Last year's inaugural Titan GNCC got off to a rough start due to some severe weather, when heavy rains washed out an chance of this new track showing its best side. So we've moved the date back to the late summer, and that seems like it will do the trick. So forget about survival runs, this will be a real race.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Gotta' love the action in this start photo. It's on this weekend!
Now lets turn it over to GNCC Reporter Shan Moore, who will be providing all the website race and photo reports over the weekend, as always.
I'm currently driving through Arkansas on my way to Tennessee for this weekend's race. No, I'm not typing while I drive, but I do my best thinking when I'm behind the wheel - not that I'm a big thinker or anything. Anyway, I was just reflecting on the race at Unadilla. Chris Borich took his eighth win of the year in New York, but not without a tough challenge from Taylor Kiser. Kiser battled with Borich for the lead during much of the race, but ultimately suffered a transmission problem and lost touch with Borich's Suzuki. Kiser came into the race with every intention of getting the win after he and his team prepared diligently over the summer. Before the race, Kiser talked a bit about the summer break.
"Me and Walker [Fowler] went to the Heartland Challenge and won," said Kiser. "We got off to a pretty good start and got the lead early. We had a few issues but overall we had a really solid day. Walker rode really good and I can't say enough about the bike and all the folks up there. It was a good win and a big confidence booster."
Nine-time GNCC Champion Bill Ballance of Ballance Racing talked about the testing the team did over the break, getting ready for the second half of the season. "We did a lot of testing over the summer and made some advancements," said Ballance. "We keep finding those improvements here and there. The guys really didn't even take much of a break, they just kept testing and training and we came back with the bikes a little better. We made some suspension improvements and on Taylor's bike we've got a new Ohlins steering damper that kind of works like power steering. It's steers real free, it feels like it doesn't even have a steering stabilizer on it. But it gives you damping forces that's about three times more than anything out there. We tested that over the summer and it takes a lot of pressure off your arms and shoulders. We're looking to get one of those on Walker's bike pretty soon and I think that's going to be a big advancement for our program. We do a lot of testing on our own at home. I think we test more than any other team, with motors, cam shafts, ECU stuff for fuel-injection, suspension, and across the board, it's always a search to find the best and stay ahead of the game."
Photo By: Shan Moore
Taylor Kiser (2) continues to take steps toward upending Chris Borich. Is this the weekend?
It was cool to see Amelie Lauallee riding with us. The Can-Am rider from Pointe-Calumet Quebec, Canada finished third in the Women's division during Saturday morning's ATV race. Amelie normally rides the Pro class against the men when she races in Canada, but finds the girls in the U.S. are quite tough. "This is the closest GNCC race for me and it's fun to come here and race against the girls and see where I am at," said Lauallee. "The competition is so intense here and to compete against the girls who are so fast here is a great challenge. The track was very nice and very fast and it makes the race very interesting."
On the bike side of things, some of the motocross teams are still making deals for riders for the 2011 season, and I think a few of those deals will have an effect on what money is available for off-road. I'm sure in some budgets off-road gets what's left over after the motocross deals are cut - pure speculation on my part, but it makes sense. It will be interesting to see how the acquisition of Roger DeCoster will affect KTM off-road. I think it can only help, since he will be bringing more sponsors to the team. I saw where Teka, which was a Suzuki sponsor in Europe, is coming over to KTM USA for the 2011 season, and I'm sure Roger had a lot to do with that.
It will also be interesting to see who Suzuki hires to managed its motocross/Supercross team for the coming year, and if any of what is going on will have an affect on its off-road team.
In the GNCC series, we have a lot of very talented young riders vying for a handful of factory deals and it will be interesting to see who goes where. As I reported last week, one of our up-and-comers, Chris Bach, has already inked a deal with Beta for 2011, and Beta has indicated they will be signing another rider.
Anyway, it's shaping up to be an exciting second half of the season.
That's it for Shan, now onto Rodney Tomblin, who put together a really cool Tuesday Toolbox with second-generation racer Jacob Keck. Check it out, and then check out Rodney's Quick Fill contribution right here.
Here we go again! It is our second race back since that long, long summer break. The Motorcycle USA Titan GNCC is round number 11 as we battle to the championship. Or should I say Championships. More on that in a moment, though.
A little more than a year ago, I remember pulling into the back pastures of Jerry Henderson's land here in Tennessee and thinking how beautiful the area was with the spring in full swing and trees boasting their new leaves for the summer. I remember when we left, it looked as if a bomb had gone off and there were no survivors. I remember it started raining on Friday morning and did not let up until after we left on Monday sometime. I remember the "No Wake Zone" in front of sign up. That was not a joke!
