Shan Moore | October 25, 2021
It’s only fitting that a crazy and eventful GNCC Racing season would be capped off with an equally crazy and eventful finale.
Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall claimed his first win of the season in muddy conditions at Ironman GNCC final, while FMF/KTM’s Ben Kelley clinched the 2021 Grand National Cross Country Series title with a ninth overall finish in a race that was delayed and then shortened (to two hours) after off-and-on torrential rain turned creeks into rivers and bar ditches into ponds.
Thad Duvall came away with the day’s win, the first of the year for the Husqvarna rider. Photography by Ken Hill.
Kelley wrapped up the 2021 Grand National Cross Country Series championship after one of the closest championship battles on record.
Kelley jumped out to a big lead in the championship standings after title rival Steward Baylor (AmPro Yamaha) did not start the opening round of the series due to injury. However, Baylor would reel off seven wins in the next 10 races to take a narrow one-point lead in the series standings with two races remaining.
There were tense moments during the race for Ben Kelley, but the KTM rider came away with the 2021 GNCC title at the final-round showdown.
After a dramatic penultimate round disrupted results at the top, Kelley came into the series finale at Ironman Raceway with an eight-point lead on Baylor—setting up one of the closest finishes in GNCC history.
When the Ironman GNCC finally got underway, Kelley got away in second behind Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki’s Josh Strang but coasted to a stop near the eight-mile mark when his bike suddenly stopped. Ironically, Baylor’s bike fell victim to the water, too, and both riders found themselves stranded on the course and frantically trying to get their bikes to fire.
When Kelley finally got going, he found himself in 88th overall, while Baylor got underway just two spots behind.
Kelley was able to work his way up into ninth overall by the end of the race, while Baylor ultimately dropped out, giving Kelley the title.
“It was stressful; just crazy,” said Kelley. “Honestly I’ve never raced anything this crazy. None of us had any idea where we were going. We were all just swerving and weaving, and there was water everywhere. With all the talk and everything, I wanted to win this last race just to put the nail in the coffin and come out on top. Honestly, I’m lucky to finish. Just happy to finish and come away champion. It’s awesome.”
Up front, Duvall came out on top of the fierce back-and-forth battle with Strang to cross the finish line first, capping off an injury laden rollercoaster ride of a season with a victory.
“Finally, to pull it off, it’s been a long road,” said Duvall. “A lot of days, a lot of struggles, a lot of ups and downs, but we’re here. We finally won.”
Baylor was in street clothes when Kelley crossed the finish line.
Steward Baylor’s run for the championship came to a disappointing premature end when his bike suffered a mechanical.
“I felt like I had the momentum coming in here,” said Baylor. “I ride mud really well. Four turns in, my bike shut off. So, that was it. That was the day. One mistake after another. The clutch failed after that. I go back to the pits—just a lot of little things. Hopefully we’ll be more prepared for next season.”
Strang’s runner-up finish put a shine on a season that saw a combination of wins, defeats and mechanical woes. “It’s good to get back on the podium, especially at the last race of the year,” said Strang. “I feel like I was so close to a win all day. Honestly, a little bummed, but I had a blast. That was so much fun. Just 15 years of racing this stuff, you learn a trick or two. I just know what holes to stay out of. That last lap, I buried it in a hole. Felt like I was fishing for catfish there under the water. That’s when Thad went past. He was yelling at me, ’yahoo-ing’ at me. It was just fun. I didn’t see him after that. Can’t complain. It was good.”
Veteran racer Josh Strang was in the hunt all day for the win but came up just short.
Strang’s Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki teammate Lyndon Snodgrass turned in a spectacular ride to finish third overall on adjusted time from the XC2 250 Pro row, giving him the class win, as well.
“It was tough just getting around,” said Snodgrass. “If you could get a lap without getting stuck once or twice, it was a good thing,” said Snodgrass. “I just kept picking through the pack. Next thing I know, I was battling for the lead, like two laps in. Last couple of laps I just made it to the finish.”
Lyndon Snodgrass won the XC2 class in third overall.
Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Craig Delong made the jump to the XC1 class for the series finale and surprised everyone with a solid third-place XC1 finish and sixth overall.
Meanwhile, XC2 250 Pro riders Cody Barnes (Phoenix Honda) and Ryder Lafferty (Coastal Racing GasGas) squeezed into fourth and fifth overall (second and third in the XC2 250 Pro class).
DeLong was all smiles after the race. “I didn’t know where I was going to be, setup-wise, on this bike (he rode a 350),” said DeLong. “I guess a mud race was the best thing that could have happened. I just rode steady all race. I was back of the pack, last place and riders just kept falling over. Their bikes kept quitting on them. It was like the tortoise and the hare. About halfway through I found myself in third. I just rode there.”
In addition to the mud, Barnes had plenty more to deal with out on the track. “I had a decent start and then my goggles got splashed right away,” said Barnes. “Then I hit someone else and wrapped my shifter up over my footpeg. So, I think I was stuck in second gear for the whole first lap and then got it changed out. I knew that a lot of people’s bikes were going to quit and break, so I just decided to be easy on the bike.”
“I didn’t know where I was really at all day until the last lap and then I saw I was in podium contention,” said Lafferty. “I got hung up a little bit the last mile or so, and then Cody got around me for second, but I’m excited about the race.”
Ruy Barbosa put his Phoenix Racing Honda into seventh overall at the finish and fourth in the XC2 250 Pro division, with Beta Racing’s Thorn Devlin finishing eighth overall and fifth in the XC2 250 Pro class.
Ohio rider Triston Landrum rounded out the top 10 on a Honda, finishing just ahead of Ben Kelley.
Shawn Myers Jr. (Yamaha) took top honors in the FMF XC3 125cc Pro-Am class, with Michael Pilar (GasGas) and Hunter Neuwirth (KTM) finishing second and third.
Becca Sheets announced her retirement after wrapping up the women’s-class XCW Championship.
AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer won the XCW class in the morning race, however, BABS Racing Yamaha/Fly/Maxxis/Pro Circuit’s Becca Sheets won the class championship with a third-place finish. “It was just wild,” said Sheets. “There were rivers running through the bottom of the single track. It’s treacherous. I sucked some water. I had some bike issues where I couldn’t get my bike back started. Just had to survive until the end, like anything, in this mud.”
Sheets announced after the race that Ironman would be her last race in the XCW division.
Archer took the win despite losing her brakes near the end of the race. “I’m pretty stoked to take the win today, that was my goal,” said Archer. “When I heard Becca was back in fourth, I was pretty stoked because I was hoping I was going to take the title from her before she retired. But I’m stoked for her to go out on a win. That’s cool.”
Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki’s Kori Steede took the runner-up slot, while Trail Jesters Racing KTM’s Taylor Johnston and Annelisa Davis (Yamaha) rounded out the top five. CN
OVERALL
1. Thad Duvall (Hus)
2. Josh Strang (Kaw)
3. Lyndon Snodgrass (Kaw)
4. Cody Barnes (Hon)
5. Ryder Lafferty (GG)
6. Craig DeLong (Hus)
7. Ruy Barbosa (Hon)
8. Thorn Devlin (Bet)
9. Ben Kelley (KTM)
10. Triston Landrum (Hon)
