OFF-ROAD
2005 GNCC Preview
By
JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS BY RAYMOND GUNDY AND
SHAN MOORE
ile race wins in the
Suzuki Grand National
Cross Country Series
often come through
the implementation of
smart, careful strategy, the leader board
in the series can change qUicker than
that. In one fell swoop, even before it
began, the entire series has been turned
upside down due to an injury to its reigning champion and the invasion of a pair of
fast riders from overseas.
One GNCC round is already in the
books, but the real stretch begins with
the second round, the inaugural Orange
Crush GNCC in De Leon Springs, Florida.
Who will be the contenders throughout
the long season? Here's a team-by-team
look.
W
TEAM FMF SUZUKI
The Mike Webb-managed Suzuki factory
off-road team faces stiffer competition
every year, but the FMF Suzuki team still
possesses what everyone wants: the
36 MARCH 2, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
GNCC number-one plate. Rodney Smith
earned that one for a fifth time last year,
but unfortunately he broke his leg a
month before this year's series began.
He's out for the first few rounds and most
certainly unable to defend his numberone plate.
Suzuki still has two capable riders to
compete for the championship, and the
early-season returns have been hot and
cold. The veteran
is Fred Andrews,
.
a former GNCC
champ and
a
perennial
contender. Andrews
has switched to
the potent RMZ4 SO and spent
his winter pounding away in the
Florida sand. But a
Rodney Smith
rock to the radiator at the series opener in Texas resulted
in a DNF and a big points hole for Fred.
The new guy is Australian Enduro
Champion Glenn Kearney. He already has
two GNCC podium finishes on his
resume. One came while riding as a guest
of the Am Pro Yamaha team last year - a
ride that led Webb to signing him to the
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