ITP Power Line Park GNCC
Powersport GrafX/KTM
GNCC Round 12, Oct 14, 2007
St. Clairsville OH—Round 12 of the 2007 GNCC series greeted riders with extremely dry and fast conditions.
In XC2, Kailub Russell was riding the 250F for this race. This time it was Kailub grabbing the holeshot! Kailub had a solid ride going before having to pit for crash repairs. He finished the day in 6 th position.
Dustin Gibson was caught up in a starting line crash that put him in the back of the pack for the first lap. He gathered it up and came back to 6 th place before crashing hard in the dust. Dustin was unable to continue and finished in 12 th.
Team XC1 rider, Jason Gilleland, suffered terribly in the dusty conditions. Jason overcame multiple crashes to finish 12 th in class.
Jordan Ashburn had a tremendous race from the 4 th row. Jordan was second in 250A and finished an amazing 16 th overall!
With one race left in the season, the team is set for 2008. Stay tuned for exciting news!
Next Event: GNCC Round 13, The Ironman,Crawfordsvillen IN
We appreciate the support of our sponsors: KTM, PowersportGrafx, KTM Hard Equipment & GENUINE
SPARE PARTS, MAXXIS tire, IMS products, Sidi boots, SCOTT goggles, NGK, CV4
products and MOTOREX.
William Yokley
The Power Line Park GNCC Race Report
St. Clairsville, OH, October 13, 2007
William Yokley finished 171 st overall and 19 th XC1 Pro today at the Power Line Park GNCC race in St. Clairsville, OH after a mechanical failure ended his day. There were 206 competitors in this race including 25 XC1 Pro riders.
Summary
The final results show that I
finished well down in the field today, but I am really
pleased with how far the development has come on my bike
since the beginning of the season. I actually only completed
just a little less than 3 laps of the 4 lap event. The
reason I’m optimistic is that I got a great start,
I ran up front the entire time, and I am confident I could
have finished on the podium.
Powerline Park is a very fast track with a lot of high-speed open fields, tight technical woods, and some mud holes to make it interesting. This area of Ohio has been experiencing a severe drought like we have at home in KY, so I knew it was going to be very dusty. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. After meeting with the fans and signing posters, I headed to the start area for the main event.
I have been experimenting with different techniques to start by bike quickly, and none seemed to work consistently. I found something since the last race that seems to work very well. The start area had a long uphill climb, so a quick start was essential, especially as dusty as it was. The flag dropped and I got a great launch, and my KFX450 pulled strong up the hill. I arrived at the first corner right next to Bill Ballance, and we actually had some contact. The last thing I wanted to do was mess up his chance to win the championship by wrecking him. We finished the open fields, and I was 2nd behind Ballance heading into the woods.
The dust was a real problem, but I was in a much better place than most everyone. I completed the first lap in 2nd place behind Bill feeling strong and comfortable. I pitted for gas on the second lap but Borich did not pit, so I was in 3rd right behind him. Just before the end of the 3 rd lap, my bike suddenly lost power and quit running. It would not restart, and all I could do was push it off the course, and watch everyone go by.
This was heart breaking because the bike was working great and running strong. It has taken most of this season to develop this bike for professional cross-country competition, but I felt that we were finally ready to compete for the win today. Sure I was disappointed and heart broken, but I knew that all the hard work, testing, and practicing had finally produced some good results. So, as I said earlier, I’m upset with not finishing but very happy about how the bike is working.
We go to the Ironman in Crawforsdville Indiana in two weeks. We will find out what caused the engine failure and fix it. I’m ready to battle for a win in this last race!