Today as I entered the back pastures of Jerry Henderson's I was shocked and amazed at how great the place looks. This will be the first weekend of fall 2010 and it is definitely dry and dusty. A huge difference from last year's mud race. It looks like it may be setting itself up for the complete opposite as far as track conditions are concerned. The course is set to be somewhere in the 10 - 12 miles. It should be a fitting place to welcome the first round of the newly reorganized (MSXC) Mid South Cross Country series. Anyone participating in both or MSXC riders really should check the MSXC.com website to see what it different about this race.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Mullins needs a strong run this weekend to close back in on Strang.
On the bike side of things, Obermeyer/Am Pro Yamaha rider Charlie Mullins fell off a few points in the highly coveted XC1 Pro class championship battle. Good news for him though is that it is not as bad as it could have been. Mullins struggled all day with issues falling back as far as 16th place at one point. He was able to rebound back to 10 on the day only 5 positions behind the point's leader FMF Suzuki's Josh Strang. Strang seem to settle into a comfortable pace once he heard of Mullins misfortunes and raced to defend the points lead. Expect this one to heat up this week between these two no matter if they are in the lead or racing each other mid pack, it will be one to watch.
In saying all that I am not meaning to take away from any other riders in the class. Just look at how things have broke down the last few races. In the first 7 races we saw only two different winners, however in the last 3 races we saw 3 new winners with FMF KTM's Corey Buttrick in Ohio, FMF KTM's Nate Kanney in West Virginia and JG Off Road / Geico Powersports Jimmy Jarrett in New York. That is 5 different winners so far and with the way Chris Bach has been riding, don't count him out for a win either.
Speaking of Chris Bach, the kid has been phenomenal this season exceeding his personal goals in the first two rounds of racing. Now we hear Chris has signed with Beta for next year. I hope the best for Chris in that endeavor and look forward to seeing what he is able to make those machines do.
In the XC2 Pro Lites class the championship continues to be tight. It is now a 13-point difference with 3 races to go between defending class champion FMF/KTM's Kailub Russell and F.A.R./Monster Energy's Jason Thomas. Thomas made the switch from the Yamaha to the Husqvarna with 4 rounds to go and you figure he must be confident in the equipment as he nearly took it to the win on his maiden GNCC voyage on the Husky. There were some definite fireworks that were going off at the finish of that one and has set the stage for a nail-biting wrap up to 2010.
As we headed into Unadilla privateer Moose Racing/Maxxis rider Jesse Robinson was only about 15 points out the hunt for the championship. He had one the previous two rounds heading into the 'Dilla, but an unfortunate hard get off left Jesse dazed and confused with a big knot to boot. He dropped out early scoring no points but was able to hang onto 3rd in points in the class. One thing to keep in mind is that with rivalry building between Russell and Thomas, Jesse may get a break and be back in the title hunt by Indiana. Robinson now sits 29 points out of 2nd place.
Over all Amateur continues to be the goal of Jordan Ashburn as wrapped up yet another strong top 10 finish at Unadilla. I asked Jordan when he was stepping up, and he said he wanted to wrap up over all amateur for the year before he moved into XC2 Pro Lites.
Then 10 am bike race on Sunday continues to be a lot of fun to watch. Masters A 50+ class point's leader Randall Riggs continues his domination in 2010 and should continue to be a contender for overall in that morning race. Look for him to pull one off soon.
Women's class rider FMF/KTM's Maria Forsburg has won all but 1 race in her class this season. It looks like a 3 way battle shaping up for 2nd with Mandi Mastin, Leeann Bange and Ashley Crouch. Tennessee's own Shelby Rolen sits in 5th and with any luck could be a contender as well. Shelby also finished a GNCC career best at Unadilla with a 2nd.
Youth class racing has once again proven to be a good start to Sunday morning racing. It has been an amazing year so far. Early on it seemed to be a battle between Layne Michael and Aaron Plessinger. Throw into the mix Grant Baylor from the second row in the 12 - 13 Super Mini class and you got yourself some racing going on. Unfortunately Plessinger injured his knee while practicing and pretty much threw the season away. Fortunately, the racing never suffered and we watched a new match up and rivalry born between Baylor and Michael. Also good news to report Plessinger is back on the bike. He also has moved up and out of youth competition to the 200 B class where he finished 9th. "Sweep Guy" Tommy Harris also told me that Plessinger had rough day on the big bike getting stuck on the railroad bed section of the 'Dilla. Could see Plessinger closer to the front in that class this week, I would think.
A couple reminders before I go;
1. Don't forget this is a Motorcycle USA weekend, so expect some fun evening activities on Saturday night for the whole family to enjoy.
2. Team Faith Chapel services on Saturday and Sunday mornings at the rig on vendor row. Come join and support Chuck and Team Faith in their quest to spread the "Good News" at all of our GNCC racing events.
Till next time, God Bless Your Heart and All Your Vital Organs.
That's it, folks.
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