WMR/KTM Rider Rory Mead Wins The Mammoth GNCC

[caption id="attachment_12001" align="alignright" width="300"] 2012 GNCC The Mammoth XC1 podium - Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]

With a new GNCC venue came a new winner as WMR/KTM support rider Rory Mead captured his first GNCC XC1 class win at the fifth round of the series.

Mead got his KTM off to a great start and battled up front through the entire race. Keeping pace with Mead was Factory FMF/KTM rider Charlie Mullins who finished the race in 2nd place and moved closer to the top two riders in the championship point standings.

Mullins teammate, Kailub Russell, who had won the past three GNCC rounds, struggled on the rocky Kentucky course and was plagued by crashes throughout the day. Luckily he still maintained a fast pace and was able to make up time and bounce back to 4th place at the end of the race.

The third member of the Factory FMF/KTM Team Cory Buttrick had a great start to the race rounding the first corner in 2nd place. He remained inside the top five for the first three laps of the 3-hour race before he fell off the pace due to a previous injury from a National Enduro round two weeks prior.

[caption id="attachment_12002" align="alignleft" width="300"] Charlie Mullins finished the race in 2nd place, moving up in points - Photo: Shan Moore[/caption]

Factory FMF/KTM Team Manager, Antti Kallonen, mentioned, "We are very excited for Rory to get his first win and want to congratulate him on a job well done. I am also excited to see Mullins back up front and climbing back up in the point standings. To finish 1-2 today is a great accomplishment for KTM and we look forward to more podiums as the series continues."

In the GNCC XC2 class, it was KTM support rider Steward Baylor who continued his win streak to claim another win despite a hand injury from a race the week earlier. Baylor, along with GNCC Women's racer Maria Forsberg, remains undefeated in the series.

Next Event: Round 6 - Springville, IN - May 13, 2012

The Mammoth Overview And Point Standings

Overall Results - XC1 Class

1. Rory Mead
   
2. Charlie Mullins
   
3. Pau Whibley
   
4. Kailub Russell
   
5. Jordan Asburn
   
6. Chris Bach
   
7. Nate Kanney
   
8. Cory Buttrick
   
9. Jimmy Jarrett
   
10. Garrett Edmisten
    

1. Paul Whibley - 122
   
2. Kailub Russell - 117
   
3. Charlie Mullins - 111
   

1. Steward Baylor
   
2. Andrew Delong
   
3. Jesse Robinson
   
4. Nick Davis
   
5. Jedediah Haines
   
6. Brad Bakken
   
7. Jason Thomas
   
8. Scott Grills
   
9. AJ Stewart
   
10. Cole Kirkpatrick
    

1. Steward Baylor - 150
   
2. Jesse Robinson - 105
   
3. Jason Thomas - 93
   

1. Maria Forsberg
   
2. Leeann Bange
   
3. Hannah Otto
   
4. Ashley Copeland
   
5. Brooke Cosner
   
6. Rebecca Sheets
   
7. Rachel Gutish
   
8. Ashley Crouch
   
9. Shelby Rolen
   
10. Dawn Silva
    

1. Maria Forsberg - 100
   
2. Hannah Otto - 89
   
3. Leeann Bange - 80
   

Source: KTM North America