Whibley battles on as title starts to slip away

Motocross

The American crown may be starting to slip from the head of Kiwi motorcycle cross-country ace Paul Whibley, but he's no quitter and is determined to go down fighting.

The Pahiatua 34-year-old enjoyed a remarkably successful 2012 but so far this season has been unable to find the form that took him to two major titles in the United States, the Grand National Cross-Country Championships (GNCC) and the Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) title.

However, despite the likelihood of being no better than a minor placegetter this time round, Whibley is determined to make strong showings in the races to come.

Heavy rain leading up to last Sunday's eighth round of 13 in the GNCC series at Masontown, West Virginia, made for slippery conditions, but Whibley was again quickest off the starting line and battled it out early with his Yamaha teammate Jordan Ashburn.

However, Ashburn had strife when he failed to brake at a slick corner and took a fall, which left the Tennessee native at the back of the field.

Whibley continued to force the pace but it was American Kailub Russell who gradually took control of the three-hour race for what was his second straight victory of the season.

Australian Josh Strang was second, with Americans Charlie Mullins and Chris Bach third and fourth and Whibley a plucky fifth. Just behind him was Ashburn, who did well to get that close, while Wellington's Rory Mead was 10th.

The weekend's result left Whibley fifth in the GNCC national standings overall, level with American rider Thad DuVall but a vast 78 points behind series leader Mullins. The next race will be at Snowshoe, West Virginia, on June 30.

Whibley is fourth overall in the parallel OMA series, just 15 points behind leader Russell Bobbitt.