Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series STORY BY JASON WEIGANDT ter passing the halfway point in the 2005 Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series, this much is clear: TM's 10-time World Enduro Champion Juha Salminen is in a league of his own. If anyone is going to stop the Finnish rider from winning this year's championship, it will take a tremendous stroke of luck, because beating Salminen straight up on the track just doesn't seem realistic. Under muddy, rutted conditions at the Wiseco John Penton GNCC in Millfield, Ohio, Salminen grabbed a great start and took an early lead, which he continued to stretch out until he was ahead by over three minutes when the checkered flag came out nearly three hours later. Line up your excuses, but there is simply no one, and so far nothing, that can stop Salminen. "I'm still working hard at this, but honestly, it was easy today," said Salminen, who has been absolutely dominant in his first full-season in the United States. "I had a good start, and that helps. I liked the track. I want to go fast for the whole race and get a good gap on everyone." Two major differences allow Salminen to cover the field. First, he sprints incredibly hard from the start while the other riders are cruising and waiting to attack late in the race. Second, he makes no mistakes, which means he doesn't lose time or get tired while leading. "We are racing, so there is no reason not to go as fast as you can the whole race," Salminen said. The John Penton GNCC was an anniversary of sorts for Salminen, since he came over last year and raced this round to try to get an idea of what GNCC racing is all about. "I make one race just to have a look at how it is," Salminen said. "I didn't have any idea of how I was going to do. But now here we are, and it's like this. Sometimes you have to have speed all the time, and when you see the pit board and the gap grows more and more, it motivates you more and more." Salminen is so dominant that the battle for second place is like a battle for the win. So, the Southern Ohio fans at the race were thrilled to see their hometown hero, Robbie Jenks, take the runner-up spot. "This is my hometown track, and it was awesome today," Jenks said. "The fans, they kept me motivated. It got really rutty, and you had to watch where you A 50 PHOTOS BY RAYMOND GUNDY were going with the lapped guys. The last lap was hard. The bummer thing is we have a few weeks off, but we have to try to keep this momentum going." Jenks got off to a great start and battled with Salminen. "Juha and I got out, and I actually passed him back, and we built a pretty big gap on the field," Jenks said. Due to rain on Friday night, the track was soft and rutted, which made lappers an issue. "It wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be," Jenks said. "By the end, it really started tacking up. You had to be careful with the lappers. If you got stuck in one rut behind a slower guy, you were done." Third overall went to another local, SCR Suzuki privateer, Doug Blackwell, who hails from Parkersburg, West Virginia, just about 45 minutes from the track. "I knew I was going to [podium), it was just a matter of when," Blackwell said of his first podium of the season. "I just can't thank those guys [SCR) enough for getting me some bikes to ride. Ohlins finally hooked me up with suspension, and it makes such a difference when you have your equipment right. You know, mud is an X-factor, so we'll see if we can keep this up in a dry race. The biggest thing today was the fans: I had people cheering me out there, everywhere." The underdogs, such as Jenks and Blackwell, are being given golden opportunities for podiums as the rest of the favorites struggle. Some notable riders out of action due to injUry are: FMF Suzuki's defending Champion Rodney Smith, as he continues to miss races while recovering from a broken leg suffered before the season began; and KTM's Mike Lafferty, who is out with a broken collarbone. Both were in attendance but not racing. Am Pro Yamaha's Jason Raines struggled in the mud and ruts to take 12th overall, and his teammate Barry Hawk had a shot at second but made too many mistakes, relegating him to fourth. Throttlehead.com Kawasaki's Steve Hatch was fifth. eN WISECO JOHN PENTON GNCC MiLLfiELD, OHIO RESULTS: MAy 15, 2005 (ROUND 7 OF 13) OVERAll: I. Juha Salminen (KTM); 2. Robbie Jenks (KTM); 3. Doug Blackwell (Suz); 4. Barry Hawk (Yam); 5. Steve Hatch (Kaw); 6. Brian Garrahan (Suz); 7. Nathan Kanney (Yam): 8. Fred Andrews (Suz); 9. P.A. Allen (!

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