Words: Jason Weigandt

If you're the world-dominating David Knight, even a third place finish is cause for alarm in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. A third at the previous GNCC race in Georgia gave Knight's competition some confidence, but the Isle of Man native turned things around with a come-from behind victory at the FMF Steele Creek GNCC.

Knight, of the Red Bull KTM factory race team, overcame yet another horrible start, rounding the first turn in dead last (a sight which has become a Knight trademark during his 18 months of racing in the U.S.) He mounted a massive sprint to fight past his team-mate Nathan Kanney for the lead. Then Knight held Am-Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk at bay to win the three-hour event by less than two minutes.

"I mashed up the start again," said Knight. "I passed a bunch of guys when I jumped over a tree. I caught up to Nate and Barry, got around them and tried to open a gap, but then I hit a tree. So there went that gap. I just tried to use my head. The track was pretty fast and I was concerned with going over the bars again like at the last race. I had some people cheering for me out there though, and that helps."

Hawk won the Steele Creek race last year and took second this time. "I had a decent start, and I was battling with Kanney, then David came and went inside of me on one of the downhills," said Hawk. "I tried to pass Kanney a few times, and then something happened because he pulled over in a field. I went in for gas and they told me Knight was 12 seconds ahead, so I tried to run him down, but it seemed like on that next lap I hit all the lappers. No excuses though, I couldn't catch him. He ran a great race so my hat's off to him."

FMF Suzuki's Paul Whibley took third ahead of his entire set of team-mates, with Australian Joshua Strang in fourth, and Ohio riders Jimmy Jarrett in fifth and Charlie Mullins, winner of the previous GNCC, in sixth.

"I knew it was going to be congestion when we got into the pits, all four of us came in together, so it was chaos," said Whibley about pitting with at the same time as his three team-mates. "I just had some arm pump early on and I was struggling."

Kanney grabbed the Racer X Holeshot Award and looked strong early, but a souring engine slowed his charge, leaving the New York native in seventh. Jesse Robinson placed eighth, making him the top North Carolina native. Am-Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines was ninth in the premier XC1 pro class, with South African Louwrens Mahoney in tenth.

In the XC2 Lites class, Am-Pro Yamaha's Thad DuVall romped home to another win, making the Washington, West Virginia rider three for three this season. "I got a good start, but I got taken out by Wally Palmer. Hhe rocked my world and took me over the berm," said DuVall. "It was just chaos on the first lap, everyone was taking each other out and going crazy. I just clicked up a gear and tried to run my pace, and it worked. I don't know what's different this year, but it's working."

PowerSports GrafX KTM's Kailub Russell took his first career podium with second and Monster Energy/Andrews Yamaha's Dustin Gibson came from behind for third.

"I couldn't ride on the first lap, nothing was clicking and I was crashing all over the place," said Russell. "After that, I started riding like I was practicing. I was feeling good, I wasn't tired heading into the last lap, but by the last few miles, I was worn out and Dustin almost got to me."

"I need to stop being such a sissy out there on the first lap," said Gibson. "Third lap, that's when I start going, but I had a big defecit I had to make up."

KTM rider John Barber took the Thumpertalk.com holeshot award for the second-straight race.

The 2008 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series continues with the Pirelli Big Buck GNCC in Union, South Carolina on April 12 and 13.



David Knight Report
Red Bull KTM Off Road Race Team

Knighter claims second ’08 US GNCC victory

Red Bull KTM Off Road Race Team rider David Knight has claimed his second XC1 Pro class win of ’08 with victory at The Steele Creek GNCC in North Carolina. With a win at round one and a third place finish at round two already to his credit Knight overcame a poor start as he rounded the first turn last to move into the lead on lap two. From that point on Knight charged towards his second race win in three ’08 US GNCC events.

Starting the third round of the championship as the only rider to have finished on the podium at the opening two rounds of the series, Knight, as he seemingly always does, made a complete mess of the start and rounded the first turn of the Steele Creek GNCC dead last in the XC1 Pro class. And just like he has done so many times before was forced to work his way passed all but a handful of his XC1 class rivals during the opening 22-minute lap.

