October 25, 2009 - Klotz Ironman GNCC - Crawfordsville, IN
The final round of the 2009 GNCC Series, brought the team together for one final showdown in Crawfordsville, IN. The Ironman may just be one of the biggest races on the circuit, bringing tons of spectators to view many championship battles that were on the line for the weekend. Saturday's weather was what seemed to be par for the course for the quads this year, with rain and cool weather, making the fun Indiana track a little slippery and tricky for them. By Sunday, the sun found its way out, tacking up the track, but leaving some gruesome mudholes for the bikes.
Jennifer Albright was amped up ready to go for the final race of the season. After winning the Men's A class and taking a 2nd overall finish at an FTR race a week ago, her sites were set on a podium finish to end the GNCC season on a high note. Unfortunately for Jennifer, she ran into a few issues on the second lap, breaking a tie rod and ending her day and season. Jennifer takes a 5th place finish in the women's class for the year.
Jennifer would like to thank of her sponsors: GEICO, MSR, Lojak Yamaha, MAXXIS, HMF, HiPer Technology, Rekluse, GT Thunder, Spider Grips, Precision, XFR, Cycle Gear, Scott, Flexx, CV4, IMS, ProGraph-X, Triple X Motorsports, PowerMadd, Moto Pro Training, and DP Brakes.
The green flag flew for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon and the chase for the championship was on. Whibley only had to finish in the top 14 to clinch the championship. He knew what he had to do, and played it safe all day. After taking a mid pack start, he worked his way up through the ranks, but after a small crash with Thad Duvall, he backed it down and played it safe for the rest of the day. Jimmy Jarrett, jockeying for an overall position also knew what he had to do and got a good jump on the start, almost taking the MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award. Jarrett was 1st into the woods and held onto that lead for the first lap. Jarrett had an awesome battle for most of the day, keeping himself up in the top 5, but was also battling a sore wrist towards the end of the day. Jarrett took a 5th place XC-1 finish - 8th O/A, putting him in the 4th place position in the points for the year.
Just like Jarrett, Scott Watkins was racing for an overall position. Although Watkins had the 4th place position in the XC-2 class wrapped up, he was hungry for a top 10 number in overall points. Running all day in the midst of the XC-1 riders, mistake free and smooth, Watkins was headed for an unforeseen mechanical issue. During lap 6, Watkins bike locked up on him. Able to get it back into the pits, where the every ready pit crew was able to find the problem - a leaky o-ring, fix it, get oil back in his bike and send him on his way. Watkins was able to salvage a 4th place XC-2 finish and 9th overall. This finish put Watkins in 10th place overall in points for the season.
Whibley ended up taking a 4th place XC-1 finish (5th O/A), and although the finish was just off the podium for the day, he still stood tall atop the podium for the season, hoisting up the #1 plate in front of a pumped up crowd and proud team. "I just can't even believe it," said Whibley, "I don't have the words for this right now. This is my ultimate goal, to win the GNCC Championship in the U.S. It's been an amazing year working with my team and (Team Managers) Gretchen and J.T.," Whibley said. "I couldn't have asked for a better team manager. This is my job, this is what I live for and this is the ultimate payback for all that hard work and training in the rain and the mud. The GNCC is the pinnacle of cross country racing in the world. I came here from Europe and this is my style of racing."
Team managers JT and Gretchen Bennett couldn't be more proud of Paul Whibley and the team. "We're just so proud of Paul, he's worked hard for this and deserves it. We also couldn't be happier for the rest of the team. They all put a lot of time and effort into the season and their results are there to prove it. We're looking forward to coming back next season just as strong if not stronger."
XC-1:
Kanney - 1st
Mullins - 2nd
Strang - 3rd
XC-2:
Buttrick - 1st
Russell - 2nd
Thomas - 3rd
The team would like to extend a huge thank you to all of their sponsors: GEICO, Monster Energy Kawasaki, Moose, Pirelli, Rekluse, Tsubaki, IMS, Works Connection, EBC Brakes, Silkolene, Renthal, Pro Moto Billet, Enduro Engineer, PowersportGrafx, and Acerbis.
In addition, the guys would like to thank the following sponsors:
Paul Whibley - Leo Vince, Shoei, Smith, G-2, Vortex Ignitions, WER, and CTI
Jimmy Jarrett - FMF, Arai, Motion Pro, Cytomax, Applied, UFO, Twin Air, and BRP
Scotty Watkins - FMF and Shoei
JT Bennett - MSR and Lojaks Yamaha
And of course, thank you to our fans.
The GNCC series has concluded for the season. The Klotz Ironman GNCC will air on the VS network November 14th at 4:00 PM (ATV) and November 21st at 4:00 PM (Bikes). For a full listing of the TV schedule, visit: http://www.gnccracing.com/pages/gncc-television.
Photos: http://www.jgoffroad.com/2009%20Season/GNCC/Round%2013%20-%20IN/index.html
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