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New Berlin, New York (September 11, 2011) -- Despite days of speculation on how much havoc mother nature could wreck on the Unadilla GNCC track, the GEICO/American Honda JG Off Road team pulled up to the starting line for a beautiful day of racing that saw each rider end the day with solid results.
"We've definitely had a nice day today," said team co-owner JT Bennett. "Everything went really smooth, everyone finished and got decent results and we're all healthy going into the next round."
New York State had seen devastating floods in the days before the 10th round, but when dawn broke on race day, the track was short, but in good condition. The weather cooperated with only an overcast sky and a few sprinkles, leaving the rocky track slick.
Ashley Crouch started the day off for the team in the Womens pro class. New York's proud racing heritage showed as twenty women showed up on the start line to take on the AM race. Crouch fought from a second-kick start into third and engaged in a beautiful battle with Hannah Otto until the final seconds of the race, when Otto took third for the day, and Crouch fourth.
"I didn't even know I had caught Hannah, and when she came up behind me on the second to last turn, I thought it was a guy," Crouch said. "I had no idea it was her."
Crouch's fourth place finish helps to solidify her second place ranking in the point standings.
Jarrett broke his streak of bad luck today, ending the day in 6th in XC1, and 8th overall after a solid race without a single crash during nine laps of racing. Jarrett's American Honda fired fast off the line, and the veteran GNCC racer spent time battling with KTM's Nathan Kanney before settling into an even pace for his best finish of the GNCC season.
"Today was definitely better than other days," Jarrett said with a laugh. "There were no mishaps, no crashes, and I'm still in one piece so we're definitely moving in the right direction."
Jarrett's testing earlier in the week also paid off.
"The bike was awesome," he said. "We did some testing this week and got things a little better to my liking and it definitely helped out today."
Watkins recovered from a dead last start and battled a long day through an increasingly roughed up track. Watkins ran the race primarily on his own and ended the day with a fifth place finish in XC2.
"It was a pretty long, drawn out day on a rough track," Watkins said. "I couldn't get into a rhythm all day it seemed. The moto track was fun, but everything else was slick rocks."
Mead said he also had problems getting settled into the track. Mead, who is staying on the team through the season finished 8th in XC1 and 11th overall for his first time at the Unadilla GNCC.
"It just didn't feel like it was one of those days when you have a good ride," he said. "I pretty much rode by myself. But the bike was awesome. It couldn't have gotten along better."
"Everyone had middle of the road results and did a really nice job," Bennett said. "The track at the end was getting pretty rough and beating the guys up, but when all three came in they had smiles on their faces, and that was good to see. I know they'd like to get results up a little more but they did enjoy riding the bikes today and stayed off the ground for the most part."
The JG Off Road Team heads next to the Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania on September 25th.
XC1 Results
Charlie Mullins (KTM)
Kailub Russell (KTM)
Paul Whibley (YAM)
Nathan Kanney (KTM)
Christopher Bach (BET)
Jimmy Jarrett (HON)
Jedidiah Haines (KAW)
Rory Mead (HON)
Mike Lafferty (HSB)
Kenny Gilbert (KTM)
XC2 Results
Jordan Ashburn (YAM)
Jason Thomas (HSQ)
Andrew Delong (KTM)
Steward Baylor (KTM)
Scott Watkins (HON)
Zack Nolan (KTM)
AJ Stewart (YAM)
Jesse Robinson (KTM)
Ryan Lojak (YAM)
Steven Squire (YAM)
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