Paul Whibley
Race Report: Round 12 GNCC,
Powerline Park St. Clairesville
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: Moose, Parts Unlimited, Honda
Bike: Honda CRF 450X
The dust could be seen driving into the track from the morning race. Clouds of it hung over the woods and fields, leaving no doubts about this race. A good start was going to be critical in the event and I pulled off another top one. I lined up out wide and swept round the outside of turn one in about 5th, but on the second turn I got hit from behind and pushed out letting everyone go by me on the inside. The dust was unbelievable; on about the forth corner we were at a stand still. I could see a helmet in front but that was it. I ended up going off the track without realizing. Once out of the dust cloud I could see where the track went and was able to rejoin the race. In the woods some sections had two or three foot deep powder lying on the ground. I spent most of the first half of the race chasing Robbie Jenks dust, in 10th, unable to see a way past or even see him really. After the fuel stop I managed to get past Robbie and also Garret Edminsten. The dust was so thick many of the two strokes began to blubber and some had to stop to change filters. I got past Jesse Robinson and Josh Strang, later in the race to finish in 5th place. I was happy to finish as many guys had bike problems in the blinding dust. I found the race more mentally taxing than physically draining due to all the straining to see. It was the most dusty race I have ever ridden.
Thank you to my following sponsors:
Parts Unlimited, Moose, Honda, Honda Pro Oils, HRCA, WER, Cycra, RG3, Motion Pro,
Braking, Sunstar, Wiseco, Ek, Tag, Powersport Grafix, Thumper Racing, Pirelli, CTi,
Smith, Alpinestar, Tire Balls, Vortex Ignitions, IMS, Moto SR, Stringfellows,
Darbi Accessories
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Fred Andrews Racing
GNCC Series round 12
St Clairsville OH
The weather in Ohio has been very hot and dry for September. This made for a very dusty race on Sunday.
XC1
Jesse Robinson got off to a good 6th place start heading into the woods. At
the 3-mile marker Jesse was in 5th place and in dust. On the second lap Jesse
fueled up his Monster Energy Kawasaki FAR KX250 and returned to action. On
the 4th lap, Jesse's air filter started to suck dirt into the motor and that
was the end of Jesse's day. Jesse was not the only one to have problems with
the dust as the leader of the race and a few others had the same problem.
Jesse
said that it was the hard to push when you could not see.
David Knight. KTM
Jim Jarrett. Suz
Barry Hawk. Yam
Glen Kearney. Suz
Paul Whibley. Hon
Robbie Jenks. Ktm
Josh Strang. Suz
Jason Raines. Yam
Garrett Edmisten. Kaw
Brian Garrahan. Yam
XC2
Josh Weisenfels and Scott Watkins got off to a good top
5 start going into the woods. Josh put the Monster Energy FAR Kawasaki into the lead on the first lap. Scotty moved up to 3rd on the first lap.
Josh bent his shifter putting him back to 4th and Scotty
was in the lead.
At the gas stop, Scotty was leading and Josh was 3rd 15 seconds behind.
On the white flag lap Scotty had slipped back to 2nd with Josh in 3rd, and that's how they crossed the finish line.
Scotty said it was a long day out there, and “one mistake cost me the win.”
Josh said, “It was hard to ride with the bent shifter.
I got close to Scotty on the last lap but fell down.”
Justin Williamson. Ktm
Scott Watkins. Monster Kaw FAR
Josh Weisenfels Monster Kaw FAR
Chris Hollis. Yam
Rodney Smith. Suz
Kailub Russell. Ktm
Ben Kearney. Ktm
Jeff Cregg. Hon
Brian Lawson. Yam
Travis Green. Hsq
David Knight
Red Bull KTM Off Road Race Team
Racer Productions
US Grand National Cross Country Race Series
Round 12 Powerline Park
GNCC,
St Clairsville, OH, 14.10.07
Knighter wins a dusty Powerline Park GNCC
Red Bull KTM Off Road Race Team
rider David Knight claimed what was arguably his most important win of the ’07
US GNCC series this past weekend when he topped the penultimate round of the
championship, the Powerline GNCC in Ohio. With the overall GNCC championship
standings extremely close between Knight and Barry Hawk before the event, the
double Enduro 3 world champion did exactly what he needed to do ahead of the
final round of the series and extended his lead to 21 points. Now a 12 th place
result or better will earn the Manxman the coveted ’07 GNCC championship.
With conditions extremely dry and dusty at the 12 th round of the GNCC series a good start was essential. Rounding the first turn in third, David briefly moved up to second before dropping back to third as the riders headed away from the start area. With Jimmy Jarrett then making a mistake David didn’t need to be asked twice if he’d like to move through to the runner-up spot and set about closing in on race leader Charlie Mullins. With the opening lap completed without accident or incident, David found himself stuck in a boggy rut on lap two, where he remained for close to one minute as he worked furiously to free his stricken KTM. Eventually free David closed in on Mullins once again before inheriting the lead when his close championship rival ran out of fuel.
