Cycle News Staff | June 12, 2017
2017 Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC Results – Thad Duvall made it back-to-back wins in the 2017 Amsoil GNCC Series after coming from way back in the field to take the win at the Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC in Odessa, N.Y., June 11. Duvall is now within sight of points leader Kailub Russell, who had tough day with a mechanical issue and a crash that ultimately resulted in a fifth-place finish in the XC1 Pro class (seventh overall). Duvall now trails the defending champ, Russell, by just 10 points.
2017 Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC Results
Duvall crashed early in the race and was at one point as far back as 12th place on the first lap, while fellow Husqvarna rider Ryan Sipes was leading the way. Once Duvall found his groove, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Team rider climbed his way to the front of the pack. By lap two he was in fourth, a lap later he was third, and by the fifth lap, he had ridden around Sipes for the lead, which he never relinquished. Duvall ended up taking the checkered flag one minutes and 10 seconds ahead of Sipes, on the Coastal Racing Husqvarna.
Steward Baylor (SRT KTM) and Josh Strang (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) ended up battling it out for the final spot on the podium. Strang actually led the race right off the start but dropped back to fifth before picking up the pace again and getting into third, but that’s when Baylor came calling. The two then engaged in a good battle, with Baylor taking third away from Sipes on the sixth of the seven-lap race. Baylor crossed the finish line approximately 15 seconds ahead of Strang.
Kailub Russell, on the FMF KTM, finished the race a few minutes behind Strang—a little worse for wear. Early in the race his shift lever “got sheared off” and was forced to ride around stuck in second gear for a while before he could make a pit stop and get the lever replaced, though he was still able to hold on to third. He then got back up to speed again and moved to the front of the pack before taking a header in the woods. The crash rattled Russell, as well as broke his front fender, and eventually rode out the last few laps in fifth place, taking the checkered flag a few seconds ahead of Grant Baylor (Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/KR4/Husqvarna) in eighth overall/sixth in XC1.
Beta’s Jordan Ashburn was seventh in XC1 (10th overall), followed by N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell (12th overall), FMF KTM’s Russell Bobbitt (15th overall), and JCR Honda’s Trevor Bollinger (16th overall)
Fifth overall was the top XC2 250 Pro (16-24)-class rider, Josh Toth, on the N-Fab/AmPro Yamaha. He finished over two minutes ahead of XC2 runner-up, Coastal Racing Husqvarna’s Layne Michael, who was sixth overall.
Toth was working hard to make it on the overall podium but admitted after the race that he got tired, but you would not have known it by the way he rode. “I started off pretty smooth, and I was pushing the whole race trying to get on the overall podium,” said Toth. “I ended up getting tired during the end and I started fading, but I definitely want to make it up there before the season is over.”
Third in XC2 was Trail Jesters/KTM Racing’s Benjamin Kelley (KTM) in ninth overall.
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/KR4/Husqvarna Team’s Tayla Jones raced her way to the top step of the podium with Fly Racing/Maxxis/Seat Concepts/KTM’s Becca Sheets following in second. Randall Ervin rounded out the overall podium with StuxMX Graphix/Bell Powersports/Kenda Tires/Cosner Racing/Full Gas Fitness-backed Brooke Cosner finishing out the WXC top three. CN
RESULTS
OVERALL
- Thad Duvall (Hus) XC1
- Ryan Sipes (Hus) XC1
- Steward Baylor (KTM) XC1
- Josh Strang (Hus) XC1
- Josh Toth (Yam) XC2
- Layne Michael (Hus) XC2
- Kailub Russell (KTM) XC1
- Grant Baylor (Hus) XC1
- Benjamin Kelley (KTM) XC2
- Jordan Ashburn (Beta) XC1
POINTS STANDINGS (overall)
- Kailub Russell (166)
- Thad Duvall (156)
- Steward Baylor (139)
- Ricky Russell (105)
- Josh Toth (101)
- Josh Strang (89)
- Jordan Ashburn (83)
- Grant Baylor (75)
- Trevor Bollinger (72)
- Craig Delong (68)