New Berlin, NY (September 12, 2010) – After an exciting and hard-fought battle, Jimmy Jarrett edged out Nate Kanney to win the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC in New Berlin, New York – round 10 of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series.

Jarrett’s win was somewhat of a surprise since the GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki rider suffered a shoulder injury early in the season and has spent most of the year trying to return to form. The fact that he beat Kanney at Unadilla was even more impressive, since the New York course is well known as Kanney’s favorite.

“I surprised myself,” said Jarrett. “I’ve been off for so long and I haven’t been able to ride at that pace since Florida, but I think the adrenaline kept me going for most of the race.”

Jarrett got a good jump at the start and took the lead within the first mile of the race.

“I got in the lead early on and then Nate passed me and the battle began,” said Jarrett. “We went back and forth and then I tipped over with two laps to go and he got away from me and I thought it was over with. But he got into some lappers and I was able to catch up to him. Then on the last lap, not far from the end, he just lost the front end on some slippery rocks and I knew that was my shot and I just pinned it.”

Kanney crossed the finish line less than five seconds behind Jarrett to take second.

“I had the lead for a while and Jimmy was right on me and we were having a good race,” said Kanney. “He kept the pressure on and I had to push on the last lap and I crashed trying to get around a lapper and unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to make it up. I didn’t get the win but I’m really happy for Jimmy. He’s had a lot of bad luck this year and he really rode good today so I’m happy for him.”

Chris Bach made a late race charge to finish third. The Clockwork/Ride PG/KTM rider got off to a mediocre start and made a few passes to move up with the frontrunners. However, at the midway point of the race the Indiana rider crashed and dropped outside of the top six. In the end, Bach was able to work his way back into third, giving him his fourth podium finish of the year.

“The track was really blown out and there are a lot of lines everywhere so it was easy to make some moves,” said Bach. “I got up to the front and I slipped in behind Kanney and I thought I would just track him, but I went down and lost a lot of ground. But I just put my head down and was determined to get back to the front.”

Josh Strang came into the race hoping to add to his 17-point lead in the series standings, and after finishing a solid fourth the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider left town with a 24-point cushion after his closest challenger, Charlie Mullins, struggled to finish 10th.

“I was a little off the pace today and I got a pretty bad start, but I was pretty happy overall,” said Strang. “I actually picked up a few points and my bike was awesome. The testing we did the last few weeks – we got the thing dialed in, so I’m pretty stoked about that. It’s a bummer not to get on the podium but I’m still in good shape for the championship.”

Thad DuVall ran in second during the early stages of the race before giving way to Kanney and Bach. DuVall eventually edged out FMF/KTM factory rider Cory Buttrick for fifth. In the meantime, DuVall’s Am Pro/FMF Yamaha teammate Barry Hawk Jr. finished seventh, ahead of Glenn Kearney on the 250 Husqvarna. Ninth and 10th went to Am Pro/FMF Yamaha riders Paul Whibley and Mullins.

Mullins came into the race hoping to make a dent in Strang’s points lead, however he went down on the first lap and damaged his throttle body. The Ohio native eventually had to make a trip to the pits to get it fixed and was never able to recover the lost time.

Like the XC1 race, the XC2 race as a two-man battle, with class rivals Kailub Russell and Jason Thomas going at it for most of the race. Over the summer break, Thomas’ team, Monster Energy Andrews Cycles, made the switch to Husqvarna machinery and Thomas was making his first start on the new TXC 250 and he was hoping to get a win.

After battling during the early stages with KTM rider Jesse Robinson and GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Scotty Watkins, Thomas and Russell broke away and spent the rest of the race swapping the lead. The race was finally decided on the final lap, within sight of the finish line, when Russell and Thomas came together and Thomas ended up going down. In end end, Russell put his FMF/KTM across the finish line three seconds sooner than Thomas to claim his sixth win of the series.

“I had a couple of crashes today, but I was able to catch back up each time,” said Russell. “There at the end, me and Jason were both going for the same line and we came together and he got the bad end of the deal.”

Thomas was disappointed at the way the race ended but he was pleased with his new bike and his team.

“I just wanted to win it was all the people who supported me today,” said Thomas.

Watkins rounded out the podium, beating out KTM’s Steward Baylor Jr. for the position by just over two minutes.

