I’m happy with second but this one hurts a little.” Injury? What injury? “I was able to reel in Stu but it was like a mile from the finish and when I caught him there was nothing I could do with that dust. I started my bike too early and shut it off trying to do the right thing but I ended up with a dead last start and I got stopped for 15 seconds on the first lap. “It seemed like everything was going wrong.

The last lap was epic but in the end the dust (and a wide Baylor) made a pass on the last lap a step too far. Kelley worked his way through the dust and up to third at the halfway point before moving to second with two laps to go. The KTM rider fired up his bike too early and although he shut it down immediately and was then last away, was still forced to take a 15-second penalty on the opening lap. Steward Baylor takes ANOTHER win at the Mason-Dixon #GNCC 🏁Ī post shared by GNCC Racing on at 2:26pm PDTīen Kelley will curse himself for an over-eager thumb on the Mason-Dixon start line. Out front the battle was intense for the final lap and 30 minutes of racing which ultimately saw Baylor cross the line just 1.8 second in front of Kelley – no time for backflips over the line this week though Stew…

Michael meanwhile went down at the end of pro row and allowed Russell into the podium place with Thad Duvall, back racing GNCC for the first time this season, pushing hard in fourth. Ultimately though the relentless pace of both Baylor and FMF/KTM Factory Racing’s Ben Kelley had relegated Michael to third as they came through timing on the fifth lap.īaylor held the advantage on Kelley by 13 seconds as the white flag flew having opted for one less air filter swap. Michael impressively held the lead for the first four laps as dusty conditions featured heavily and air filter changes were part of the pit stop routines for many teams. Baylor’s AmPro Yamaha teammate Layne Michael took the XC1 holeshot ahead Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki teammates Jordan Ashburn and Josh Strang as they headed into the woods for the first time – Baylor at this point was down in mid-pack.

Baylor's triple treatĪlmost overshadowed by Kailub’s crown, Steward Baylor deserves at least some of the limelight for what was arguably his hardest fought race win of the season. Mount Morris, Pennsylvania will go down in history as the GNCC round where FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell wrapped up his eighth-straight GNCC National Championship. Results from the Mason-Dixon GNCC, round eleven of the 2020 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series where Steward Baylor scored his third win in succession and Kailub Russell sealed a historic eighth championship title.

Red Dust by Ben Dixon