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/128330
Briefly... After a rocky race a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania, sand was on order in Virginia. The race was held at Virginia Motorsports Park, a drag racing and motocross facility. The Racer Productions crew built a track featuring some of the tightest woods on the tou r and m ixed in the motocross and grasstracks to open things up a bit. GNCC racing announced that the Spartan GNCC in Sparta, Kentucky,which had previously bee n canceled due to rain, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Septe mber 11th. The Throttlehead.com Kawasaki t eam was back up to fullstren gth for just the second time this year, as Josh McLevy and Andy Shea wer e back from injury to join Steve Hatch. Unfortu nately, McLevy dropped out of the race with shoulder problems, but Shea and Hatch were able to finish injury-free . GNCC Champion Barry Hawk we nt to the hospital for obser vation after his hard crash; he was diagnosed w ith t hree bro - ken bones in his face. "It's a triangular region of bones that normally break together," Hawk a nd still holds a slim series lead , was content with second . " I'm not a sand rid e r, so to take seco nd place t oday behind Jason , who rode aweso me, I' ll take it, " said t he 4 0-year-old fou r-ti me GNCC Champion. "The sand doesn't really suit my style because I sit down a lot when I ride. I keep telling everyone t hat as long as I'm in the race a nd still going fo r it, I' m going to be ha p py." Smit h was go ing for it when he pulled away fro m the field just before the twolap bo a rd came out. Earlier, a pack including And re w s, Kiedrowski, and the Am Pro Yamaha trio o f Raines, Barry Hawk and Randy Hawkins had all had t he ir sh ot at the lead. Hawk crashed o ut w hile battling with Raines for the lead , w hile Hawkins pu t o n his best ride in years to get all the way int o second after nego t iat ing so me of t he t ighter sections of the track . " I would get righ t o n t hem in t he t ight t rails, " Hawkins said . "I never quite got int o t he lead , bu t I was in second a few t imes and saw Rod ney in front o f me. But once we would get o ut in the open, I just waved these guys by." Smith made his move with two laps to go and he ld an I I-second lead over Kiedrowski head ing into the final circuit. "It was just bac k-and -forth all day," Kiedrowski sa id . "There were mud holes on o ne side of the track, and it was tough to get through ." But Raines w o uld not let Sm ith go. " I had a little bit of a gap to make up, but I w as a ble to get around MK [Kiedrows ki) and get up to Rodney," Raines sa id. " I w as just thin king, 'C'm o n I need to get a b reak, please!' But I got lucky today." Once again , the vete ran and the young contender banged bars battling for t he top spot, passing each o ther re peate d ly and racing through entire sections side by side. Even th e fans out on the course played a role in the duel. " I can't than k these fans enough," Raines said . "We had people out there getting us out of the mud holes. T he fans here were really cheering us a nd ke e ping us going. They're num ber one wi th me." A mu d ho le ended up be ing t he deciding factor in t he ra ce. The duo raced wheel t o wheel t hro ugh so me water, and Smit h go t splashed . " He went by me, an d I tried to pass him back in a mud ho le," Sm ith sa id . " He sp lashed me pretty good, .and the water went u p unde r my goggles . I just kept pulling the st ring o n my Roll-O ffs, but the water had gotten u p und e r the Ro ll-O ffs, and I couldn' t get them clear. Then I had to decide if I wanted to keep rid ing like that a nd maybe risk a crash and getting hurt, or trying to ride w ithou t them ." Smith de cide d to take the goggles off, but he wasn't o ut o f it yet . '" actually put a charge in and got back on him, but www.cyclenews.com said. "I'm not sure how it happe ned. I don't remember the crash, but all I can figure is my Roll-Off canister got pushed into my eye socket." Hawk now has to decide on surgery and plates or to just wait for the bones to heal on their own . "It' s about six wee ks off either way," Hawk said. That means an end to his championship hopes. Five-time GNCC Champion Scott S ummers did not have a good day in Virginia; his shock blew on the first lap. He decided to call it a day rather t han risk a crah. Kawasaki Team Gree n's Ch uck Woodford continues to struggle this season. After w in- ning the Moose Runa few weeks ago, Woodford could not build on his momen tum. The winner of last year 's Patriot GNCC only comp leted five laps. Jason Raines has now closed to within five poi nts of Smith, and the difference between a GNCC win and a second-place finish is five points. The next GNC C is the Parts Unlimited Wisp in Maryland, the same track where Rainescrashed and broke his leg battling Smith for the lead on the last lap two years ago. Ohio's Charlie Mullins was the top amateur of the day with an I I th overalland firstin the 250ccA class But earlyin the race the teenag. er was absolutelyflying, and he was rightin the mixfor the overallleadafter the firstfew laps. Late in the race he got stuck ina mud hole and lostseveral positions. CYC LE N EWS • JUNE 30,2004 43