↓
 

GNCC SEASON OVER FOR 2014

Bikesportnz Posted on by

Whibley-0374-b

Two New Zealand riders finished inside the top 10 when the Grand National Cross-country Championships wrapped up in the United States at the weekend.

Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) battled amongst traffic at the 13th and final round of the GNCC series at Crawfordsville, Indiana, to finish eighth overall and this was enough for the two-time former GNCC champion to finish the 2014 series in fifth spot overall.

For 35-year-old former Manawatu forestry worker Whibley, the season has been a mixed bag – he easily won the parallel Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) crown for a record sixth time, with a round to spare, but his GNCC campaign has been something of a struggle this year, although he is still regularly the fastest man into turn one and he claimed another $250 bonus prize as the holeshot winner at Crawfordsville on Sunday.

“I stalled the bike just after we entered the woods then water splashed between my tear-offs on one off the creek crossings. With blurry vision I tried to continue to push but ended up riding tight and getting the worst arm pump of the season,” said Whibley.

“I pulled all the tear-offs and wiped the water off but then the roost began to cause vision problems. After one lap I stopped and grabbed some clean goggles. I had lost a lot of positions and now had to ride smoothly while waiting patiently for my arm pump to go down.

“After the fuel stop, I began to loosen up and was able to up the pace. The track was really fun and I was having a blast. I was a long way back and didn’t really have anyone around. I got pit boards a lap later saying Grant Baylor was catching and was only 10 seconds behind.

“I pushed hard and slowly edged away with the next pit board showing a 25 second buffer and that continued to grow. Late in the race a moved past a slowing Charlie Mullins who was struggling with injuries he suffered earlier this year.

“Overall, I had a lot of fun at this track, probably my favourite of the year. I’m just disappointed I got such bad arm pump and was unable to get in the mix.”

American Kailub Russell (KTM) won Sunday’s race to secure his 22nd career victory, giving him a total of nine wins this season, and putting a rubberstamp on the 2014 championship that he had already wrapped up with two rounds to spare.

Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Callan May (Yamaha YZ250F), of Titirangi, in his GNCC debut season, had problems of a different nature to deal with as electrical problems struck on the first lap.

Down on power, he still managed to finish the race and that was enough for him to finish 83rd overall and 12th in the XC2 (250cc) category, still sufficient for the Auckland rider to seal up sixth overall in the XC2 championships standings.

“I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has made my first year of GNCC racing such a success,” said May.

It was interesting to note that this final round of the GNCC series attracted more than 2300 riders, the highest rider count that GNCC has seen in its 40-year lifespan.

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.

XC1 Round Results:

1. Kailub Russell – 02:50:12.765
2. Josh Strang – 02:51:45.203
3. Ryan Sipes – 02:51:52.000
4. Andrew Delong – 02:52:58.125
5. Steward Baylor – 02:54:30.531
6. Jordan Ashburn – 02:54:35.343
7. Takeshi Koikeda – 02:55:38.750
8. Paul Whibley (NZ) – 02:57:18.843
9. Grant Baylor – 02:59:13.234
10. Charles Mullins – 02:59:46.593
19. Daniel Milner – DNF

XC1 2014 Final Championship Standings:

1. Kailub Russell – 353 Pts
2. Josh Strang – 260 Pts
3. Jordan Ashburn – 237 Pts
4. Charles Mullins – 210 Pts
5. Paul Whibley (NZ) – 203 Pts
6. Andrew Delong – 189 Pts
7. Christopher Bach – 166 Pts
8. Ryan Sipes – 161 Pts
9. Takeshi Koikeda – 153 Pts
10. Steward Baylor Jr – 151 Pts

XC2 Round Results:

1. Nick Davis – 02:58:13.921
2. Layne Michael – 02:59:56.296
3. Craigh Delong – 03:00:17.281
4. Scott Grills – 03:02:58.687
5. Samuel Evans – 03:08:25.406
6. Alex Teagarden – 03:08:29.671
7. Mark Heresco – 03:17:34.125
8. Ian Blythe – 02:51:13.828
9. Lucas Statom – 02:54:22.390
10. Mat Herrington – 02:55:52.187

XC2 2014 Final Championship Standings:

1. Grant Baylor – 322 Pts
2. Tervor Bollinger – 253 Pts
3. Ricky Russell – 233 Pts
4. Layne Michael – 177 Pts
5. Nick Davis – 162 Pts
6. May Callan (NZ) – 151 Pts
7. Samuel Evans – 141 Pts
8. Jessie Groemm – 119 Pts
9. Shane Hufford Jr – 114 Pts
10. Jedediah Haines – 105 Pts

*Overall National Championship Standings:

  1. Kailub Russell (348)
  2. Josh Strang (241)
  3. Jordan Ashburn (223)
  4. Charlie Mullins (208)
  5. Grant Baylor (202)
  6. Andrew Delong (178)
  7. Paul Whibley (177)
  8. Steward Baylor Jr. (134)
  9. Chris Bach (123)
  10. Ricky Russell (117)

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

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

Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here

Comments are closed.

↑