GNCC series to finish runner-up at the weekend, but he also wrapped up his fourth consecutive title win in the parallel Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) series at that competition’s final round a week earlier.

The final major race of the season in Tennessee was full of drama with the Kiwi ace at the centre of it all.

What had started out looking like a relatively easy run to the finish for GNCC points leader Charlie Mullins turned into an electrifying nail-biter in the end as disaster struck KTM rider Mullins and Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) came on strong.

Mullins headed into the weekend’s GNCC double-header finale with a solid lead over defending champion Josh Strang (Suzuki), of Australia, and 2009 GNCC champion Whibley, but his position became threatened when his bike’s engine failed him and he rolled to a stop on day one.

Whibley took over the lead with Mullins’ KTM team-mate Cory Buttrick in second, while Mullins was left frantically trying to restart his bike.

At the end of three hours of intense racing, Whibley took the chequered flag with an 11-second gap over Buttrick. Third place went to Strang, who kept his title hopes alive with the finish.

“I can’t control what anybody else does so I just have to go out there and win races,” said Whibley. “Late in the race, I saw Mullins’ bike lying over beside the track so I knew I had the lead at that point. It was tough to make up time in the woods so I was hitting the creeks as hard as I could to try and get it done.”

After swapping his engine for a fresh one, Mullins was able to make the final lap and was credited with 14th position, which left the North Carolina rider with an even smaller advantage over Whibley in the standings as they headed into Sunday’s finale.

But Mullins put everything beyond doubt with a scintillating win on Sunday, becoming the first American to win the GNCC title since Rodney Smith held it in 2004, demonstrating the international flavour of the series.

Seven of the last 11 GNCC championships have been won by visiting overseas riders, including the last five consecutive series. Australia’s Shane Watts won it in 2000, Finland’s Juha Salminen held it from 2005 to 2006, David Knight, from the Isle of Man, was champion in 2007 and 2008, while New Zealand’s Whibley and Australia’s Strang claimed the titles in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

“The track was really rough today and we had a few set-up issues, the bike wasn’t working as good as it was Friday,” said Whibley. “But it’s good to finish the year where we did, considering the problems we had at the start of the season.”

Unfortunately for defending champ Strang, he ran into trouble with tree roots on Sunday that caused him to crash and break his leg. However, he still wound up third overall for the 2011 championship.

 

RESULTS:

XC1 results, round 12:

1. Paul Whibley (Yam)

2. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

3. Josh Strang (Suz)

4. Kailub Russell (KTM)

5. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)

6. Nate Kanney (KTM)

7. Scotty Watkins (Hon)

8. Jesse Robinson (Bet)

9. Kenny Gilbert (KTM)

10. Toby Price (KTM)

 

XC1 results, round 13:

1. Charlie Mullins (KTM)

2. Kailub Russell (KTM)

3. Paul Whibley (Yam)

4. Toby Price (KTM)

5. Jesse Robinson (Bet)

6. Jedehiah Haines (Kaw)

7. Scotty Watkins (Hon)

8. Cody Webb (Bet)

9. Eric Bailey (Kaw)

10. Kenny Gilbert (KTM)

 

XC1 final 2011 standings:

1. Charlie Mullins (302/6 wins)

2. Paul Whibley (282/4 wins)

3. Josh Strang (266/2 wins)

4. Kailub Russell (227/1 win)

5. Nate Kanney (192)

6. Cory Buttrick (168)

7. Thad DuVall (138)

8. Jimmy Jarrett (127)

9. Jedediah Haines (112)

10. Mike Lafferty (105)

 

XC2 final 2011 standings:

1. Steward Baylor Jr. (315/6 wins)

2. Jordan Ashburn (269)

3. Jason Thomas (257)

4. Andrew DeLong (255)

5. AJ Stewart (147)

6. Morgan Moss (147)

7. Jesse Robinson (146)

8 Zackery Smith (130)

9. Steven Squire (127)

10. Scotty Watkins (125)

© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com