Cory B. wins the John Penton GNCC

[Gary Roach]

Cory Buttrick had an awesome day on Sunday, winning his very first GNCC Overall victory at a very muddy "John Penton GNCC" in Millfield, Ohio. Josh Strang (Australia) was second, and Paul Whibley (New Zealand) was third.

Here's the story with photos on the Cycle News website:
http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/story.asp?id=2010

Here's a video of the event:
http://visionmoto.webs.com/apps/videos/videos/show/9019915-john-penton-gncc-2010

Additional photos on the DigitalOffroad.com website:
http://www.digitaloffroad.com/2010/06/07/john-penton-gncc-photo-gallery/


John talking to ISDT vet Greg Davis.



John talking to Blackwater 100 vet Al Chuppa.






Getting close to race time, and it's time to get serious. That's his Dad, Dennis, on the right.



Getting really serious! That's Tony Hall, Cory's mechanic, on the left.



Winner! That's me holding the bike as he celebrates.



One very happy young man.






Is that a cool trophy, or what?! And it weighed about 5 pounds!



That's me with Cory and his girlfiend, Mackenzie.

[hankthecrank]

Son of a Gun! Ain't that something!This young man will go far folks. He has natural riding talent and watching how smoothly he rides and how much fun he has doing it reminds me of some of the great ones from the past. His riding style reminds me of water running downhill, very smooth! WAY TO GO CORY!!!!

Hank Rinehart

[Paul Danik]

That is just incredible, if you had written a script it could not have been written any better. Winning the John Penton GNCC for Cory's first win, awesome.  

Congratulations to Cory and to all of you who have been so involved with his riding. From the proud look on Gary's face I imagine he will be walking on air for quite a while, and rightfully so.

Paul

[paul a. busick]

Good for you Cory.  May there be many more top wins in your future.

Amherst Paul []

[Larry Perkins]

OOORAH!  Way to go Cory and Hollywood could not have written a better script to make your first GNCC win the John Penton GNCC.  How ironic for today and perhaps prophetic of what is to come.  The POG is proud of you and I am sure many of us will enjoy watching you at our Big Show at Mid-Ohio.  

Larry P

[Gary Roach]

More photos from the GNCC website:

























Since he is only 18, he was aloud to spray the champagne, but he wasn't aloud to drink it!





KTM Press release:

FMF/KTM Penton Report
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2010


Buttrick Wins John Penton GNCC - First Career Win


Millfield, OH - FMF/KTM Rider Cory Buttrick earned his first career XC1 win at the most fitting race of the series, his hometown race and the race named in honor of the legendary KTM man himself, John Penton.

Buttrick was quite confident going into the race. "I always like this track and I always perform better when my friends and family are around to cheer me on," remarked Buttrick in a pre-race interview.

What Buttrick and the rest of the riders didn't expect was the weekend rainstorm which would turn the track into a complete mess. The normally three-hour race was cut down to two-hours due to heavy rain storms. The course was drenched in rain and very hard to navigate.

Buttick nailed the holeshot at the start of the XC1 class but slipped to 2nd behind Thaddeus Duvall within the first lap. "I just had to slow down a bit on the first lap to allow for more caution in some of the deep mud holes. I knew those mud puddles would make or break the race today so I took the first lap to figure out the course," stated Buttrick.

Alongside Buttrick for the battle for the lead position was his teammate, Nate Kanney. At one point Kanney was as high up as 2nd and right on the tail of Josh Strang and Buttrick as the three riders battled it out for the lead position on the final lap. Approximately four miles to the finish all three riders became stuck in a mud hole. Buttrick was able to get up with the help of a friendly push from Strang and Kanney took an outside line up the far edge of the hill to catch up to Buttrick. As Buttrick charged ahead, Kanney suffered unfortunate luck and had a bike malfunction which caused him to DNF as he was sitting in 2nd place.

"I felt so good today. The past few races I have been battling up front and suffered some bad luck. It's good to know that I can run the pace and I know a win is coming. Hopefully I can regroup and put my bike on the top of the podium at Snowshoe," stated Kanney. "However, I am really happy for Cory. I just wish we could have had both team bikes on the podium today."

Buttrick eventually crossed the checkered flag to take his first career XC1 win. "It feels so amazing to get my first win at my home track in front of my friends and family. I can't explain how excited I am to get this win. I definitely couldn't have done it without the support of my team."

"Buttrick picked a great day to earn his first career win," stated FMF/KTM Team Manager Antti Kallonen. "We have all known he was capable of winning a GNCC for some time. We hope that this win serves as motivation to continue the trend for the remainder of the series."

The XC2 class was full of surprises. Reigning champion, FMF/KTM rider Kailub Russell had a top three start but got stuck in a mud hole on the first lap and dropped back. On the second lap, he became stuck again, this time getting barbed wire stuck in his rear wheel. Russell returned to the mechanics area to get it taken care of but had lost precious time to the leaders. He would get stuck once more before the race ended and due to time lost eventually finished the race a lap down and 10th for the day. "It just wasn't my day today," commented Russell. "I tried my best but continuously got stuck and just couldn't find my rhythm."

His teammate Steward Baylor spent the majority of the day battling for a podium position. "I started 6th and was pretty much handed 4th when two riders got stuck ahead of me," remarked the 15 year-old Baylor. "Then I was stuck and back to 7th and then again some riders had bad luck and I was back up to 3rd." Baylor remained in 3rd until the final lap where he got stuck near the end of the course and lost over two minutes trying to pull himself from the mud hole. He eventually finished a hard fought 7th overall.

Taking the win in the XC2 class was KTM privateer rider Jesse Robinson. A regular podium contender this season, Robinson was excited to get his first win of the year. "We are very excited to see Robinson do so well today. He is one of the most experienced riders in the XC2 class and is very deserving of this win," remarked Kallonen.

Not only did KTM win the XC1 and XC2 classes but also won the Women's class as Maria Forsberg earned her sixth straight win and the 2010 Championship plate. Equally impressive KTM also won each of the youth races (results below). "The John Penton GNCC is very important to KTM. The race is in honor of John Penton and it is important to KTM that we finish well at this race. We are excited to win both the pro races but to have KTM riders win all classes today was a remarkable feat. Congrats to all champions," stated Kallonen.

Next Event: Snowshoe, WV - June 27, 2010

Overall Results XC1 -
1.    Cory Buttrick - KTM
2.    Josh Strang
3.    Paul Whibley
4.    Jim Jarrett
5.    Chris Bach - KTM
6.    Glenn Kearney
7.    Kenneth Gilbert
8.    Nate Kanney - KTM
9.    Matt Miller
10.    Eric Bailey

Overall Results XC2 -
1.    Jesse Robinson - KTM
2.    Scott Watkins
3.    Jason Thomas
4.    Mark Fortner
5.    Justin Williamson
6.    David Synder
7.    Steward Baylor - KTM
8.    Nick Hunter - KTM
9.    Brian Lawson
10.    Kailub Russell - KTM

Overall Results Women's -
1.    Maria Forsberg - KTM
2.    Samantha Steiner - KTM
3.    Mandi Mastin
4.    Ashley Crouch
5.    Shelby Rolen - KTM

Youth Class Winners (all aboard KTM motorcycles) -

•Supermini (14-15) - Layne Michael
•Supermini (12-13) - Grant Baylor
•85 (14-15) - Jon Rainey
•85 (12-13) - Austin Lee
•85 (7-11) Triston Landrum
•65 (10-11) Kalab Hagan
•65 (7-9) Cody Morehead