FMF/KTM Factory rider Charlie Mullins earned his fourth podium finish of the season with a 3rd place result in the GNCC XC1 class at the fifth round of the GNCC Series held in Patton, PA.

This round, originally scheduled as the seventh round of the series will count as the fifth race after the previous two rounds have been cancelled due to unruly rain storms that damaged the courses and warranted them unrideable on race day. Finally, the third attempt at a fifth round was successful as riders geared up for a race which would prove to be the complete opposite in terms of track conditions than the previous two attempts.

“The weather was very hot today, completely unlike any of the other GNCC races this season,” remarked FMF/KTM rider Cory Buttrick. “It was also extremely rocky and fast. There were rocks everywhere, some planted in the ground and others loose on top of the hard-packed course.”

Two of the FMF/KTM team members, Mullins and Buttrick got off to a good start during Sunday’s 3-hour main event. Mullins rounded the first turn in 3rd position while Buttrick was around 6th. The third FMF/KTM team member, Kailub Russell, had a poor jump off the start which resulted in a mid-pack start for the KTM rider.


Mullins passed for the lead early on and worked furiously to gap the pack. Unfortunately he made a mistake early in the race resulting in a crash and the loss of two positions. He recovered in 3rd place and set to work once again to catch the leaders. As he began to push he suffered another crash and lost more time to the leaders. “After my second crash I realized I was riding over my head a little bit and I needed to ride more controlled and just salvage a podium position,” remarked Mullins. He did just that and went on to earn 3rd overall behind winner Paul Whibley and the 2nd place finisher Josh Strang.

Mullin’s teammates, Buttrick and Russell, battled each other for the majority of the race around 5th position. The two teammates remained close until the fourth lap when Buttrick suffered from some technical difficulties. Buttrick dropped to 12th overall while Russell went on to finish the race in 5th.

The XC2 class had a handful of KTM riders up front. The podium was all orange as KTM support riders Steward Baylor, Jessie Robinson and Brad Bakken finished 1,2 and 3 respectively. The 4th place position was also taken by the KTM ride of Andrew Delong. Five rounds into the series, Baylor now holds an 18 point lead in the championship points.

Next Event: Snowshoe, WV – June 25-26, 2011

 

Overall Results XC1 –

1)     Paul Whibley

2)     Josh Strang

3)     Charlie Mullins

4)     Mike Lafferty

5)     Kailub Russell

6)     Chris Bach

7)     Nate Kanney

8)     Rory Mead

9)     Kenneth Gilbert

10) Nick Fahringer

11) Jedidiah Haines

12) Cory Buttrick

 

Overall Point Standings XC1 –

1)     Josh Strang – 123

2)     Charlie Mullins – 121

3)     Paul Whibley – 103

4)     Cory Buttrick – 81

5)     Nathan Kanney – 72

 

Overall Results XC2 –

1)     Steward Baylor

2)     Jessie Robinson

3)     Brad Bakken

4)     Andrew Delong

5)     Jason Thomas

6)     Jordan Ashburn

7)     Scott Watkins

8)     Zack Nolan

9)     Ryan Lojak

10) Ted Mullins

 

Overall Point Standings XC2 –

1)     Steward Baylor – 131

2)     Jason Thomas – 113

3)     Andrew Delong – 94

4)     Brad Bakken – 90

5)     Jesse Robinson – 83