Russell to make 2020 last year as full-time GNCC competitor

Multi-time GNCC champion hopes to end career on top

Kailub Russell, the reigning Grand National Cross Country Series and AMA Full Gas Sprint Enduro champion, announced that he will end his full-time GNCC competition at the end of the 2020 season.

The KTM rider has dominated off-road motorcycle racing for nearly a decade, winning seven consecutive GNCC XC1 Bike Class titles, two AMA Full Gas Sprint Enduro titles and being a part of two gold-medal-winning U.S. ISDE World Trophy teams.

The announcement was made in a press release issued by KTM, stating Russell plans to defend his GNCC and Full Gas Sprint enduro titles in 2020, then race a limited schedule in 2021.

“It’s tough to walk away from all I have ever known,” Russell said. “Unlike most though, I can say that I have given my absolute best as a racer and not left any stone unturned throughout my GNCC career. Racing has taken a toll on my mind and body throughout my lifetime but it has opened more doors and opportunities than I could have ever dreamt about…. While the 2020 season marks my 10th and final year as an XC1 competitor, I’m just as ambitious and motivated for my last as I was my first.”

The 2020 Full Gas Sprint Enduro season kicks off Feb. 8-9 in Gaston, S.C., and the 2020 GNCC season gets underway Feb. 22-23 in Union, S.C.