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/128207
BRIEFLY• ••• Rodney Smith was obviously doing some reading and some arithmetic before the race. On the podium. he mentioned. -I read in Cycle News last week that I had the same amount of points after two rounds last season that I did after two rounds this season. and I did manage to win the title last year. And I won this race iast year. too. so I guess I still have the same amount of points. ner, Mike Lafferty, fifth on a KTM 450. FMF Suzuki's Steve Hatch, who led the race at one point, was sixth; seventh went to Team Green's Fred Andrews, and SCR Yamaha's Robbie Jenks was eighth. R.E.R.'s Josh McLevy and Am Pro Yamaha's Randy Hawkins rounded out the top 10. Hawk's consistency has given him a huge lead in the early season standings, although each racer gets to throw out his worst score from the year-end totals, which will tighten the race considerably. Hawk, the seventime GNCC ATV Champion who has made a very successful conversion to bikes, isn't thinking title yet. "In all those ATV Championships I won, I never had to work as hard as 1 do now, but I still worked at taking each race at a time: Hawk said. "It's way too early to think title, but I do already know that podiums win championships ... The race took place at the beautifu Steele Creek campground at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rain earlier in the week created tacky soil for the course, which featured lots of elevation changes. GNCC Trail Boss Jeff Russell also steered the riders into a few big mud holes that kept the crowd entertained. Especially entertaining was Steele Creek's infamous bridge crossing, where the riders had to With war hanging heavy on the hearts of many Americans. Racer Productions. organizers of the GNCC Series. announced a new GNCC GI effort at Steele Creek. Any riders who traditionally race the GNCC circuit but have been called to duty by the U.S. Armed Forces will be sent a care package from GNCC Racing. Contact Racer Productions at GNCCracing.com if you know of a GNCC racer who will miss any races due to his service in the military. The Steele Creek course featured several exciting sections for fans to watch the achon. including a water crossing under a concrete bridge that the fans could stand over and watch. Just a few yards before the bridge. a huge mud hole opened up that drew a throng of spectators. each of them pointing out lines and cheering the racers on. A jump was built in front of one portion of the mud hole. and the top Pro riders seat-bounced off of it like supercross racers to clear the entire mess, with the appropriate supercross-like fan response in appreciation for the air time. The GNCC pits are beginning to look like supercross races. too, with FMF Suzuki and Am Pro Yamaha rolling out , a-wheeled semi trucks for their teams, and several riders. like Randy Hawkins and Fred Andrews. staying in motor homes for the weekend. Rodney Smith is also in the market for his own motor home to operate out of. Also on the supercross front. GNCC RaCing tested transponder scoring for the Pro racers at Steele Creek. GNCCs normally use an electronic barcode scanning system, but Trackside Software, the series' scoring crew, has decided to experiment with transponders to see how they would hold up in the harsh conditions of off-road racing. cue I e n e _ os • APRIL 2, 2003 19