Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Round 6: Gladiator GNC STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL CLIPPER SPARTA, KY, MAY 6 howing an amazing display of determination and guts, Team FMF/Suzuki's Rodney Smith powered his way to the front and took his third overall win of the season at Ken tucky's Gladiator GNCC. The key to Smith's success this day was gritting his teeth and staying close enough to holeshot winner Fred Andrews to take advantage of any mistake the Team Green rider may have made, a strategy that paid off when Andrews bobbled at the start of the third lap , cracking the door open for Smith. That was all the RM250 pilot needed, and he never looked back from that lap on. The distinguishing feature of the Kentucky race was dust - clouds and clouds of it, unfortunately - a stark contrast to the slick conditions last year. Gett ing up front right away would make all the difference this day , a fact Andrews knew going in. "I knew that today if you got the start and didn't make any mistakes, well, you should win,' Andrews said. "Rodney stuck behind me in the dust - I don't know how - but we batt led and I made one mistake coming into the gas stop, and he was there to capitalize on it. He passed me and I just followed h im , and there was no way I was going to get around h im." " I'v e been lacking in my starts lately , so that's what I was concentrating on , ' Smith said , " a n d it worked good today. I go t right up front, and Fred was riding really well , Shane Watts was riding a good race. Freddy made one little mistake that gave me the lead , and I was able to capitalize on it and try not to make any mistakes myself.' Reigning champ Shane Watts recovered from a mid-pack start to move into third at the end of the first lap , but that was as far as he could go in the dust: "To tell the truth, it really sucked out there,' he said. "I don't like the dust. Between the three of us, whoever had the lead go ing in had the advantage , unless he made a mistake, and Rodney was the one. I could have won it if I was in the lead, but I just wasn't there . It's his good luck and my bad fortune , but the dust really holds back your ability. I'd catch up and get into the dust, then fall back , then catch up ag a in and have to fa ll back into the du st again ." Watching Andrews charge into th e lead at the start is becoming a fa m iliar sight at GNCCs and this day wa s no d ifferent, as he took control and led the pa ck into the wo ods. Honda CR-mounted Josh McLevy wa s hot on his heels , a s were Smith and KTM's Mike Lafferty. The start field in Sparta has a beautiful natural bowl-berm for a first turn that begs for top gear, and the back markers had a sample of the dust as they clamored for po sition in the four fast turns befo re the tra il turned into the trees. 28 MAY 23, 200 1 • ne cue I e VIl's Th e riders didn't get a full taste of the dust until they broke out of the woods into the first grass-track sect ion , which had been thoroughly s kinn ed off by the quad race the day b efore. Andrews stayed in the clear a ir through the first grass track and th e "barn check ," where the riders were c hec ked through a conveniently placed pole barn in one of the fields. Smith w as right behind him, and clo se b ehind Smith were McLevy, Laffert y and Kawasak i-mounted Chu ck Woodford. while Watts was still working his way up through the pack. The top five he ld their positions Why is th is man clean? For the most part, Rodney Smith managed to stay out of the dust, thereby scoring the win and adding to his points le a d. through scoring on the first lap, trying to feel their way around the course. The only major movement was Watts , who worked his way into third mid way th rough the second lap . Smith, meanwhile, was looking for his break. "The first half of the race, I was in the dark ,' Smith said. "I was follow ing pretty close to Freddy because if he took a funny hit I'd be able to see it, but sometimes I'd have to drop

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