From that point on, David extended his lead at the front of the Pro class field despite slowing his pace during the closing stages of the race. Crossing the line over four minutes ahead of second placed rider Jimmy Jarrett, David importantly finished ahead of Barry Hawk, who prior to the Powerline GNCC was just 12 points behind David in the championship standings.
Just one round of the ’07 US Grand National Cross Country Race Series now remains, which takes place at Crawfordsville, Indiana on October 28. To win the ’07 US GNCC championship David needs to finish 12 th or higher if his closest championship rival Barry Hawk wins
David Knight: “I certainly needed that result. I’d been practicing my starts before the race because it was clear that the dust was going to be a problem. I was third off the line, managed to get up to second, and then dropped back to third. The dust was really bad. It caught Jimmy Jarrett out, which put me up to second, but in some places I just couldn’t see, the dust just seemed to get worse and worse.
“On lap two, I got stuck in a boggy rut. My front wheel just disappeared and it took ages to pull it out. I must have been stuck for about 50 seconds but amazingly I was still in second when I got going.
“I was over a minute behind Charlie Mullins at the end of the second lap but closed the gap to around 30 seconds. It might have taken me a few more laps because of the dust but I was confident that I would eventually pass him. When he ran out of fuel I didn’t see him stopped so I didn’t know that I was leading. I was just trying to keep as far away from the deep, dusty berms as possible.
“I slowed down quite a lot to the last lap because the dust was starting to clog my bike’s filter. It was still running fine but I could tell that it was starting to get blocked. The last two laps went pretty well, I just tried to keep an eye open for lappers in the dust. It was an important win, I just hope I can do the same at the next round now.”
Results - XC 1 class US GNCC Series Rnd 11, Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC
- David Knight (Red Bull KTM Off Road Race Team) 2:59.10
- Jimmy Jarrett (Suzuki) 3:03.31
- Barry Hawk (Yamaha) 3:03.31
- Glenn Kearney (Suzuki) 3:03.37
- Paul Whibley (Honda) 3:05.57
- Robbie Jenks (KTM) 3:06.38
Team Am-Pro Yamaha
Power Line Park
St. Clairsville Ohio was the destination for round 12 of the GNCC series. The track was laid out to expect some rain but when that didn't happen. That's when things got interesting. The silt was knee deep in places! Without the much needed rain, it was going to be a tough day for both riders and machinery.
Number 3 Charlie Mullins grabbed the Racer X Holeshot adding to his collection for this year with KTM's David Knight following in hot pursuit. Jason Raines got a top five start into the first turn but when Brain Garrahan fell in the second part of the S turn Jason had nowhere to go. Barry Hawk had a little trouble off the start when his bike took more than just one kick to start in the cool Ohio weather putting him in dead last and a long dusty race ahead of him. XC2 rider Thaddeus Duvall had an upper pack start but it was the mechanical problem with his brakes that gave him the real problem, placing him back the pits for quick repairs just minutes after the start of the race. He got back on the bike and up with the pack by the end of the first lap putting him in 15th.
The first few laps proved to be good for Mullins. He led Knight and Suzuki's Jimmy Jarrett through the dust of the first three laps of the race with Jason in 11th battling with fellow 4-stroke riders Edmisten and Whibley, but it seemed that whenever he would get close enough to make a move he would make a mistake in the silt ruts and drop back just behind them and back into their blinding dust cloud. Barry was fighting his way through the pack working his way to fifth place by the end of lap 3. Barry sped past Suzuki's Josh Strange and Kawasaki's Jessie Robinson, but knew his bike wasn't going to make it much further cutting through all the dust without a filter change so on the next lap his crew made the change and got him back out for battle. Jason Raines knew it was going to be a bad day on the filter so they put two covers on the filter before the race even started to prepare the best they could, and that paid off because Jason never needed to stop for a filter change. Jason's battle was dealing with fighting a mid pack start and not being able to see in the dust. That made passing difficult on everyone.
