Image: Ken Hill.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, made its way to Washington, Georgia, for the annual Maxxis General GNCC.

With rain accumulation through the week leading up to Sunday’s race, Aonia Pass Motocross Park presented muddy conditions all weekend long.

However, Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell emerged victorious despite the conditions to secure his second straight victory in as many rounds.

Russell grabbed the early lead with the Holeshot Award, but AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes tucked in close behind and applied pressure to the two-time champion early on.

Russell ran into a few issues on the opening lap, evening dropping back to the fourth place position, but it wasn’t long before he made up the time and gained the lead once again.

Sipes pushed hard on the opening lap but the Kentucky rider ran into issues after getting stuck in a mud hole on the second lap.

Sipes lost a substantial amount of time working his way out of the mudhole, where he spent the rest of the race catching up.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang put himself into a favourable position early on.

However, as he worked his way into the second place position, Strang got together with a lapped rider, resulting in a damaged brake rotor on the front side.

The 2010 GNCC National Champion came into the pits for a quick front wheel swap and returned to the course a couple positions back.

Strang quickly made up that time and returned to the second place position, as a hard charging Thad DuVall began his charge through the pack.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR’s DuVall came from outside the top five off the start and moved into the third place position.

The West Virginia native experienced a couple issues throughout the three-hour race that caused him to lose substantial time in the overall running, but a late-in-the-race charge allowed him to maintain a podium position heading into the final lap of racing.

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn interjected himself into the podium battle early on where he went back and forth with DuVall for a majority of the afternoon.

Near the end of the six-lap race, Ashburn went head-to-head with JCR Honda’s Chris Bach to capture the fourth place position. Bach, who also began the race outside the top five, charged his way through the pack to battle for a podium position.

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor finished sixth, with Factory FMF/KTM’s Russell Bobbitt in seventh.

Visiting Canadian Motocross Lites Champion Tyler Medaglia finished eighth in XC1 on a Husqvarna Canada/Parts Unlimited Canada machine, with Funmart Cycle/FLY/Maxxis/Powersport Graphx-backed Adam Bonneur and Sipes rounding out the top 10 in XC1.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes 28-29 March with the FMF Steele Creek GNCC in Morganton, North Carolina.

2015 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series
Round two – The Maxxis General

XC1 Pro results:
1. Kailub Russell
2. Josh Strang (AUS)
3. Thaddeus Duvall
4. Jordan Ashburn
5. Christopher Bach
6. Grant Baylor
7. Russell Bobbitt
8. Tyler Medaglia
9. Adam Bonneur
10. Ryan Sipes
13. Daniel Milner (AUS)

XC1 Pro championship standings:
1. Kailub Russell 60
2. Josh Strang (AUS) 50
3. Thaddeus Duvall 39
4. Christopher Bach 37
5. Jordan Ashburn 31
6. Grant Baylor 29
7. Tyler Medaglia 29
8. Ryan Sipes 26
9. Takeshi Koikeda 22
10. Adam Bonneur 21
13. Daniel Milner (AUS) 13

Click here for detailed results