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Jun 29, 2023

Babbitt's Online/Monster Energy®/Team Green Riders Trudge Through Treacherous Conditions at Round 9 Of The Grand National Cross Country Series

Snowshoe, WV.— Round nine of the Grand National Cross Country Series took place over the weekend at the famous Snowshoe Mountain Resort nestled deep in the mountains of West Virginia, where XC-1 pilots Grant Baylor and Josh Strang battled their way through the mountains, mud, and rocks to top 10 finishes.

Heavy rain late in the week would saturate the 11-mile track, causing a notoriously tough course to become even more tough and treacherous, riddled with mud bogs and slick hill climbs that even the most skilled of riders would struggle on.

As the race began, the No. 314 of Grant Baylor would get off to a decent start, coming through scoring on lap one in the sixth place position. A few mistakes on laps two and three caused him to fall to the seventh position, before the KX450X pilot would put on an impressive charge in the last two laps to claw his way into the fifth place position at the conclusion of the event.

Teammate and long-standing Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/Kawasaki rider Josh Strang would suffer from bad start positioning that would lead to a lackluster start, causing the Australian native to play catch-up from the get-go. After crossing the scoring line at the end of lap number one in the 11th place position, Strang would slice his way through the pack to put in late race passes, working his way into the eighth place position at the finish.

The GNCC series will go on a nearly two-month break in schedule, with racing resuming on the 17th of September at the Summit Bechtel Reserve outside of Beckley, West Virginia, where Team Babbitt’s/Monster Energy/Kawasaki will be looking forward to rebounding from previous races.

Riders battling through tough conditions at Round 9 of GNCC.
Riders battling through tough conditions at Round 9 of GNCC.
Riders battling through tough conditions at Round 9 of GNCC.
Riders battling through tough conditions at Round 9 of GNCC.