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/128326
te r a hard semester of lessons, Am Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines finally graduated to the head f his class in the AMA Grand National Cross Country Series. Sure, Raines has aced a few GNCC tests before, but lately the Washington native had found h is GPA s lipping under the curve of FMF Suzuki's Rodney Smith , who had notched three straight GNCC wins and was threatening to run away with the series championship. I n each ofthose races, Smith and Raines had intense battles on the final lap, pushing each other to the lim it , but each time experience won out over youth, with Smith, 40, topping Raines, 25 . And so the test was set again at the rocky Rausch Creek GNCC in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. The duo headed into the last lap battling for the top spot again , but this time Raines' extra homework paid off. He held steady under pressure, while Smith ended up going down and losing a position. "That's why I train so hard - so I can have something left for the last lap," Raines said . "T he last lap, I w as thinking about wllat happened over the last few weeks, and I was not going to let that happen today. This track was really treacherous because of all the rocks. I just tried to keep a steady pace, and I figured if anyone wanted to push hard and try to catch me, it would have been A I Briefly... Rocks. rocks and more rocks lined the surface of the I 1mile Rausch Creek uack. Designed by GNCC trail boss Jeff Russell, the course weaved through trees and up and down the many hills Heavy thundershowers touched . down on the track Saturday night before the race , but the course held up, and there were even a few dusty spots to be found under Sunday's sunny skies. Alltold. about 1000 riders competed throughout the weekend. Nrer the previous GNCC ro und in Sparta, Kentucky, had to be canceled due to heavy, heavy rain, GNCC producers Racer Productions went on an information·gathering earnpaign to decide ifthat round would be rescheduled. Still collecting input from racers , there is no word yet on whether the race will be canceled altogether or moved to a later date. It was not a good day for the Throttlehead.com Kawasaki squad, led by Steve Hatch. Steve's teammates Josh McLevyand Andy Shea sat out the race with injuries, and Hatch almost ended up joiningthem on the reserve list. Hatch came into the race feelinga little under the weather; and on the first lap the popular Arizona rider crashed hard and ended up with a sore shoulder and wrist. He stillmanaged to soldier on to collect a few points with a I Jth-overall finish. Hatch should be fine by the next GNCC round in Virginia. but the status of McLevy and Shea, who served as team cheerleaders in Pennsylvania, is unknown . SCR Yamaha Robbie Jenks had some encouraging news. 's as hissore shoulder survivedthe entire three hours without giving him any pain.Jenks has been struggling with the joint for a few months, but he was hoping to avoidseason-ending surgery by racingback into shape. He finished 15th overall. FMF Suzuki's Doug Blackwell didn't have a good run. The West Virginia veteran smashed his water pump on a rock, putting him about a lap down after repairs were made. To prepare for the rocky conditions, several riders teamed up to practice during the week leading up to the race. Chuck Woodford stopped by BarryHawk 's house, and they did some intense rock riding. Cole Calkins drove to New York to ride with Nate Kanney, and the two practiced on rocky terrain for days. Unfortunately, all that practice took a toll on Calkins: He blew his rear shock and had to use his motocross shoc k for the actual race, causing a rough ride with the stiff motocross suspension. Calkins was still able to manage ninth overall. really dangerous for them because of all the rocks." The rocks would be the theme of the event, and Raines' ability to stay error-free while racing over them no doubt added to his ability to pull away from he field ; however, not everyone else was as lucky. Sm itHaugured into the ground w ith just a few miles to go, ipping off his front number plate and costing him second place. "I was just trying to put on a charge on the last lap and catch Jason," said Smith. "They told e I was seven seconds behind, and I was pushing through a really gnarly section and caught a log with the front wheel. I'm a little disappointed, but you ca 'r win them all." Smith's fall allowed defenaing GNCC Champion Barry Haw k to slip into sec nd . Hawk still has the speed and stamina of a champion, but he has been making too many mistakes gf lils own. "I fe lt like I was the fastest guy out there today, but I just [\lade a few mistakes," Hawk said. " I broke part of my footpeg off. and it was hard to charge, but on the last www.cyclenews.com Even when he puts in a good result, Nate Kanney's day is plagued by strange luck. "I never use Roll-Offs, because every time Ido , I get hit with a rock and the film breaks . So I had to use tear-offs, and I pulled the first one and they all came out. So I had no goggles, and I was just trying to go slow and not catch anyone's roost in the rocks. I got behind Shane [Watts], because he's normally so smooth. But I got hit right in the head with a rock anyway. I had blood dripping onto my helmet and my bike. This was all on the first lap. After the race , I went over to the medics, and they said they could see bone showing through my forehead. But now it's too late to get stitches." Ohio's D.R. Atwood was the top amateur of the day, with a solid 10th overall and first in the 2SOccA dass. Injured six-time National Enduro Channpion Mike lafferty came to the race as a spectator. 'Junior" is stillrecovering from major knee surgery, but he hopes to be back racing by the latter portion of the GNCC schedule. "I want to do allof my training and ridingfirst, so when I come back I'm 100percent," said Lafferty. "I have a date set in my mind, but I don't want to commit to that right now." CYCLE NEWS • JUN E 2 , 2004 39