When the leader of the race Charlie Mullins came around to enter into the pro pits that's when his luck started to change for the day. Charlie began to run out of gas and before he made it to the barrels, he started pushing, instead of riding his Yamaha to the gas stop. He managed to get gassed up again but not before David Knight passed him putting Charlie in second place. Jason was slowly and cautiously moving up a few positions when riders were stopping for filters. Barry was pushing hard to pass Team Suzuki's Glenn Kearney but the dust made it almost impossible to get close enough the make any moves. Thad Duvall was making up some time moving into 8th place by the end of lap 5.
Early in the 5th lap proved not so good for Yamaha's Charlie Mullins, unfortunately the filter problem rose again and that's when "Hot Rod's" day was done. His bike came to a stop from sucking so much dirt into the motor. Jason Raines moved his way up to 9th place and made a hard push to get past Edmisten just before the checkers flew. Barry made his move on number four's Glenn Kearny putting him in third place as he road across the checkered flag. When Thaddeus came through the finishing line turns he had to settle for a 11th place for the day. Jason Raines came through the barrels and under the finish flag in 8th in the XC1 pro class with a hunger and readiness for next weekend at the last round of the AMA National Hare Scrambles Series in Arizona.
We all had close calls during the day, hitting stuff at speed that we couldn't see, so we are happy to leave the dust still healthy and ready to tackle the next race.
Thank you to our team for their quickness and readiness in the pits to keep our bikes chugging along, and to our sponsors for all their continued support. See you at the races!
Results:
Barry Hawk- 3rd
Jason Raines- 8th
Charlie Mullins- DNF
Thad Duvall- 11th (XC2)
Points Standings:
Barry Hawk- 2nd
Charlie Mullins- 3rd
Thad Duvall- 6th (XC2) 14th overall
Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC for Warnert Racing Can-Am
GNCC Round#11
Elka Yadkin Valley Stomp - Yadkinville, NC
September 29, 2007
Warnert Racing’s CanAm Team Stomps Yadkinville with Four Podium Finishes
Round 11 of the Can Am GNCC Series was held in the beautiful wine country of the Yadkin Valley located in North Carolina. This stop of the series is notorious for being one of the tightest tracks of the year, posing twists and turns that will wreak havoc on machines and riders as speeds are lower and finesse rules the day. Can-Am Warnert Racing’s riders were prepped and the machines were readied for the grueling two hour off road event.
The weather was tailor made for outdoor activity as warm sunny skies greeted the racers. Dry conditions in this region would raise the possibility that dust could slow riders even more as visibility shortened and the track becomes choked with dust. Our Warnert racers would have a tough day ahead of them.
4x4 Lites racer Cliffton Beasley would face off once again with fellow Can Am rider Jerime Dudding as the pair battled each other and the conditions. With the championship won, Beasley could relax and race for the win without worry of the points battle. When the dust settled, Dudding edged out Beasley by mere seconds to claim his second class victory of the season. Beasley’s second place finish marked his 10th race of the season, finishing 2nd or better!
4x4 Limited has been owned by CanAm Warnert Racing’s Michael Swift this season, and marking the second team member to lock in a class championship, Swift would be riding for this win with an awe inspiring season already behind him. Swift jumped out to the early lead and continued his domination of the 4x4 Limited Class, securing his 9th win of the 2007 season.
4x4 Open riders Richard Cecco and Scott Kilby took aim to win this event and carry the Warnert Racing momentum forward in yet another class stocked full of talent. Racing the largest machines in one of the most competitive classes is always a challenge and the duo combined for a 2nd and 3rd place finish respectively. The tight and twisting layout and slower speeds did not favor the big 4x4 machines, however both riders put in great rides in conditions that tested the riders and Can-Am Outlander 800s. Fellow Can-Am rider Bryan Buckhannon was able to slip around Cecco who had the lead and take the win which now places emphasis on the remaining 2 rounds of competition as Kilby and Cecco both strive to win the 4x4 Open Class and provide Warnert Racing with a 4x4 Sweep.
The series heads north to Ohio for round 12 to be held at Powerline Park on October 13th. With varying terrain and conditions expected to highly favor our Warnert Racing Team, look for more wins as the final rounds start to draw a spectacular season to a close!
