Image: Ken Hill.

The 16th running of the FMF Steele Creek GNCC took place on Sunday at Steele Creek, where Kailub Russell saw his third straight victory of the 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship season.

Russell extended his points lead in the XC1 Pro class to earn his 25th career win in front of a hometown crowd in Morganton, North Carolina.

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn put himself into the early lead after grabbing the $250 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award but Russell quickly made his way to the front on the opening lap. The two-time GNCC National Champion created a gap on the rest of the field early on, leaving an exciting battle to shape up for the second place position.

AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes jumped into second on the opening lap, with N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn and Australia’s Daniel Milner right in the mix.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KR4/FAR’s Thad DuVall also put himself into a favorable position off the start, where he joined the front-runners early on to engage in a battle for the podium position.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Josh Strang got tangled up with another rider just after the start, knocking the Australian to the back of the pack early on. From there, the top 10 running order continuously changed as riders battled it out for valuable championship points at the third round.

JCR Honda’s Chris Bach was the next to step into contention for second place after Ashburn made his way into that spot, setting his sights on Russell ahead. Bach chased Ashburn down but it was DuVall who surpassed both riders to inherit the second place position as the three-hour race neared its halfway mark.

Strang joined DuVall in what turned out to be an exciting battle between the two Husqvarna-backed riders all afternoon. Russell kicked it into high gear in the final moments of the seven-lap race as the Factory FMF/KTM rider finished over two and a half minutes ahead of Strang, who came in second.

DuVall finished just twenty seconds behind Strang to round out the top three overall for the day. Russell keeps his winning streak alive with a three-for-three score and a 15-point lead over Strang in the championship standings. DuVall sits another 15 points back in third.

XC1 Pro rookie Grant Baylor made a jump in the championship standings on Sunday with an impressive come-from-behind performance to land fourth overall for the day. Baylor began the day just outside the top 10 as he pushed his way through the pack all afternoon, ultimately landing just outside the overall podium in his third fulltime race in the premier class.

Baylor’s AmPro Yamaha teammate Jordan Ashburn was able to maintain his top five running from the afternoon, securing fifth overall for the day, where he now sits tied with Grant Baylor for fourth in the championship standings.

In his first race back from injury this season, Moto-Tech/KTM’s Steward Baylor put in an impressive ride to finish sixth overall after being forced to make his way through the pack, alongside his brother Grant.

Milner put forth his best GNCC performance of the season with seventh overall, while Factory FMF/KTM’s Russell Bobbitt took eighth overall. After experiencing a few crashes along the way, Sipes finished the day with ninth place in XC1 and 14th overall, while Husqvarna Canada/Parts Unlimited Canada’s Tyler Medaglia rounded out the top ten in XC1 with 25th overall.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes on 12 April with the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina.

2015 GNCC Series
Round three – Steele Creek

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

XC1 Pro championship standings:
1. Kailub Russell 90
2. Josh Strang (AUS) 75
3. Thaddeus Duvall 60
4. Grant Baylor 47
5. Jordan Ashburn 47
6. Christopher Bach 44
7. Tyler Medaglia 40
8. Ryan Sipes 38
9. Adam Bonneur 30
10. Takeshi Koikeda 30
13. Daniel Milner (AUS) 27

Click here for detailed results