Hawk on podium, Russell takes XC2
Team FMF/Makita Suzuki turned the Mountain Ridge round of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series into a private affair, with Josh Strang defeating his teammate Charlie Mullins after a dramatic three-hour battle in the rocks, mud, forests and fields of Western Pennsylvania. Am-Pro FMF Yamaha’s Barry Hawk finished third to collect his first podium of the season, while Shock Doctor KTM’s Kailub Russell won the XC2 Lites class ahead of Monster Energy/Andrews Yamaha’s Jason Thomas and Shock Doctor KTM’s Cory Buttrick.
Strang’s win marked his fourth in the last five GNCC races, and also the second time this season that he and Mullins finished 1-2. In contrast, championship rival Paul Whibley had a tough day. The New Zealander smashed a waterpump cover and put a hole in his radiator, but still dug out a seventh-place finish in the XC1 class. Strang now holds the …Â Details