Paul Whibley reports from GNCC Round 3

The green flag waved and I sat on the line as the rest of the field roared off towards turn one.

Not exactly sure what happened but the bike just didn’t fire but after several kicks the YZ sparked to life and I gave chase.

The Steel Creek venue in North Carolina is dominated by the hills and we are typically going up or down. Another element that is common at this track is the weather, it is always cold. This year temperatures didn’t rise above 50f (10c) and after the warm weather we have been spoilt with lately this was hard to take.

I picked a few guys off and moved inside the top 10 but quickly felt my arms pump up and I began to ride tight. I think it was temperature that played havoc with my forearms.

My progress slowed until I loosened up after the halfway mark then I was able to push again and make some more passes. Charging past Finnish rider Simo Kirssi and GEICO Honda rider Jimmy Jarrett, I closed in on the top five.

I got stuck in a small mud hole allowing XC2 leader Jason Thomas by. I got going again and over the last two laps got into a battle with Jason, eventually getting the position back. Jason had started a row behind me and therefore I needed to put a
minute on him to finish ahead of him overall.

On the last lap Katherine was giving me pit boards with the lead I had built on Jason, 30 seconds then 42 seconds. The last board I got was 45 seconds. I needed 15 seconds over the last couple of miles.

By the time I got to the flag I had done enough to move up to 5th overall. Not what I was hoping for but it is some points in the bag.

1st: Josh Strang - 2nd: Charlie Mullins - 3rd: Cory Buttrick - 4th: Kailub Russell - 5th: Paul Whibley

Paul Whibley is supported by: AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ, Rosscos Start up Services.

The AmPro Yamaha Team is supported by: FMF Kenda Yamalube Asterisk CV4 Cycle Gear E-Batt EBC Brakes Factory Connection Fastway Gaerne GYTR IMS Leatt Brace Matrix Racing Products Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse Scott Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Twin Air Cycra Wiseco ZipTy Racing

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Here's what GNCC's Shan Moore had to say because there were other dramas especially at the finish line.

After three hours of intense action, the FMF Steele Creek GNCC was decided in the final turn. And it couldn't have been a crazier finish.

With spectators crowding the barriers to get a better view, Charlie Mullins led Josh Strang into the final stretch of winding trail that led to the finish. As the two riders got closer to the checkered flag the intensity picked up, with Strang showing Mullins a wheel at every turn. Mullins guarded his lines and held Strang at bay, looking clearly to have his second win of the season in the bag. That is until the final turn when the FMF/KTM rider fell down. At that point a stunned Strang cruised across the finish line to take his first win of the year. The win was the FMF/Makita Suzuki rider's third straight at Steele Creek and it gave him the series points lead to boot. To top things off, Strang also won the $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award to start the race.

"I got pretty lucky there when Charlie went down," said Strang. "It was unfortunate for him but I'll take the win for sure. I went down myself on the last lap so I had to ride hard to catch him. When I caught him I had to try to get by him as quick as I could because we were close to the finish. I tried to go inside him in a corner and after that I was ready to settle for second, but then he went down. I was shocked and a little bit relieved."

Until that point, Mullins had ridden a mistake-free race.

"It was a great race and I felt like I rode a good race," said Mullins. "The only mistake I made all day was right there at the finish and it was a big one. I'm kind of disappointed in myself and I don't know what to say. I've never thrown away a race like that."

Cory Buttrick rode his strongest race of the year and battled early on with Mullins, Strang and Am Pro Yamaha's Thad DuVall. At mid-race the FMF/KTM factory rider settled into his own private race in third, after Mullins and Strang picked up the pace and DuVall crashed out of contention.

"I got a pretty good start, which I'm happy about, and I was right behind Strang and Mullins," said Buttrick. "I made one little mistake and DuVall got around me, but then he went down and I moved back into third. After a while, Charlie dropped the hammer and then Strang started inching away. After DuVall went down I just rode hard to stay where I was."

Kailub Russell finally put things together after suffering problems at the first two rounds of the series. The FMF/KTM rider finished fourth despite taking a couple of laps to find his rhythm on the rough North Carolina course.

Round-two winner Paul Whibley had what he called an "off day", finishing fifth on his Am Pro/FMF/Yamaha. The 2009 series champ got a bad start and was last into the first turn, but managed to work his way back into the top five.

Meanwhile, Finland's Simo Kirssi is gradually acclimating to the series and had his best finish to date with a sixth on his FAR Husqvarna.

Jimmy Jarrett put his JG Off-Road/GEICO Powersports/Honda into seventh, finishing ahead of FMF/KTM's Russell Bobbitt and WMR/Planet Fitness/KTM's Nate Kanney.

Eight-time National Enduro Champion Michael Lafferty rounded out the top 10 on his factory Husaberg.