Moving into the lead on lap two Knight stayed out front for the remainder of the seven-lap race claiming an eventual one-and-a-half minute winning advantage over Barry Hawk with Paul Whibley rounding off the podium in third. With three of the 13 ’08 US GNCC events now behind him Knight holds a 24-point advantage at the top of the XC1 Pro class series standings.

David Knight: “Apart from another bad start the race went well. I pushed hard during the first lap, like I seem to have to do at every race, and got pretty close to the guys at the front. Once I got passed Barry Hawk and Nate Kanney I tried to break away but I hit a tree so that didn’t really happen. It was pretty close for a few laps but about half way through the race I started to pull away. I tried to ride like I did at round two, using my head and making sure I stayed out of trouble, and things went ok.

“I felt good during the race. I tried a load of things on my bike after the second round and it’s even better now than it was at the first two races, so I’m really happy with that. With Hawk and Whibley being on the podium with me, and with Charlie Mullins finishing in sixth, I guess it’s good for my championship. I’m about 24 points ahead now so things are going well.”



KTM Racing - Solo
Red Bull KTM Factory Off-Road rider David Knight won his second race of the season at the third round of the GNCC Series.

Knight's day didn't start as bright when he was last off the line and was forced to make his way up through the pack after a delay in starting his bike held him back from starting up front. His Red Bull KTM team-mate Nathan Kanney had the opposite luck and grabbed the holeshot and led the first lap of the race.
 
With one lap complete Kanney held the lead while Knight had already worked his way up from last into the top three. On the second lap Kanney surrendered the led to the hard-charging Knight and settled in second through the third lap.
 
Unfortunately Kanney encountered an electrical problem which resulted in his bike cutting out on the rather hilly 11 ½ mile course. As he pushed through the bike problem he had to make three additional pit stops which eventually pushed him back to 7th place. "It was upsetting that we encountered a problem with my bike but I am glad I was able to finish inside the top ten and gain some valuable points for the title chase," reported Kanney.
 
Knight who took the lead on the second lap never looked back and took home an easy win with over a minute and a half lead on his next closest competitor.
 
In the XC-2 class Red Bull KTM's Justin Williamson started mid-pack and in a remarkable drive forward moved into second place before the riders headed into the woods.
 
Williamson stayed within the top three for the majority of the race when on the third to last lap he crashed hard hitting a tree and lost his 3rd place position. Williamson remounted and was able to finish 4th for the day. "I'm happy with my progress this week. I feel like I am back to my normal speed. The bike was running great and I am shooting for a podium position at the next round," commented Williamson on his race. 



KTM Racing - Quads
Factory FRE/KTM rider Adam McGill earned his second win in a row at the third round of the ATV GNCC Series.
After a dominating win at the Georgia round McGill repeated the result this weekend to prove it wasn't a fluke and he is indeed a title contender for this season's championship.
 
Just like he did at round 2, McGill pulled an amazing holeshot and got out front fast. By the end of the first lap he had already put 20 seconds on the second place rider, Bill Balance. McGill's team-mate, Taylor Kiser started a bit farther back around 10th place and had moved into 7th by the end of lap one.
 
After the first lap Kiser had caught up with Brandon Sommers and Chris Borich and the three riders battled throughout the remainder of the two hour race. "I caught up to the front pack rather quickly but every time I tried to pass I would get stuck behind lappers in a bottleneck and lose time. It was a one-lined course and since I didn't have the start I needed I struggled to break through," commented Kiser. Meanwhile, McGill was still pulling out front stretching his lead to over a minute. McGill would go on to win after leading the race start to finish in a near flawless ride out front. Kiser finished 7th for the day earning enough points to keep him in the title chase. After three rounds McGill and Kiser now sit one and two in the series points.
 
"I am so happy to be on top of the podium for the second week straight," replied McGill after the race. "This is where I've known I could be for a long time, but I couldn't have made it happen if it wasn't for the help of my team and a great bike. My KTM is running perfect and almost makes my job seem easy."