Grand National Cross Country Championship (GNCC) – Round 2
The GNCC Series continued with Round 2 at the Wild Boar in Palatka, Florida, where deep, sandy conditions made for a challenging day of competition. In the end, it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Korie Steede who claimed her second WXC runner-up finish in a row.
Steede was exceptional onboard the Husqvarna Motorcycles FX 250 and led her share of the race, including the opening lap, eventually taking the checkered flag just over a minute shy of victory following almost two hours of racing. She’s now only a single point outside of the championship lead.
“This is a really important race to get the start and I pulled the holeshot, so it started off for a great day,” Steede said. “I was out front with Brandy [Richards], so knew it was going to be a good battle. We got into lappers and it didn’t work out for me, but I know what we have to work on for next weekend. I feel really good this year and the bike was working flawlessly, so I’m excited to keep this going.”
A late rain shower caused havoc in the XC1 Open Pro division, where Trevor Bollinger brought his Husqvarna Motorcycles FX 350 home in eighth position. Unfortunately for defending champion Craig DeLong, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider crashed out of contention early on, in what ended up being a fiery end to his day.
“I got off to a good start today and went in the woods about fourth or so,” commented Bollinger. “Kinda got shuffled back in the first mud hole there, but I was able to regroup and made my way to fifth on the second lap. The conditions were tough and we had the rear brake go out, but the team did a fast pit stop and I was able to salvage what I could. I want to thank them for their hard work because these first two rounds have been a little rough, but I’m healthy and ready to rebound in Georgia.”
“I had a bad start, put myself in the back, and then lost my goggles,” DeLong reflected. “I got close to this one tree and before I knew it, I had nowhere to go and crashed. When I picked my bike up, I realized I had broken a part and wasn’t able to keep moving forward. I went to go get help, and when we came back the bike was on fire from the exhaust touching some dry vegetation. It’s unfortunate, the last two races have obviously not gone to plan – last year I felt like I could do no wrong and this year it’s just been one thing after another. It’s been tough. I’m fine though, honestly just hit the tree and it was a slow crash, so we will take a step back and figure out how to not do that again next weekend.”
XC1 Open Pro Class Results
1. Johnny Girroir (KTM)
2. Steward Baylor Jr (Kawasaki)
3. Lyndon Snodgrass (Kawasaki)
…
8. Trevor Bollinger – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
DNF. Craig DeLong – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
WXC Class Results
1. Brandy Richards (KTM)
2. Korie Steede – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
3. Rachel Gutish (Sherco)
Upcoming Offroad Races – March 2024
3/11: Grand National Cross Country Series – Round 3
3/25: Grand National Cross Country Series – Round 4
3/25: National Hare & Hound Series – Round 2
3/25: U.S. Hard Enduro Series – Round 2
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing was out in force this weekend in the Grand National Cross Country Championship (GNCC) and National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC), where Korie Steede and Austin Walton both managed convincing podium results in their respective categories across the two series.
