FMF KTM Factory Racing Rider Kailub Russell Makes GNCC History

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FMF KTM Factory Racing rider, Kailub Russell, is on fire. Russell is the man to beat in the woods as he captured not only his fifth consecutive GNCC Overall National Championship this month, but also his 47th career victory in the series, making him the most winning rider in GNCC history.

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Round 13 – GNCC Series – October 29, 2017

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – Fresh off his fifth consecutive GNCC Overall National Championship earlier this month, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Kailub Russell made history on Sunday as he captured his 47th career victory in the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series to now hold the all-time record for the most overall wins in GNCC history.

Russell’s record-breaking victory came at the Ironman GNCC season finale in Crawfordsville, Indiana where temperatures in the low 40s made for a chilly day of racing. Russell got off to a great start as he put himself into the lead position early on the opening lap. About four miles into lap one, Russell had a tip over that dropped him back to the 2nd place position for a brief time. However, it didn’t take long for the five-time champion to put himself back out front where he controlled the pace for the remainder of the three-hour race.

Russell was able to cross the finish line 18 seconds ahead of the 2nd place rider of DuVall, where he captured yet another milestone in his racing career as the most-winning GNCC racer of all time.

Kailub Russell: “This was a great way to end the GNCC season – taking home my 47th career win to surpass offroad racing legend Scott Summers to take over the all-time wins record. I wasn’t expecting to see Scott at the race but I’m very happy that he was able to be in attendance today to watch me break his winning record as I watched him set it as a very young kid. I can’t thank everyone that’s been behind me for all these years enough for all of their support!”

Antti Kallonen, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “It’s pretty amazing to be able to witness every single win of Kailub’s from the start of his career until now. He’s grown so much as a racer and the whole team is very proud to be a part of his accomplishments thus far. This is a milestone for sure but we’re already looking forward to what’s next and we’ll keep trying for more. Kailub is tied with five GNCC Championships so maybe we set our new goal for six championships and we’ll go back to work this off-season to come back stronger than ever.”

FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Russell Bobbitt got off to a good start in the XC1 Open Pro class, where he sat in the 3rd place position on the opening lap. However, Bobbitt ran into an issue early on that knocked him back substantially in the overall running. Bobbitt maintained a good pace throughout the three-hour race but his mistakes early on kept him from breaking inside the top ten for the remainder of the race. Bobbitt ultimately finished 15th overall for the day.

Overall Results (XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Lites Combined)

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Thad DuVall (HQV)

3. Ricky Russell (YAM)

4. Grant Baylor (HQV)

5. Josh Strang (HQV)

OTHER KTM

7. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

13. Ben Kelley (KTM)

14. Evan Smith (KTM)

15. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)

Overall Point Standings

1. Kailub Russell (320)

2. Thad DuVall (227)

3. Ricky Russell (220)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (207)

5. Josh Toth (192)

6. Grant Baylor (180)

7. Trevor Bollinger (152)

8. Craig DeLong (141)

9. Layne Michael (140)

10. Josh Strang (130)

11. Russell Bobbitt (128)

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