Trail Bike Adventure Magazine

4 From 4 For Josh Strang

Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:28

Aussie off-road rider Josh Strang is cleaning them up in the States by taking his fourth win of the highly competitive GNCC series this past weekend. That's four from four for Josh and he holds a comfortable 42 point lead over second placed rider in the series Charlie Mullins. Not since the days of Shane Watts have we had an Aussie rider so dominant in the GNCC series, and with fellow compatriot Glenn Kearney having his best ride of the season finishing in fifth place we could could soon be seeing another Aussie sharing the podium, just what the yanks would love to see right – Not!

Report from the fourth GNCC round:

Union, S.C. (April 11, 2010) – Josh Strang has had plenty of practice popping the cork on a champagne bottle. And he's getting quite accustomed to giving podium speeches. In the four rounds of the 2010 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series held so far, the FMF Makita Suzuki rider has stood on the middle step of the podium in each case and he's given no indication that the rest of the season won't be any different. Strang's latest conquest came at the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina, giving him four-straight wins and a healthy lead in the point standings.

"Four in a row is awesome! I'm super happy with that," said Strang. "This was a tough one, and it was a little stressful during the first lap, because of the dust."

Strang started outside of the top five when the three-hour race got underway, and dusty conditions made it difficult for passing. However, once he got back into the trees where the dust wasn't as bad Strang was able to make several passes, moving his way into second place by the end of the second lap. At that point, first place was held by Am Pro Yamaha's Thad DuVall, who had taken advantage of a bottleneck to move into the lead. And Strang didn't take long to pass DuVall, doing so in a dusty section near the halfway point of the race. From there, the rest of the race was somewhat routine for the transplanted Aussie, as he finished the race with over 20 seconds to spare over DuVall.

"The conditions were definitely difficult today, but I just raced my own race," said Strang, who was making his first ride on the 2010 RM-Z450. "I just kept going and made some passes, and then when I got in the lead I was able to push a little harder to make sure I stayed there."

DuVall held on for the runner-up spot - his first podium finish of the year.

"Cory Buttrick crashed on the first lap and it held everyone up and I was able to take advantage of that and get to the front," said DuVall. "Once I got in the lead I knew that Josh would be coming and I just backed off a bit and let him catch me. I thought I could ride with him but I just made a little mistake coming into the barrels and he got away. I caught him on the last lap but he kicked up a rock and knocked the lens out of my goggles and that was it."

Defending series champ Paul Whibley was in the hunt early, as well, and he claimed the $250 Motorcycle-USA.com Holeshot Award to start the race. However, the Am Pro Yamaha rider fell in a mud hole on the first lap and lost ground to DuVall and Strang, and early leader Jimmy Jarrett, on the GEICO/JG Off Road/ Monster Energy Kawasaki.

"Josh and Thad were riding great today, I just couldn't match them," said Whibley. "It's good to be on the podium, but I'm not pleased with how things went."

Whibley spent the last two laps holding off Obermeyer Yamaha's Charlie Mullins, who ended up settling for fourth.

Husqvarna's Glenn Kearney turned in his best ride of the year with a fifth, and at one time he ran as high as third. Buttrick recovered from his first-lap crash to finish sixth on his FRE/KTM. Meanwhile, Am Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk Jr. finished seventh ahead of KTM riders Chris Bach and Nate Kanney. Kawasaki-mounted Eric Bailey was 10th.

XC1 Results:

1. Josh Strang (Suz)

2. Thad DuVall (Yam)

3. Paul Whibley (Yam)

4. Charlie Mullins (Yam)

5. Glenn Kearney (Hsq)

6. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

7. Barry Hawk Jr. (Yam)

8. Chris Bach (KTM)

9. Nate Kanney (KTM)

10. Eric Bailey (Kaw).

XC1 Standings:

1. Josh Strang (120/4 wins)

2. Charlie Mullins (78)

3. Paul Whibley (75)

4. Chris Bach (73)

5. Cory Buttrick (68)

6. Glenn Kearney (55)

7. Thad DuVall (50)

8. Nate Kanney (46)

9. Barry Hawk Jr. (44)

10. Kenneth Gilbert (44)

Racer X Films captured this great footage from the previous FMF Steele Creek GNCC in Morganton, North Carolina. Click 'here' to check it out.

Aussie off-road rider Josh Strang has blitzed the field in the first four American 2010 GNCC rounds. All photos: www.joshstrang.com