Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

m Own Race ® Robbie Jenks While the lead pack garnered most of the attention, Jenks' battle with fellow Ohio riders Fred Andrews and Chuck Woodford may have been the race of the day. The trio raced nearly side-by-side for the entire three hours. "Me and Freddy and Chucky got hooked up all day," Jenks said. The SCR Yamaha rider held third late into the last lap, but he couldn't hold Andrews back at the line. "I got around him on the eight-mile marker, but then I made a mistake and he got around me. I made a run at him on the last downhill, but he did what he needed to do. He put me where I needed to be." Andrews got the nod by just three seconds. 11 ~ The Wisp at Deep Creek Mountain Resort (right> was a lot different from most other GNCC venues. As a major regional resort. a large hotel was located right on the property. and several other hotels. restaurants and attrac· tions could be found nearoy. The track also boasted paved parking and pits. Pemaps the biggest highlight. however. were the fully functioning chair lifts. which gave spectators a great view of the course underneath them. -Events like this can be the key to taking this sport to the next level.said race·winner Rodney Smith from the podium. While great to the fans. the gnarly Wisp course did take its toll on the competition. In fact. many riders felt that the last time they had seen so many big rocks on a GNCC track was at the legendary Blackwater 100 event almost 10 years ago. Mike Kiedrowski The "Off-Road Kied" battled from the back of the pack to finish fifth. "I had a decent start, but I slid out on a root halfway through the first lap," Kiedrowski said. "Everyone went by me." Eventually, the former AMA National Motocross champ carved through the field and passed Chuck Woodford late in the race for fifth. Kiedrowski, for one, was not a big fan of the brutal course: "It was ugly," he said. 1] BRIEFLy•••• Chuck Woodford After leading briefly on lap one, it looked like Woodford might make a bid to win his second-straight GNCC. Instead, he got stuck with several others making mistakes on lap one, and he couldn't gain ground on the lead pack after that. After battling hard with Jenks and Andrews, Woodford made a few mistakes late in the race, which allowed Kiedrowski to get by him. Woodford ended up sixth. Jason Raines' injury was definitely a hot topic throughout the after· noon at Wisp. Several onlookers from the ovemead chair lifts mentioned how the Yamaha rider appeared to be in intense pain while being carried off the track. Word was that Raines (right) broke his leg just below the knee, but at press time there was no information available regarding the severity of the break or the expected recovery time. A pause of over two months follows the Wisp event. The factory Am·Pro Yamaha team probably had their worst day ever at the races. All three team members failed to finish the race due to injury. as Raines and Hawk were joined on the injured list by team captain Randy Hawkins. Hawkins crashed early on the first lap going down a steep hill. and he wound up cutting his chin open on the handlebar. "It's a good thing Robbie was here," Hawk said of Robbie Jenks, the Yamaha support rider who finished fourth. Shane Watts was at the Wisp, but he didn't race. The Aussie sported a hefty cast on his oftinjured left wrist, which hampered his autographing skills since Wattsy is left-handed. Watts, who actually hurt himself in a crash at the Wisp two weeks ago during a photo shoot. says his back injury is coming along well, but unfortunately "everything else isn't." Ohio's Andy Shea took his Plessinger Cycles' KTM to the top amateur placing at the Wisp, finishing an impressive ninth overall. Long-time off·road hero Dick Burleson won the morning amateur race by taking first overall and first in the industry class. {j @ Brian Garrahan 0 It was just like the Six Days," described the ISDE-savvy Garrahan of the Wisp. "I had a good race going with Steve [Hatchj and a bunch of those guys. I was just on a trail ride. You can't ride over your head in this stuff." Garrahan was battling for a top-five placing, but he lost the hose for his back-mounted drink system and made a few mistakes once he lost his concentration. Garrahan finished eighth. ferty actually stopped to check Raines' condition, and then he was waved back onto the track a few seconds later when officials attended to ® Barry Hawk Hawk struggled with a bruised left quad muscle from a crash in a local race the weekend before. "You know, 1 try to never give up," said the Pennsylvania-based Yamaha rider. "But the leg hasn't gotten better since last weekend. The pain was shooting up to my hip, and I kept fighting it trying to stand up." Hawk eventually dropped out of the race and was credited with 19th place. the fallen rider. "I still pushed pretty hard after Upcoming Rounds: Round 10 - Millfield, Ohio, September 7-8 Round 11 - Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, September 21-22 After a race-long battle with a couple of other Ohioans, Fred Andre_ ended up third overall. that, but it did make me realize what could happen to me," Lafferty said. Smith, meanwhile, had no idea any of this had hap- rest of the field, including Andrews, Jenks and Chuck Woodford (winner of the last GNCC in Pennsylvania) got stuck on an uphill early on. By the end of the first lap, the lead trio had nearly a minute-and-a-half lead on fourth place, and the gap would remain that size for the rest of track. Smith appeared the smoothest pened, and he steadily the day. "Chucky [Woodford] and Jenks and I had a great battle out there," said Andrews of the scrap for the final podium spot. "I knew one of us would get third." In the end, Woodford made a few mistakes and dropped from the battle, and Jenks and Andrews dueled to the very last turn before Andrews got the spot. Essentially, the run for the Wisp When Smith did lose the lead, he win boiled down to just three riders, and they battled hard over the rocky of the three, although he lost time pulled away to take the when he crashed on a hill, and later win by over a minute. when he tangled with a lapper. "It "This place was good to wasn't bad out there, besides those me," Smith said. "I'm not two little mistakes," Smith said. "I even that tired." eN pretty much held the lead most of the day." executed a pass on an off-camber turn to get around Raines, and then he took advantage of a mistake by Lafferty to get the point back. After that, he was never headed. The real issue played out behind him. At the conclusion of the fourth lap, Raines passed Lafferty near pit row. A few seconds later, he crashed hard when he came flying out of an uphill, which led the riders out of the woods and onto an open section. Laf- WISP &NCC McHenry, Maryland JUDe 30, 2002 (Round 9 .f 13J O/A: 1. Rodney Smith (Su,): 2. Mike Lafferty (KTM); 3. Fred Andrews (Kew); 4. Robbie Jenks 5. Mike Kiedrowski (Suz); 6. Chuck Woodford (Kew): 7. Steve Hetch (Suz); 8. Brif:1n Gerrllhllln (KTM); 9. Andy Shea (KTM); 10. Josh McLevy (Hon). AMA GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 9 of 13 rounds): I. Jason Raines (203/3 wins); 2. Mike Lafferty (191/1 win): 3. Rodney Smith (167/2 wins); 4. Mike Kiedrowski (154): 5. Fred Andrews (150/1 win); 6. Robbie Jenks (135); 7.ne: Chuck Woodford (110/1 win)/Braln Garrahan (110); 9. Randy Hawkins (100); 10. Barry Hawk Jr. (96). cue I e n _ _ os • JULY 10, 2002 19

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