The 2010 season of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) finalized its list of this year’s champions at the closing round in Crawfordsville, Indiana, recently. The final event is referred to as the Ironman and it does tend to live up to that name; it is a tough event in a very tough series. Given the incredible fortitude and drive needed to succeed in this borderline extreme sport, just making through the entire season is an accomplishment in and of itself. The individuals who finished the season with the most points, though, are listed here as the Champions of the GNCC series and deserve our respect for the fight they have been through.
In the XC1 Pro Bike Class, FMF Suzuki mounted Joshua (Josh) Strang took an eleventh position at the Ironman event, but he had already secured the title in the previous round. That finish put Strang at the top of the final standings by 34 points and he is the 2010 XC1 Pro Bike Champion. Over in the XC2 Pro Bike Class, FMF KTM rider Kailub Russell had also secured his title before the Indiana event, but he was only the champion by virtue of one point after the Ironman. Monster Energy Andrews Husqvarna rider Jason Thomas took first in the XC2 class that weekend and that placed him in a solid second overall for the year.
Over in the four-wheeled series was where the tightest points race of the final weekend went down. It was between XC2 ProAm ATV class leaders - and both Yamaha mounted - Brian Wolf and Walker Fowler. The championship came down to a tie-breaker between them – both ended the season with an identical 281 points. Wolf took the championship title by virtue of having five wins to Fowler’s four for the season. In the other ATV class, Suzuki rider Chris Borich took the XC1 Pro ATV Class Championship by a dominant 67 points.
Other Champions who will run American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) #1 plates next season are RPM KTM rider Maria Forsberg in the Women’s class, Yamaha rider Kristen Atwell in Women’s ATV, Duane Conner in 30+ Vet A, Stephen Thaxton in the 40+ Senior A, and many, many others who will not all fit here. For complete results and information on all of the 2010 Champions, please take this link: http://www.gnccracing.com/
The AMA is set to honor each of these men and women competitors at the AMA Racing Championship Banquet in Las Vegas this coming weekend at the Red Rock Casino and Resort on Saturday, 20 November. For more on this event, please point your browser here: http://www.amadirectlink.com/
