Rockstar Energy Husqvarna and Craig DeLong Push to The General GNCC Victory

CONTROLLED PERFORMANCE IN MUDDY CONDITIONS RESULTS IN
FIRST XC1 OPEN PRO CLASS WIN

MURRIETA, CA – March 13, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – A career-first victory in the XC1 Open Pro class was earned by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Craig DeLong at The General GNCC in Washington, Georgia, where he navigated the toughest of muddy conditions at round three of the 2023 Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) season. Teammate Trevor Bollinger completed the weekend with a 10th-place result.

Former XC2 Pro champion DeLong came of age on Sunday in the premier class aboard his FX 350 with a measured effort that saw him finish the race in a total time of 2:54:05.296, almost a full minute clear of the chasing pack despite some late challenges on the final lap.

After claiming an important holeshot and then battling for position at the front of the field in the opening stages, DeLong critically led when it counted and, eventually, it paid off when he began to stretch an advantage toward the race’s end. Following back-to-back podiums, he’s now third in the standings, just nine points outside of the lead.

“Man, what a day!” reflected DeLong. “I didn’t really want to lead, I knew it was going to be muddy, but I got a good start and I was like ‘I guess I have to lead now’. So, it was good. Stew [Baylor] got around me and I sort of followed him and he was splashing all the puddles out for me. We freight-trained for the first hour or so of the race and I didn’t lead a lot of it early on. I just stayed steady and upright, then with two laps to go I had the lead and put in a little push. I didn’t sprint too hard, the team kept telling me the gap was getting bigger and bigger doing what I was doing, then on the last lap they were telling me I had a minute advantage, so I kind of just rode it home. I had a couple of little crashes on the last lap, but I was able to bring it in and it was awesome! After last weekend, that was big for me to be on the podium. I’m happy to get it done and stay in this fight, so let’s keep it rolling.”

The General GNCC saw DeLong’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Bollinger ride to 10th position also in the XC1 Open Pro division. After climbing multiple positions up the order on the final lap for P10, he’s currently ranked 12th in the championship.

“This weekend was a challenging one for everybody and we finished 10th in really difficult conditions,” said Bollinger….