Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

were going to be gone." Meanwhile, Kearney had the worst start of all. "I made it hard for myself - I crashed in the first turn," the Aussie said. "It took a few laps before I could move up." Soon, a showdown developed up front involving Lafferty, Hawk and Salminen, and then Lafferty crashed hard. The sixtime AMA National Enduro Champion tagged a small root or tree and came unglued from his KTM 400, with the crash resulting in a broken collarbone. It was a tough blow to the rider who was second in the series points coming into the race. The crash left the Salminen-vs.-Hawk showdown that everyone had been waiting for up front, but then Hawk fell and the rejuvenated Watts worked into second. Hawk was content to follow, but a mud hole changed his fate. "I just kept pushing, and then Juha crashed," Hawk said. "I did it the hard way." "In Australia, everything is hardpacked," Salminen said, "but at some of these races, it's really boggy and soft. I've been training hard with my mechanic for the last few weeks." "We got going and I got behind Salminen," Hawk said, "and it must have been the fourth lap, and I crashed in the timber section. Watts got by me, and I charged real hard to catch up to him. I went to pressure Watts. I went into a mud hole. "I was just following trying to learn some of his lines and see his riding style," Hawk continued. "I've never really ridden with the guy before, so I was just going to follow him until the last lap and just let whatever happened happen. But I crashed, and Watts got around me. I charged back up to Watts, and then we got into this mudhole, and Watts took the long way around. I got by him, and the Briefly... The Pirelli Big Buck GNCC was a popular one, drawing over 1200 riders to Henry Turner's farm in Union. And the Friday night before the race, Union County held a special event for the racers, inviting all the GNCC competitors out for an autograph session in town square. In addition, Racer Productions president Rita Coombs was presented with a key to the city. GNCC Television is back! After an absence in 2004, Gear Media and Marketing has partnered up with Racer Productions to produce 26 episodes of GNCC Racing - 13 each of bike and ATV racing. The shows run for half an hour and air on the Outdoor Life Network, Tuesdays at 5 p.m., Thursdays at I I a.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. Juha took the long way, too, and he saw me out of the corner of his eye. He gassed it, and I guess he buried his front wheel. It was a hard crash." "Yeah, you know, you never know what can happen," Salminen said. "I went into the mud and hit a rock or something and went completely over the handlebars. I got hit with the handlebars, and when you get hit, you can't breathe. It was tough for a little bit, but on the last lap I felt okay." Salminen was knocked for a loop in the crash, allowing the two Australians to get by. Watts was staying close to Hawk. 'I'\fter he [Salminen] made that mistake, I floored it from then all the way to the finish," Hawk said. "I knew if I made one more mistake Watts would catch me. I got a little tired on the last lap, but I didn't make any mistakes." The mistake was, however, made by Watts, who called it an "amateur move" to crash in a mudhole that dropped him from second to fourth. "I suffered a few crashes during the middle part of the race, which is not what I wanted, although I was able to catch back up to the leaders each time," Watts said. "On the last lap, I just tried to bring it home for a magnificent second place, but I made that dumb mistake and crashed. Talk about being disappointed! Other than that I'm pretty happy that I was able to still run the lead pace for most of the race, considering that it is impossible for my body to function at the level it used to a few years ago." And on the note of bodily functions, Kearney's charge from last to runner-up took its toll, as the Suzuki rider threw up a few times on the podium. Combine that with Juha in third, who appeared to be in some pain after his hard crash, and it was a somber group up on the box. Except for that high-flying Hawk. eN HENRY TURNER FARM UNION, SOUTH CAROUNA RESULTS: APRIL 17, 2005 (ROUND 4 OF 13) alA: I. Barry Hawk (Yam); 2. Glenn Kearney (Suz); 3. Juha Salminen (KTM); 4. Shane Watts (KTM); 5. Robbie Jenks (KTM); 6. Steve Hatch (Kaw); 7. Fred Andrews (5uz); 8. Charlie Mullins (Yam); 9. Brian Garrahan (5U2): 10. Garrett Edmisten (Kaw). SUZUKI GRAND NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 of 13 rounds): I. Juha Salminen (I06n wins); 2. Glenn Kearney (72); 3. Barry Hawk (64/1 win); 4. Mike Lafferty (62); S. Robbie Jenks (59); 6. Shane Watts (57); 7. Chuck Woodford (46) 8. Brian Garrahan (43); 9. Steve Hatch (41): 10. Charlie Mullins (38). Mike lafferty's crash is a huge blow to his championship chances, as he not only drops from second to fourth in series points, but he will also miss at least two more rounds of GNCC racing trying to recover from his broken collarbone. After surgery to place a plate over the broken bone, however, Lafferty hopes to be back in time to hold on to his points lead in the AMA National Enduro Series. Shane Watts was pumped to be back out fronc and in contention for a win, but he was bummed to blow a podium finish with a late crash. "I'm only racing for contin- gency money right now, and that's what makes my crash hurt," the ever-popular Aussie said. "It's a big difference between finishing second, like I should have, and fourth. It's a big hit to the bankroll when you're not getting your $100,000 guaranteed money. 50 I was pissed off at myself. When you're trying to go race to race based on your result, it can get pretty tough. n Still, Watts was happy enough to actually come up to the podium anyway and start throwing KTM swag out to the big crowd on hand. Am Pro Yamaha's 250cc A-class contender Charlie Mullins put in another great ride to log eighth overall, good enough for top amateur honors. CYCLE NEWS • MAY 4,2005 49

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