Zach Nolan made his XC2 debut a good one by finishing fifth, while fellow KTM rider Nick Davis rode a solid race to finish sixth.

Nicholas Hunter (KTM), Morgan Moss (Yam), Jason Klammer (KTM) and Brian Lawson (Yam) rounded out the top 10.

The Overall Amateur Award went to Jordan Ashburn for the sixth this year. The Kawasaki rider was 16th overall and topped the Open A division.

Holeshots in the top two classes went to Eric Bailey, who claimed the $250 MotorcyceUSA.com Holeshot Award at the start of the XC1 race; and Morgan Moss, who won the $100 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award in the XC2 division.

In the morning race, Chad Tallman won the Sportsman A class on a Kawasaki, claiming the overall win as well.

Maria Forsberg beat fellow KTM rider Shelby Rolen and Yamaha rider Leeann Bange to win the Women’s division.

In the Youth race, KTM rider Layne Michaels beat out Grant Baylor to win the Super Mini (14-15) class. Michaels was also the top Youth Overall finisher.

“I just tried to stay consistent today,” said Michaels. “I pushed hard after the start and built a small gap and I just kept on truckin’ all day.”

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Series will return on September 25th and 26th for the Titan GNCC, held in Lafayette, Tennessee.

XC1 Results:

1. Jimmy Jarrett (Kaw)

2. Nate Kanney (KTM)

3. Chris Bach (KTM)

4. Josh Strang (Suz)

5. Thad DuVall (Yam)

6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

8. Glenn Kearney (Hus)

9. Paul Whibley (Yam)

10. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (229/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (205/3 wins)

3. Cory Buttrick (190/1 win)

4. Paul Whibley (176)

5. Chris Bach (171)

6. Nate Kanney (167/1 win)

7. Glenn Kearney (148)

8. Barry Hawk Jr. (123)

9. Kenneth Gilbert (112)

10. Jimmy Jarrett (107/1 win)

XC2 Results:

1. Kailub Russell (KTM)

2. Jason Thomas (Hus)

3. Scott Watkins (Kaw)

4. Steward Baylor Jr. (KTM)

5. Zach Nolan (KTM)

6. Nick Davis (KTM)

7. Nicholas Hunter (KTM)

8. Morgan Moss (Yam)

9. Jason Klammer (KTM)

10. Brian Lawson (Yam)

XC2 Standings:

1. Kailub Russell (253/6 wins)

2. Jason Thomas (240/1 win)

3. Jesse Robinson (211/2 wins)

4. Scott Watkins (189)

5. Steward Baylor Jr. (162)

6. David Snyder (114)

7. Mark Fortner (112)

8. Brian Lawson (112)

9. Nicholas Hunter (94)

10. Dustin Gibson (93)

MotorcycleUSA.com $250 XC1 holeshot – Eric Bailey

MotorcycleUSA.com $100 XC2 holeshot – Morgan Moss

Overall Amateur Award – Jordan Ashburn

About GNCC Racing:

The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series is America’s premier off-road racing series. Founded in 1979, the 13-round championship is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles, competing for more than $3 million in prizes. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.

check out gnccracing.com.

Nearly 1200 riders representing eight countries attended the series opener, which saw no less than five different riders hold the lead at one point or another in the highly competitive XC1 division.

At the drop of the green flag, it was defending series champ Paul Whibley taking the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award on his Am-Pro WR450F. Meanwhile, Strang was at the back of the pack after his bike failed to start on the first kick. At the end of the first lap, however, it was last year’s River Ranch winner, Charlie Mullins, holding a lead the Obermeyer/Am-Pro Yamaha rider eventually turned into a 45-second advantage. And at the midway point of the race, Mullins looked to be well on his way to his second-straight River Ranch win, however he eventually fell victim to one of the waterholes that littered the rough and sandy 14-mile course…..

Check out the full story at GNCCracing.com

Defending GNCC champion Knight who just recently left a BMW ride in Europe to make this GNCC trip possible,  took home the $10,000 overall win prize, as well as an additional $1000 for topping the XC1 class. The big-purse Snowshoe event, the only off-road race of its kind to take place at a ski resort, also paid a $5000 bonus  to Whibley and $3000 to Kanney.

GNCCRacing.com

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