JG Off Road Racing Sees Top 10 Day at Inaugural Rock Run GNCC
Patton, PA (May 30, 2011) -- GEICO/American Honda/ JG Off Road Racing took a round of top 10 finishes away from the first ever Rock Run GNCC, in Patton, PA with Scott Watkins finishing 7th in XC2, Rory Mead, sitting in for injured rider Jimmy Jarrett, taking 8th in XC1 and Ashley Crouch, 6th in Womens. Team co-owner JT Bennett grabbed 5th in the Sportsman class.
"I got a good look at the track and it was about what I thought," Bennett said. "It was all pretty much really fast rock sections that got a little hairy at times. I wish we had a tad more technical stuff to slow some of these guys down. Overall it was a good day and at the end of the it everyone walked away healthy. Our new rider from New Zealand did a fantastic job. We couldn't be more happy with him filling in with Jimmy."
Mead, in his first ever GNCC race stayed strong in the top 10 through the entirety of the race, moving up to 8th on the 5th lap for the finish.
"It was a completely new experience," Mead said. " I didn't really know what to expect. It's definitely a lot different from back home, the boys here are a lot faster. But we learned a lot. I'm definitely looking forward to going to Snowshoe and the Penton."
Watkins got another good start as he made his way through the fast and rocky track but spent most of the day riding his own race, right behind the pack of front runners. Watkins was able to pull about 20 seconds on Jordan Ashburn on the fifth lap and then another 20 on the final lap and finished 7th for the day.
"I was really uncomfortable on the first lap," Watkins said. "That was probably the closest thing to a WORCS track as I'm ever going to be on. It was flat out and fast, with dust and big boulders. There just wasn't enough time to catch up to the front pack. But I felt good today and I'm looking forward to the next OMA in Michigan."
Crouch's day started with a fourth into the woods until Defending Champion Maria Forsberg picked up the pace to get into the lead. Crouch rode with Samantha Steiner until Crouch began to have problems with her brakes which had begun to go out. On the second lap the brakes gave up, sending Crouch sailing into a tree. But that didn't stop the tough Texan as she picked herself up to ultimately finish sixth for the day.
"After I crashed I was able to get up and caught up to Shelby Rolen and stayed with her pretty much the rest of the race," Crouch said. "It was a really fast paced track without a lot of technical spots, so if you got out in front you could pretty much pull away. I'm definitely looking forward to the next round."
Next up for the team is the Maxxis Wolverine XC OMA in Mesick, Michigan on June 11-12.
Jarrett and Watkins would like to thank team sponsors JG Offroad, GEICO, American Honda, Kenda, Silkolene, EBC, Tsubaki, Ride PG, Rekluse, Moose, Cycra, Arai, FMF, G2, IMS, BRP, Renthal, Works Connection, Factory Connection, Smith Optics, and Sidi.
Watkins would like to thank his additional sponsors Parts Unlimited, and ProMoto Billet.
Jarrett would also like to thank individual sponsors No Toil, CV4, and Outerwears.
Crouch would like to thank sponsors JG Offroad, GEICO, American Honda, Kenda, Silkolene, EBC, Tsubaki, Ride PG, Rekluse, Moose, Cycra, Scott, Tucker Rocky, Ogio, PMP, Spruill Honda, and Factory Connection.
Share