Image: Ken Hill.

Factory FMF/KTM’s Kailub Russell extended his win-streak to five in a row on Sunday at round five of the 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country presented by Maxxis, an AMA National Championship, in Springville, Indiana.

Russell now sits third on the all-time bike wins list in GNCC racing after his 27th-career win, surpassing Ed Lojak who claimed 26 wins through his storied career.

N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn took the Holeshot Award with N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Grant Baylor and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Josh Strang tailing behind. Rocky Mountain ATV MC KR4/FAR Race Team’s Thad DuVall quickly made his way into the lead from his mid-pack start on lap one.

Meanwhile, Russell had to work his way through the pack to take over the lead after crashing in the second turn. Russell managed to take over the lead on lap four, but would continue to battle wheel-to-wheel with Grant Baylor throughout the entire three hour race.

Ashburn, along with AirGroup/Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna’s Ryan Sipes, JCR Honda’s Chris Bach and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Andrew DeLong all challenged the lead pack through the early portions of the race before falling behind, leaving them in a four-way battle amongst themselves.

Strang would be challenged by the rough and rutted terrain to come away with a fourth place finish ahead of Ashburn who would round out the top five. After a long day of swapping positions, Sipes would come away with sixth place ahead of Bach and DeLong who finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

It was a tough day for HR Motorsports/Honda-backed Takeshi Koikeda, who experienced a mechanical issue early in the race. Koikeda was able to return to the race and complete eight out of nine laps.

MotoTech/KTM’s Steward Baylor experienced clutch issues that ended his day after completing two laps. N-Fab AmPro Yamaha’s Daniel Milner would also experience issues on lap four, which ultimately ended his day.

Ryder Lafferty would come away with the $100 Hot Cams XC2 Pro Lites Holeshot Award. Raines Riding University/Atlas Yamaha/OffRoadViking.com’s Ricky Russell headed into the woods in second place followed by Husqvarna Support Rider Craig DeLong and Rocky Mountain ATV*MC KR4/FAR’s Nick Davis.

MotoTech/KTM’s Trevor Bollinger quickly worked his way into the lead on lap one with DirtWise/Maxxis/KLIM-backed rider Jason Thomas close in tow. Thomas was able to make his way through the pack after a bad start, and take the lead on lap four.

The 2015 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series resumes on 10 May with the Dunlop Tomahawk GNCC in Odessa, New York.

2015 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series
Round five – Limestone 100

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

XC1 championship standings:
1. Kailub Russell 150
2. Josh Strang (AUS) 118
3. Grant Baylor 93
4. Thad Duvall 91
5. Chris Bach 76
6. Jordan Ashburn 71
7. Ryan Sipes 68
8. Takeshi Koikeda 53
9. Adam Bonneur 52
10. Christopher Douglas 51
11. Daniel Milner (AUS) 45

Click here for detailed results