Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545994
Trading Pavement for Dirt Trading Pavement for Dirt GNCC Makes Its Watkins Glen Debut GNCC Makes Its Watkins Glen Debut By Racer X Magazine's Kate Stiller By Racer X Magazine's Kate Stiller Photos By Mack Faint Photos By Mack Faint 16 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com For the first me in Progressive Grand Na onal Cross Country (GNCC) Racing history, the series rolled through the gates of the legendary Watkins Glen Interna onal Raceway. Long known as one of America's most iconic motorsports venues, the historic New York facility traded pavement for dirt as nearly 2,500 racers came out to ba le for Round 8 of the 2026 season. The inaugural event also marked GNCC's return to New York for the first me since 2019, introducing compe tors to a unique course that blended fast grass-track sec ons surrounding the famed road course with rocky hillsides, technical woods and slick terrain. The unfamiliar layout challenged riders from the opening lap, rewarding pa ence, consistency and smart race strategy while producing memorable ba les across every division. No race be er showcased the challenge of Wat- kins Glen than Sunday's XC1 Pro race. With a stacked field of championship contenders lining up on the front row, the a ernoon quickly developed into one of the most exci ng pre- mier-class races of the season. Four different rid- ers found themselves in conten on for the overall victory as strategy, consistency and perfectly med passes proved just as important as outright speed. The opening laps saw the lead exchanged be- tween several riders as the premier class se led into the unfamiliar New York course. Phoenix Racing Honda's Michael Witkowski paced the field on the opening lap before Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green's Steward Bay- lor moved into the lead on lap two. Defending Na onal Champion Ben Kelley then found his rhythm aboard his FMF KTM Factory Racing machine, taking control on lap three and leading the next three laps while a emp ng to distance himself from the rest of the pack. While Kelley appeared to have the race under control, another story was quietly unfolding deeper in the field. A er finding himself 11th on the opening lap, Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki Team Green's Grant Baylor began carving his way through the field. The veteran Kawasaki rider steadily climbed the running order, moving into the top 10 on lap two before reaching seventh by lap three and fi h one lap later. With each passing lap, Baylor