Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley and Titirangi’s Callan May continue to battle for glory near the front of the pack as the Grand National Cross-country Championships in the United States head towards a conclusion.

The two Yamaha men both finished among the leaders at the 11th round of 13 of the GNCC series at Mountain Ridge, in Somerset in Pennsylvania, at the weekend and have cemented their positions among the top 10 of the XC1 (open class) and XC2 (250cc class) championship divisions respectively.

Whibley finished fifth in the XC1 class and May finished eighth in the XC2 class as conditions rapidly changed from dry and dusty to slick and muddy, an extreme test for both man and machine alike.

“We had looked to be in for yet another rocky, fast, dusty and dry race,” explained 22-year-old Aucklander May (Yamaha YZ250F).

“But, an hour before the start, it rained a fair amount, and it helped slightly by keeping the dust down.

“I lined up and was feeling good and ready for a day’s racing. The flag dropped and I got a good jump off the line coming around the first corner in around seventh.

“After settling in for a couple of miles, I felt comfortable to start making some passes, we pulled out into a field section and I overtook four riders, putting me into third, so I was pumped. I came into a technical rocky section with a decent gap over fourth but, unfortunately, I hit a rocky funny splitting my rear brake line.

“I carried on and did three laps until I pitted and changed the rear brake system out. Once going again I was in 10th position and managed to work my way back to eighth. Even though it wasn’t the result I wanted on the day, I was happy that I carried on and didn’t give up. This now puts me into fourth overall in the XC2 pro championship standings.

“I’m really looking forward to the next race in two weeks’ time, to be held in Ohio (on October 5).”

For 35-year-old Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F), it was another tough assignment.

He holeshot the race, before dropping back when he became embroiled in a fierce battle for the lead. He held on to finish sixth overall, good for fifth in class, and this was enough for him to retain his hold on to fifth place in the XC1 championship standings.

“I was struggling to see with some water splashing on my goggles from a branch and getting in between my tear-offs,” Whibley explained.

“I pulled the tear-offs to get rid of the blur then ate some roost so continued to struggle.

“Another downpour during the third lap made things pretty slick in the rocks and hard pack sections but continued to improve the dusty areas of the track. I grabbed a fresh pair of goggle and was back up to speed.

“A lap later we gassed up ready for the second half of the race. I soon got into a battle with Ryan Sipes. He came by me with three laps to go. I tried to stick with him but it was tough in some of the faster sections.

“A lap later I found myself right on his tail in one of the tighter woods sections. I pushed hard and tried to set something up only to have a rough last lap with a small tip over and a couple mistakes in the rocks costing some time.”

Meanwhile, American Kailub Russell (KTM) clinched his second consecutive GNCC XC1 Pro Championship title two rounds early after taking the overall win at the weekend.

Whibley is supported by Yamaha Motor New Zealand, AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, MSR G2, Asterisk, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders MCC, Spectro, Acerbis, DID, JT sprockets, Leatt, Kenda, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ, Bikesportnz.com, Unibiker and Tire balls.

May is supported by Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Kiwi Rider magazine, BikesportNZ.com, MotoSR, Golden Tyres, Fox, Graphic Creation, GYTR and Yamalube.

RESULTS

XC1 Event Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)
2. Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
3. Andrew Delong (HSQ)
4. Ryan Sipes (KTM)
5. Paul Whibley (YAM)
6. Jason Thomas (KTM)
7. Chris Douglas (KTM)
8. Takeshi Koikeda (HON)
9. Thad DuVall (HON)
10. Chris Bach (HON)

*Overall National Championship Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (293)
2. Jordan Ashburn (187)
3. Josh Strang (186)
4. Charlie Mullins (180)
5. Grant Baylor (177)
6. Paul Whibley (152)
7. Andrew Delong (152)
8. Ricky Russell (117)
9. Chris Bach (108)
10. Trevor Bollinger (106)

*Indicates that the Overall National Championship Standings will determine the 2014 National Champion.

XC2 Event Results:

1. Grant Baylor (KTM)
2. Trevor Bollinger (HON)
3. Nick Davis (KTM)
4. Michael McGinnis (KTM)
5. Sam Evans (KTM)
6. Mark Heresco (KTM)
7. Zach Love (KTM)
8. Callan May (YAM)
9. Derrik Allen (YAM)
10. Mat Herrington (KTM)

XC2 Series Standings:

1. Grant Baylor (292)
2. Trevor Bollinger (235)
3. Ricky Russell (233)
4. Callan May (128)
5. Layne Michael (127)
6. Sam Evans (120)
7. Jesse Groemm (119)
8. Shane Hufford Jr (114)
9. Nick Davis (111)
10. Chris Douglas (99Kasil)

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

Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here.