Tons of GNCC info this week, so let's get to it, first with Shan Moore.
Thanks, Jason. This week I would like to share a few thoughts on my recent trip with Cory Buttrick, Tony Hall, and MacKenzie Delph to the Japanese city of Hiroshima for the AAGP, the final race of the JNCC series at BigDeer circuit. JNCC president Masami Hoshino and his assistant Tomo Miwa were very generous hosts and they took us to several local restaurants so we could experience the true Japanese cuisine and lifestyle. To be honest, I'm not really sure what all we ate - most of it tasted nothing like it looked - but I think we all wanted to try a little of everything just to see what it was like. I know Mackie struggled a little with the food, but Cory and Tony and I jumped right in with both feet. At first we asked what everything was before we tried it but then Tony decided at one point it was better not knowing what we were eating. If we liked something then we would ask what it was so we would know what to ask for at the next meal. Tony discovered he liked liver, and he admitted he would have never tried it if he had known what it was.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Cory B makes it four-straight JNCC winners from the GNCC tour.
We found that the Japanese people are very friendly to Americans, unlike some places in Europe. The streets and shops are all very clean and the people are all well dressed. No matter what they were wearing, it was all very neat and pressed.
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that beer is available on the streets and in hotels in vending machines. Beer seemed to be the main drink at lunch and dinner in most of the places were ate, but they always have Coke (and only Coke) available for Americans (No Pepsi, just Coke... kinda like the SNL skit).
Photo By: Shan Moore
Looks a lot different from downtown Morganton, NC.
As far as the race goes, Cory was totally on the gas and I think he really surprised the locals, including the President of KTM Japan. The track was super short - about seven miles - and in three hours Cory made 16 laps, lapping his way up to third place and winning by over five minutes ahead of the current JNCC champ. Cory told me he had problems with lapped traffic but that the lappers ended up keeping his mind occupied; otherwise he might have become bored being out front by such a big distance. It almost looked like those guys weren't used to getting lapped. Cory had to get pretty physical in a couple of instances, but the next time he lapped those same guys they would pull over (Cory lapped some riders several times).
The Big Deer course was pretty fast and had a lot of steep climbs and some fast downhills. There was a cool tabletop at the top of one of the hills where Cory was wowing the fans, hitting it and landing way down the side of the mountain.
After talking with Masami, I get the feeling the Japanese riders don't take training as seriously as our top guys do. They also don't get in a big hurry during gas stops. In fact, I saw the guy who finished second, Takeshi Koikeda, get off the bike and quickly down a sandwich during one stop!
Oh yeah, Mackie got to be the 30-second girl and I have to say she was a pretty good one.
I also noticed the Japanese mechanics coming over to sneak a peak at how a professional mechanic like Tony Hall operates. In fact, I think Tony had quite a few admirers after everything was said and done.
It was funny looking at all the slogans and logos on t-shirts and decals over there. I think a lot of them were rip-offs of American products. I saw one shirt that said Cool Rock Café (I'm assuming a rip-off of Hard Rock Café), and I saw a decal that read M-Style (instead of N-Style). They also ripped off a lot of my favorite classic rock tunes. I heard a Japanese version of Born To Be Wild that I'm sure would make John Kay want to puke. There was even a product called MudOff that looked exactly like Thunderlite!
Photo By: Shan Moore
More from Japan.
BTW, I got a note from Rachel Ayers telling us that MotoTees is having a Store-wide Christmas Sale, 40% off an order of $100 or more. They are also offering a T-shirt Package for GNCC's. With the package you're guaranteed a shirt from every round, even if it is a sell-out. You get one shirt from each round and one series shirt. With the prepaid package you save $50 compared to buying them separately at each event. Check out MotoTees.com for more information and to order.
One more thing: The January issue of Dirt Rider has a cool 2-page photo of Josh Strang and Charlie Mullins battling at the Powerline GNCC round. That issue also has an update on the series to that point.
Here's a bit of silly season news: I have it on good account that Jordan Ashburn will be riding an Obermeyer AmPro rider for 2011, riding a YZ250F in the XC2 class and a YZ450F for OMA. Good to see Jordan land a good ride... with the economy like it is there will most certainly be a few guys without a ride next year.
Thanks, Shan, and here's a funny little letter from JNCC President Masami Hoshino himself:
Cory won the championship in response to the expectation in AAGP.
The rider whom you saw off is great.
We were very happy.
See YouTube, please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QomOk5L_VZI&feature=player_embedded
Last week we put our a press release congratulating GNCC Racers for their success at the AMA Racing Banquet in Las Vegas. Charlie Mullins won AMA Racing Athlete of the Year, Chris Borich won ATV Athlete of the Year, and Maria Forsberg won Female Rider of the Year.
