Martinez Wins Round 1 Of The AMA Big 6 Gp Series; Russell Captures Top 5 Finish

ADELANTO, Calif. - The FMF KTM
Factory Racing Team had a successful start to the 2018 AMA Big 6
Grand Prix Series on Saturday as team rider Kacy Martinez scored a
big win in the WCGP Women's Pro class, while her teammate, Kailub
Russell, finished 5th overall in the WCGP Pro division.
As multi-time champions in various offroad disciplines, both
Russell and Martinez knew they would be up for a challenge with a
new style of grand prix racing on the west coast. The SoCal GP
represented one of the fastest courses of the series with top
speeds clocking in at over 100 mph and average speeds around 30-35
mph for the pro riders. Despite the contrast, Russell and Martinez
dove in head first.
Russell lined up on row one alongside the fastest riders in the
WCGP Pro class aboard his
KTM 450 XC-F. With an asphalt start, Russell spun a little bit
off the line causing him to separate from the leaders right away.
The five-time GNCC National Champion caught back up to the 5th
place position as he entered the trail section of the course.
It was an up-and-down day for Russell in the overall running as he
fought hard to adapt to the high speeds and rough course
conditions. Finding himself as high up as 4th place at one point,
Russell ultimately finished 5th overall for the opening round of
his first full-season of AMA Big 6 racing.
Russell: "It was good to get through the first
round healthy and with some real experience of what I'm up against.
These guys go fast! I had a bonehead move on the asphalt start so I
was about 5th or 6th when we hit the trails. I got swallowed up and
fell back to about 8th until I pitted and finally got into a groove
and picked some guys off to get back up to 5th. I'm looking forward
to the next one, the goal is to keep learning and
progressing."
Martinez and the WCGP
Women's Pro class started on row three, just behind the other pro
divisions. Martinez put her
KTM 250 XC-F into the 2nd place position off the start, where
she rode vigilantly in 2nd place on the opening lap. Martinez began
to feel comfortable by lap two and that's when she made her pass
into the lead position.
From there, Martinez continued to put a gap on the 2nd place rider
of Lauren Woods (KTM). After eight laps of racing, Martinez
finished over five minutes ahead of Woods to capture the first
victory of the season in Adelanto.
Martinez: "I'm happy with the whole race - how
I rode, how comfortable I was on the bike and my bike setup - it
was awesome. I felt really strong on my bike and I was able to
push and keep pushing
throughout the laps despite how rough it was getting out there. I'm
happy to start out the season with a win and keep
building."
Round 2: February 10-11 / Honolulu Hills Raceway / Taft,
California
WCGP Pro Results
- Trevor Stewart, HON, 1:44:05
- Dalton Shirey, HQV, 1:44:17
- Eric Yorba, KTM, 1:44:30
- Justin Seeds, KAW, 1:45:59
- Kailub Russell, KTM, 1:46:18
WCGP Women Pro Results
- Kacy Martinez, KTM, 1:51:35
- Lauren Woods, KTM, 1:57:17
- Britney Gallegos, 1:47:01