OFF-ROAD RACING: THE NEW KAILUB RUSSELL

[MotoFactory]

By Tyler Shepardson

Photos By Mack Faint

 

To understand what Kailub Russell plans to do, you have to first understand who Kailub Russell was.

The 35-year-old North Carolina transplant has spent the last four seasons away from professional competition, but he hasn’t spent that time away from the sport. Since retiring at the end of the 2020 season, Kailub along with his lifelong manufacturer, KTM, created a role as the exclusive trainer for the KTM Group’s off-road efforts. It was essentially a program to mirror Aldon Baker’s success in moto but on the woods side. During those four years he mentored and coached three out of the four GNCC champions that followed his own unprecedented title run.

At the time he decided to hang up his boots and go out on top, Kailub had cemented his legacy as the “G.O.A.T.” His 67 overall GNCC wins stood alone at the top as the series’ winningest rider. With those 67 wins came eight consecutive GNCC overall championships. The bikes from those seasons now sit in his race shop in North Carolina as a reminder of the domination he achieved throughout his career on the front row. 

But the trophies, they sit in a trophy case surrounded by two additional GNCC XC2 championships, a National Enduro overall championship, three Full Gas Sprint Enduro overall championships and two ISDE World Trophy championships, including one from Team USA’s first-ever win in 2016 and another from 2019.

Kailub has partnered with Randy Hawkins’ AmPro Yamaha team on a YZ450FX for 2025. This marks the first time Kailub with race GNCC on a 450cc machine. In years past he has won on 150cc, 250cc and 350cc platforms.

THAT WAS THEN…

So why would the then-30-year-old phenom decide to end his career in seemingly his peak years?

“It was a lot of stress and pressure. You know, that kind of situation can lead you to make irrational decisions sometimes. I had a great career, and at the time I was more scared of losing than I had the desire to keep winning. So the thought of ‘what would happen if I lost?’ Kind of made the decision for me,” Kailub told us when we sat down to interview him about his return to racing. 

But this wasn’t an average rider contemplating on whether or not they could collect a paycheck and maybe a couple of podium bonuses for a few more years. This was one of the greatest riders in the sport’s history and the poster child for a brand that was torn between calling it a career or coming back with no goal other than to win and continue his legacy. This was a guy that famously signed his contracts without even having podium bonuses. Rather than collecting a check for top-three finishes, Kailub negotiated to have second- and third-place finishes bundled into his win-only bonuses. So, a second-place finish would earn him nothing, furthering the pressure on himself to win at all costs. And for the most part, that’s exactly what he did. 

In his eight consecutive championship seasons, he won 61 out of 97 GNCC races that he entered. That put his win percentage at 63 percent. Of the 36 races he did not win, he was on the podium at 25 of them, making his podium finish rate 89 percent of every GNCC he entered. 

Since his retirement, no GNCC champion has won more than three races in their championship season. That’s a big change in the norm. Only once did Kailub win fewer than seven races in a championship season—when he took six wins in 2019 before sitting out the end of the year from injury.

Part one of Kailub Russell’s career saw him set the all-time GNCC record at 67 wins with KTM.

AND THIS IS NOW

“Life is kind of wild. I love to race and I love to ride. I’m still fairly young, but if I wait another three to four years, then racing professionally would be out of the question.” He told us candidly about his return, adding, “I’m just ready to do it again. Sometimes you just need a break. The stress can be overwhelming, especially in the environment where a professional athlete lives 24/7. At the top of a sport where you get beat up and you’re always under pressure, it’s always ‘what’s next.’ It takes a toll on your mind and body.” 

Through his four years off, he admitted that he finally found the joy and fun in riding again. This may be in part to his growing family and his oldest son Krue becoming more and more involved in racing. Before Kailub would clock in on Sundays wearing “Ranch Russell” gear and helping his guys out, you could find him chasing his son around the youth track. Now Krue will be able to chase Dad around the pro race and see firsthand how he spent his career. 

Despite his absence, Kailub Russell knows the current level of GNCC racing well. He trained three of the four champions who have won since he left. Russell has seen success early, leading the race and finishing second at round 2.

Kailub’s return to full-time competition is one of the largest storylines to hit the world of off-road racing. But almost equally as groundbreaking is the fact that it isn’t with the bike brand his name is synonymous with. This year he made his return to racing with the AmPro Factory Yamaha team led by off-road legend Randy Hawkins. 

“I don’t want to look at it as if I have anything to prove because I wasn’t able to continue with KTM. I knew that there wasn’t a spot for me there any longer because their roster is full with Ben [Kelley] and Jonny [Girroir], and their succession plan is Gus [Riordan] and Grant [Davis]. They offered for me to race, but they also wanted me to keep training the guys, too. That’s not what I wanted; if I come back to race, it’s not going to be to ride around. Because that’s what it would turn into—it would be a [half-measure] effort, and I wasn’t interested in that.”

Knowing that a return to KTM wasn’t an option, Kailub didn’t immediately go shopping. He spent the majority of his career riding a 350, and he knew that at another brand his options would be limited to just a 450. With that in mind, Yamaha stuck out to him as the best option. “I feel like the Yamaha with the reverse engine and the way the bike feels with the inertia is the best suit for me to ride a 450 in the woods,” he told us. 

Eye on the prize, its not a matter of if Kailub will win again it’s just a matter of when.

THE NEW DEAL

With his return window set and his weapon of choice selected, Kailub now sets his sights on getting back to his winning ways. His five-year deal with Yamaha includes two years of racing and two years as a brand ambassador for the bLU cRU. The third year of the deal is an option to either continue racing or sail off into the sunset in his role as brand ambassador depending on how he feels things are going. 

On the side of expectations, Kailub seems optimistic but reasonable. He knows that it’s going to take a few rounds to get back into the groove of competition, but definitely feels like winning again is possible. 

“I don’t think [winning] is out of the question. Let me put it to you like this: if I didn’t think that winning was a possibility, then I would’ve just kept my cushy job with KTM and said I’ve done enough.”

Kailub knows what it takes to be a champion because he is only one away from Ed Lojack’s all-time record set at nine. He also knows the speed that the current champions are going, because he has trained all but one of them since he left. He has a drive you don’t find in very many people, and regardless of his time off the bike, that drive and mentality that got him to this point still remain secure in the nut that connects the seat to the handlebars. While the opening round of the season didn’t go his way, he is no stranger to adversity and actually welcomes it. Those who saw the glory days of Kailub Russell are in for a special treat, and those who came into the sport after his reign are about to find out what sets him apart as a competitor.

Regardless of the outcome, the excitement of seeing him back on track is real. We will no doubt enjoy following him through the woods, watching the legend grow as he continues chasing “the hardest way to make an easy living,” as he would say. Check out the full interview at
youtube.com/@onthepipepodcast. 

The post OFF-ROAD RACING: THE NEW KAILUB RUSSELL appeared first on Dirt Bike Magazine.

Просмотреть полный текст статьи