waiting to see who would step up to take victory . As the XC1 field rocketed off the line , it was Team Babbitt ’ s Monster Energy Kawasaki ’ s Josh Strang grabbing the holeshot as the field entered the woods . Behind the Aussie were Coastal Racing GasGas ’ Ricky Russell and FMF KTM ’ s Josh Toth . The front three would trade positions back and forth during the opening lap , with Strang leading the point , with the entire field all within 20 seconds after the first 37 minutes of racing .
Not much would change for lap two , with the order being Strang , Russell , Bollinger , Grant Baylor , Jordan Ashburn , Craig Delong , Toth and Layne Michael rounding out the field .
The battle would stay this close to the halfway point , with Russell still holding onto second , with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Trevor Bollinger moving into third . The rains that fell in the morning mixed in with a longer than usual GNCC course , kept lap times in the 36-37 minute range , resulting in just a five lap race for the afternoon .
With the white flag waving , Strang held a 21 second advantage of Russell , with Ashburn moving into third , an additional 45 seconds behind the Washington rider . Toth would move up to fourth from sixth the lap before , with Baylor rounding out the top five .
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 64