Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series en the 2005 Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series first rolled into North Carolina, the GNCC pack was still chasing KTM's 10-time World Enduro Champion, Juha Salminen. But before they could take him down, Mother Nature stopped him herself, unleashing heavy winds on the Steele Creek Campground, toppling trees, taking down powerlines and causing the race to be postponed. Then, Am Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk won the next race in South Carolina, while Salminen crashed hard and barely escaped with a podium. By the time the series returned to North Carolina for the rescheduled race, Salminen looked human, and the field was looking forward to taking more shots at him. But then the race began, and Salminen unleashed a storm on the facility that was just as potent as the one Mother Nature unleashed weeks earlier. Salminen blew everyone away. "It is good to do it this way, not to prove something to the others, but to myself," Salminen said from the podium. '" wanted to show how fast I could go. Last weekend was a big disappointment. I just try to go as hard as I can and get as big a lead as I can." hard to get there. The 2003 GNCC Champion got pinched off at the start and had to work his way up from the back, but he made moves early and engaged teammate Jason Raines and FMF Suzuki's Glenn Kearney in a big battle for the podium spots. "Juha just rode off and beat us," Hawk said. "Unfortunately for me, the start killed me. I must have gotten a 15th-place start. You know, last week we put on a good show. This week, Iguess I'll work on my starts and go into Loretta's and try to battle Juha for the lead." The battle for second made up for the lack of excitement up front, as Hawk, Kearney and Raines pushed one another hard. When Hawk passed Kearney on his way through the pack, it seemed to light a fire under the Aussie, and he hung tight with the veteran from Pennsylvania. Their push drew them to Raines' rear wheel, and the battle was on. "It was awesome," Raines said. "From like the third lap on, me and Barry and Glenn went back and forth." Raines actually came out on top of the battle, but after the race he was protested for getting off of the main race line. Kearney and the Suzuki squad thought Raines was well beyond the designated racecourse, while Raines felt he was in the clear. GNCC rules allow riders to stray 20 He went very fast, and he went very fast right from the start. Salminen had been struggling a bit with the dead-engine GNCC start, but he put some work in during the week to alleviate his troubles. "I trained with my starts all week, and when you get that start, it makes you go out there and go fast," Salminen said. A week ago in South Carolina, Salminen didn't get a great start, which allowed Am Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk to follow him through traffic and apply pressure. So in North Carolina, the plan was for Salminen to break away early so no one could follow or push him. It worked. Salminen grabbed a tremendous holeshot, led by nearly a minute after the first lap, and was gone. He won by nearly three minutes. This time Hawk could only muster second, but he had to work really, really feet away from the trail arrows. When GNCC officials looked into the situation, they determined Raines was beyond 20 feet, so he was penalized two spots - one for the course infraction and a second as a penalty. Raines crossed the finish in second, but the results will record him as the fourth-place finisher. Regardless, Raines is basically out of the championship hunt this year anyway, so losing a few points isn't a major issue to him. He was just happy to finally get back into form and show the speed and endurance that carried him to second in the series last year. "This was a real confidence builder today," Raines said. "Before the race, I was wondering if I could run the pace and get up there again. The battle was awesome. From the second lap on, me and

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