The always-hilarious guys at offroadjunkies.com went to the banquet and put together this account.
http://www.offroadjunkies.com/2010/11/23/charkies-las-vegas-vacation/
You can also check out Tuesday Toolbox with GNCC Youth ATV Champion Levi Coen, who also attended the banquet. Here's a letter:
Hello,
I thought you might like to post a picture of the only two GNCC atv racers to attend the AMA Las Vegas Banquet. Roman Brown(Sport 15+ ATV Champion) from New York and Levi Coen(90 Modified 12-15 ATV Champion) from Ohio. These two young men won their classes convincingly this year with 160 points and represent the future of GNCC ATV racing. Consequently, the two have become the best of friends through GNCC racing.
Photo By: Courtesy Coen family
Levi Coen and Roman Brown in Vegas.
Finally, I had a chance to talk to Jesse Robinson last week, and he says he's planning on coming back to the XC2 class next year with his KTM 250 two-stroke, but he would certainly entertain other ideas. If you know of a team looking for a good rider, or a rider that can show off your product, email him
And as always we wrap this up with Rodney Tomblin.
Thanks Jason. I sure hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I know a few folks may have gotten some good news but I am still waiting to hear the final okay as to whether I can say much. So I will hold on to that and hope that everyone is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel for sponsorships in 2011.
I had the great privilege of spending my Thanksgiving at Gatorback Cycle Park in Florida for the 39th Thor Winter National Olympics. It was a good time and of course lots of great racing. We even had the honor of seeing several GNCC folks in the ranks. Some were racing and others just watching or making a quick visit to talk to sponsors and such.
Early in the week I spotted Big John Knox motoring down vendor row with a few passengers I never thought I would see at the Mini O's. Like Defending GNCC ATV Champ Chris Borich (a.k.a. Superman in the Off Road ATV racing world.) and his entourage of Johnny Gallagher and Adam McGill! Chris was doing some sponsorship work with SCOTT goggles and they snuck in to check things out. I guess those wondering how soon a championship contender starts training for the next season have their answer. The best I can tell is they never stop training for the next race. Chris left Indiana, drove straight to his secret training compound in the tropics of the south and is ready to swoop down in 2011 and defend the title that has quickly became all his. (I think this training compound is equal to a lair for Superman)
If you happened to read Tuesday Toolbox with Cody Gragg you know that he was there. As far as his week racing, he told me that it was the worst week of mechanical craziness he has ever experienced in his racing career. He never did blame anyone for anything, but I know he had a new mechanic and I believe some new bikes so that combination may have presented some obstacles for the team.
As far as results for Cody, I know he wanted to capture at least one championship from the whole week and more if possible. However when things go south like they did, it is hard to reach the goals you have set. Gragg started out strong in Supercross qualifiers and was set with a 4th heading into the main. Unfortunately that is when the problems started and it was a struggle from that point. He did score a 4th in the Four-Stroke class and that was some redemption considering he was riding a 250F against 450s.
On the motocross track Gragg did score a 3rd in the first moto of the Youth Stock 12-16 class and again problems started and was never able to muster up much. Cody's best motocross score was a 9th over all in the Youth Stock 12-16 class again. He took it all in stride and as frustrating as it was for him, he is looking toward the River Ranch GNCC in March when he sets his sights on the XC2 Pro Lites championship fight.
Photo By: Shan Moore
Cory signs a baby!
Before I go a few things to think about and check out:
Here is a link (http://www.offroadviking.com/volunteer_setra.html) to the SETRA video Off Road Viking did from the Volunteer. Jason Raines ran the Gore for them and it turned out pretty good. Also I hear they will talk to Jordan Ashburn and will be doing a "first ride" video with him for Yamaha in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see that.
Also, don't forget about the Caring Bridge site where you can keep updated on Josh Kirkland in his recovery. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshkirkland11 Josh is still fighting and prayers for he and the family are still appreciated.
I got a message from Ellen Pritchard earlier this week that Glen had a fairly aggressive treatment to try eliminate a spot that had developed on his liver. If you would like to keep up with how things are going here is a link http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/profile.php?id=1007050769 . Ellen set up a face book page to keep family ands friends up to date.
And lastly I just wanted to send out a tip of the hat to the folks over at Honda. I spoke to American Honda's Keith Dowdle while at the Mini O's last week and he did confirm that Honda was going to be increasing the amount of events that they will be paying for GNCC. Honda has been paying contingency, but they did not pay in all 13 events in 2010. For 2011, we should be seeing a change. Also we should be seeing Red on the front row or two. Though they are not sponsoring a team they are talking about supporting some efforts and that is a step in the right direction.
That's it from me. Till next time, God Bless Your Hearts and All Your Vital Organs!
Share