Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128097
AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Round 2: Paradise Park IVfX Track STORY AND PHOTOS BY STEVE BERKNER MACON, GA, MAR. 11 12 MF Suzuki's Rodney Smith ended a Lf (Above) Rodney Smith was hardly heard from at Okeechobee, but he roared to life the following week at Macon, Georgia. Smith took the win for the first time In a year. (Left) Fatigue caught up to Shane Watts, but he stili finished a strong second. one-year GNCC victory drought when he took back the I'ead from defending Grand National Cross Country Series Champion Shane Watts during the final lap of the Macon, Georgia, round of the GNCC Series held at Paradise Park Motocross Track. Smith, the 1998 and 1999 GNCC Champion, last won a GNCC race at the same venue last year, before suffering an injury that held the 37-yearold Califomian to an eighth-overall finish last year. "After winning back-to-back championships, last year was like a nightmare," Smith said. "I won round two here [last yearj and then injur':d a ligament in my thumb during round three, and that just kept me out of contention all year." Finishing third behind Smith and Watts at Macon was KTM's Mike Lafferty, while Yamaha's Barry Hawk and FMF Suzuki's Steve Hatch rounded out the top five overall, respectively. Watts, who had driven all night from Daytona to Macon after trying to qualify for the 125cc class at the Daytona Supercross the day before, said, "Today's race was real aggressive. Right from the start the fellows were banging bars going for position. I had enough of that yesterday [trying to make the 125cc fieldj. I thought to myself, 'Come on guys this is threehour race.' I guess I spread myself a little thin. I just didn't have any adrenalin left to make it happen at the end." Smith got off to a fourth-place start, while FMF Suzuki Teammate Jim Jarrett got the holeshot and Kawasaki's Fred Andrews and Honda-mounted Josh McLevy were second and third into tum one before entering the woods a half-mile from the start. By then, Andrews had taken the lead. Smith eventually moved into second behind Andrews and followed the Team Green rider for the remainder of the first lap around the 11.5-mile course. Smith said, "After the moming race, they said the course was real slippery and technical, and I was happy to be in second place until I leamed the track." Andrews, who missed the previous week's GNCC opener due to a lower back sprain, said, "My arms were really starting to pump up. My back wasn't really bothering me, but I wasn't riding relaxed. Once we got back to the motocross track, Rodney passed me and I just knew I had to back off [for a few laps] until my arms came back. By that time, I was midpack and had to settle for 11 th." At the end of lap one, less than eight seconds separated the top six places with Smith first, followed by Andrews, Hatch, Kiedrowski (FMF Suzuki), Jarrett and Watts. During the next few miles, both Kiedrowski and Jarrett would both drop off Smith's pace: Kiedrowski eventually had his transmission shiftshaft fail, leaving him stuck in third gear for the rest of the day; and Jarrett fell off the pace after twisting his knee when he caught his foot in a rut during the first lap. He would ultimately soldier on and to finish five laps before calling it quits. Kiedrowski said, "I was running as high as fourth on the first lap when the shift shaft broke. Then it was five and a half laps of being stuck in the same gear. Overall I'm happy with my results." Kiedrowski finished 10th overall. Team Green Kawasaki's Paul Edmondson also pulled out of the race early after a collision with another rider on the motocross track at the end of lap one. Edmondson missed round one