Image: Ken Hill.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series made it’s way north for an all-new GNCC venue with the Tomahawk GNCC in Odessa, New York.

After a hard fought day of racing, coming from as far behind as sixth place on the opening lap, JCR Honda’s Chris Bach would emerge with his first ever-career GNCC overall win.

“I just kept telling myself to relax and not let it get to me,” said Bach “I’ve never lead one of these for very long much less half the race.”

As the green flag dropped, it was Husqvarna Canada/Parts Canada-backed rider Tyler Medaglia who shot off the start to claim the Holeshot Award. However, Medaglia’s day would end early due to an ankle injury.

Rocky Mountain ATV MC KR4/FAR Race Team’s Thad DuVall soon found himself in the number one spot with AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes and Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell in tow.

DuVall would run into brake troubles not once, but twice. After pitting and taking some time to fix the troubles, DuVall’s day would ultimately be cut short after suffering from brake failure once again which resulted in a hard crash.

Russell would reclaim the lead on lap two, but would soon be faced with pressure from both Bach and Sipes. Russell would come in second place, ending his season win-streak, while Sipes would round of the podium with a third place.

“It was definitely a man’s track, it was rough out there,” said Russell “I’m pretty disappointed, it’s not the end of the world though I got second.”

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor put in an impressive ride battling up front and even leading portions of the race. Baylor would finish fourth while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong finished fifth and HR Motorsports/Honda’s Takeshi Koikeda finished sixth.

Maxxis/FLY/Factory Connection rider Chris Douglas had his best finish of the season finishing seventh place in XC1 while Funmart Cycle/FLY/RidePG.com’s Adam Bonneur also had his best finish of the season with an eighth place finish.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang got off to an excellent start, challenging Medaglia for the holeshot. However, Strang would quickly fade through the pack, ultimately only completing three laps of the six-lap race. He was scored 10th, with countryman Daniel Milner credited 12th.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes 23-24 May with the Rocky Mountain ATV MC Mountaineer Run in Masontown, WV.

2015 Grand National Cross Country Series
Round six – Dunlop Tomahawk

XC1 Pro results:
1. Chris Bach
2. Kailub Russell
3. Ryan Sipes
4. Grant Baylor
5. Andrew Delong
6. Takeshi Koikeda
7. Chris Douglas
8. Adam Bonneur
9. Thad Duvall
10. Josh Strang (AUS)
12. Daniel Milner (AUS)

XC1 Pro championship standings:
1. Kailub Russell 175
2. Josh Strang (AUS) 129
3. Grant Baylor 111
4. Chris Bach 106
5. Thad Duvall 103
6. Ryan Sipes 89
7. Jordan Ashburn 81
8. Takeshi Koikeda 68
9. Chris Douglas 65
10. Adam Bonneur 65
11. Daniel Milner (AUS) 54

Click here for detailed results