Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Round 7: Wiseco ..Jack Penton 100 my Own Race c:B Steve Hatchagain," said Hatch who has struggled through nagging injuries for the 4th "I feel like I'm good better part of a year now. "I still have to tape up my thumb, but otherwise I feel good and fast." In Ohio, Hatch charged and charged, as always, but made a few too many mistakes to catch the lead trio. "I would make a mistake and try to catch up, but then I would fall again." ®U® Nathan Kanney 5th U1] 1] DNF The New Yorker shocked everyone by coming from the second row of the GNCC start grid to win the 250cc A class and finish fifth overall. "I guess I like the mud a little better than everyone else," said Kanney, who is backed by R.E.R. Motorcity, Tag, One Industries, Scott and Motorex. "I actually got off to a bad start. I was fourth in my class after one lap. But then I found my groove and started passing guys." Josh McLevy The fast guy from New England was, once again, with the leaders early, but he eventually ruined his bike in the mud_ "I got up there and got stuck a bunch of times, and I boiled all the water out of my bike," said the R.E.R. Motorcity-backed Yamaha pilot. "I am having trouble being consistent. I need to finish." 1] Rodney Smith DNF In a year of terrible luck for the FMF Suzuki squad, Smith's misfortune continued when he bent his chain guide and found his bike ground to a halt. Smith, the defending series champ, DNFed the previous race in Pennsylvania because of a broken chain. ® Robbie Jenks Jenks, an Ohio10th who many "I just struggled," said rider expected to do well at the John Penton race. "I couldn't flow and made a lot of mistakes. Really, I let myself down mentally more than anything else, because I got frustrated and made even more mistakes. " ever raced in," Hawk said. "I felt like my boots where SO-pound concrete blocks. " Things were worse for a group of contenders like Jason Raines, who is second in the series' points. Raines struggled mightily in the mud, reaggravating a shoulder injury and finishing 15th. FMF Suzuki's Rodney Smith, the defending series champ, DNFed his second race in a row when his chain guide bent and jammed his ~ 1 Fred Andrews, who also hails from Ohio, put in a valiant effort to catch Woodford. They battled back and forth for the lead with Andrews settling for second. you can do it because you've done it before, but it's hard to have full confidence." If confidence is king, Hawk rules because he had won the last two GNCC races in a row. And on the Kiedrowski broke a clutch and even- muddy, slick starting line, he grabbed the holeshot on his Yamaha and tually overheated his bike. Their Suzuki teammate Steve the pack. chain. And his teammate Mike Hatch, however, did claim fourth, with 250cc A rider Nathan Kanney pulling out an amazing fifth overall on his R.E.R. Motorcity Yamaha. AMA Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty was sixth, and former Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins was seventh. Eighth immediately started putting time on "My mechanic Doug [Witmer] and I disagreed on the starting-line pick," Hawk said. "But the last two weeks when he picked, I got the holeshot." Meanwhile a huge pack crashed in a muddy turn one. "I had a good start," Hatch said. "But it was a like a well, also of the R.E.R. team. Ninth tidal wave coming at me. They cut [Joshua] McLevy off, and he was and 10th went to Ohio riders Andy Shea and Robbie Jenks. totally sideways when I drilled him with my front wheel. Then everyone went to mud specialist Doug Black- Any of the riders in the top 10 hit me from the back. It was like a could look to Woodford for inspira- bad Harley scene in a movie, where tion, though, because a few weeks ago he was just fighting to get into the top 10, and now he's a race win- someone kicks one of the bikes, and they all fall over like dominoes." ner. After winning two GNCCs last didn't really matter," McLevy said. Hawk raced by himself out front, season, Woodford was expected to contend for this year's title, but a shoulder injury derailed him until "I was down, but since we all fell, it while Andrews put in the strongest now. "It's so hard to come back from an injury," he said. "Every week guys charge to try to stay with him. "It was muddy and rutted, I knew I had to get to the front," Andrews said. "So I took make little changes to their bikes, some chances to get up there." then when you step out there, they all Hawk led Andrews by four seconds have so much speed gOing. You know after the first of seven laps, while the 38 .JUNE 1 1, 2003' cue I III n e vv s § Jason Raines 15th Raines isn't collecting the wins that he was last season, but he has been consistent in 2003 - until Ohio. "I went down at the start, and then I passed a few guys. I got together with another rider and went down. And then my bike overheated, and I had to pit at the end of the first lap and get more water." Deep in the pack, Raines crashed hard on the motocross track, pulling his throttle cable out of place and wrenching the shoulder that he injured last season. "I've been trying to get by on it, but the doctors say it's not healing. I will have to have surgery once we get to the summer break. I'm just trying to survive and stay healthy." 1] c:B Andy Shea 9th . , . Last year's 250cc A Champion wanted to make a splash in his rookie season as a Pro, but he broke his foot and missed the first six rounds. The John Penton was his first race of the year, and he rode well. "I felt good. I got a little tired, but it wasn't bad," Shea said. "My foot only hurt at the end of the race when I put it down." 1] ~ Mike Kiedrowski DNF The "MX Kied" experienced his part of FMF Suzuki's recent bad-luck curse when his clutch malfunctioned and then his bike overheated. "The clutch was actually getting tighter instead of looser," said the four-time AMA Motocross Champion. "Then the engine boiled over." ~U@ Josh Summey 1] c:B@ Scott Sheak 13th The supercross and motocross rider keeps getting better at the GNCCs. "I kind of liked the mud," Summey said. "I tried to stay up there early and see the leaders so 1 could learn, but I made some mistakes and crashed. 1just rode my own race after that." 18th Former pro motocross winner Scott Sheak also made his GNCC debut at the event. He rode well but hit his head on a checkpoint tent and knocked himself a little off. "J went to stand up, and there was a tent there, like a checkpoint. It was hard to see with mud on .your goggles. As soon as I stood up, I got cleaned right off, and I was pinned." Sheak is now a member of Kawasaki Team Green, mostly doing R&D work but also some off-road races. "I like the races out West, but I want to try more GNCCs. Who knows? Maybe if it works out really well, I'll move back to New York and give this a go."

• Cover