Whibley wins GNCC crown!
By TMX Archives on 5th Nov 09
PAUL Whibley has won the US Grand National Cross-Country Championship (GNCC) and next season will swap his No 2 plate for the No 1 digit after winning his first GNCC title when the series wrapped up in Crawfordsville, Indiana.The Kiwi was based in the UK for a number of seasons when contesting the World Enduro series.
The 31-year-old former forestry worker known affectionately in bike racing circles as The Axeman'' finished a conservative fourth overall at the 13th and final round of the series, easily enough for him to collect the crown he'd been threatening to take since the series kicked off in Florida in February.
I just can't even believe it,'' said Whibley, who finished a close runner-up in the championship last season. I don't have the words for this right now. This is my ultimate goal, to win the GNCC Championship in the US.''
With the championship at stake, Whibley rode sensibly at the final round. When the Kiwi had a collision with American Thad Duvall early in the race, he backed off to play it safe until the end, where he was promptly presented with the No 1 plate.
So commanding was Whibley's points lead that he only had to finish inside the top 14 to take home the 2009 title. In total, Whibs' won five of the 13 rounds, finished runner-up three times and was also third on three occasions.
It's been an amazing year working with my new Kawasaki team,'' Whibley explained. I couldn't have asked for better. This is my job, this is what I live for and this is the ultimate payback for all that hard work and training in the rain and the mud.
The GNCC is the pinnacle of cross country racing in the world. I came here from (racing the World Enduro Championships in) Europe and this is my style of racing.''
GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 13 Ironman GNCC Crawfordsville, Indiana.
XC1 PRO CLASS: 1 Nate Kanney (KTM), 2 Charles Mullins (Suzuki), 3 Joshua Strang (Suzuki), 4 Paul Whibley (Kawasaki), 5 Jim Jarrett (Kawasaki), 6 Jesse Robinson (Husaberg), 7 Barry Hawk (Yamaha), 8 Kurt Caselli (KTM), 9 Corey Arbogast (Aprilia), 10 Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna),...
FINAL SERIES STANDINGS: 1 Paul Whibley 304 points, 2 Strang 284, 4 Jarrett 189, 5 Kailub Russell 186, 6 Kanney 180, 7 Jason Thomas 156, 8 Cory Buttrick 155, 9 Hawk Jnr 138, 10 Scott Watkins 126,...