Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Doug Blackwell had a support ride with FMF Suzuki last year. but the team didn't pick him up again for 2OOS. "I was pissed," Blackwell said on the podium. He says it served as motivation to come back and try harder as a privateer. "Things haven't been going as well as I had hoped. I'm glad to know my fitness is there; I hadn't really gone three hours all year." My 12 OWN RACE Brian Garrahan 6th "This Suzuki gets awesome starts," Garrahan said. "Every time I hit it, it's just there and we can go." The good start helped Garrahan. a Northern California rider who knows a thing or two about riding in mud. "Yeah. we get a lot more raJn then those Southern California guys do. You learn to be a versatile rider. Today I just tried to be solid and smart for the whole race." 124 Shane Watts DNF Watts pulled off near the two-hour mark, citing simply that he wasn't haVing fun riding. "I just wasn't enjoying the conditions," Watts said. "Those guys were going so slow early. So I was riding badly. but I was passing people. Then they started to pick it up. We'd get to a really tough section. like a creek with a - bank on the other side that was really slippery. and I would go slow just trying to pick my line. These other guys would just bomb right through it. So I started going backwards. My goal is just to have fun this year and see If I enjoy racing. If I was banling for a championship, I would have more confidence, and I would ride in these conditions." 16 Nate Kanney 7th This race was yet another solid ride for Kanney. who switched back to his familiar Yamaha VZ250 for the race after a stint on KTMs. "Uke last week at Lorena Lynn·s. the track was kind of technical. Off-road pioneer john Penton (below. left) was on hand for the race that is named after him. "These boys made an 80-yearold man very proud," Penton said of KTM's one-two finish. Penton was the first person to import KTMs into the U.S.• and the Austrian bikes bore his name during the 70s. and that suits me better." Kanney said. Kanney was running suong before he made a wrong tum on the course; he then lost his focus and got passed by several riders. "Then I just said. 'Hey. I drove too far to get to this race.·.. Kanney turned it up on the last lap. passing rookie PA Allen and jason Raines for seventh. 7 Fred Andrews Andrews has been suffering from bad starts on his RM-Z4S0 four-stroke, which doesn't lend itself to the GNCC dead-engine start. He rode strong all the way to the end in this one though, with the FMF Suzuki veteran passing two riders on the last lap to finish eighth. 114 Glenn Kearney 8th .!11.. _~~~~f, 18th Kearney was riding a wave of momentum heading into this race, but it evaporated qukkly when he crashed and broke his kick-starter. "I crashed in the second tum:' Kearney said, "and although I didn't know it at the time. I had almost completely broken off my kick-starter In the crash. I guess I still had it out maybe from the start. because it was hanging on within an inch of its life; when I tried to start the bike, the starter just broke off." Kearney bump-started his Suzuki back to life. but it would be a tough first lap. "I lost about r"", minutes in the second crash. and also my gloves. so I rode the entire first lap in last place with no kick-starter or gloves. " The poor result relegates Kearney back to third in the GNCC points standings. It was a big weekend for KTM all-around. Besides john Penton hanging out. the team stuck around late Saturday to support the GNCC Youth Series. Team manager Ron Heben. Penton and Mike Lafferty put finisher medals around the necks of every rider who crossed the checkered flag. Heavy rain and hail on Friday night conspired to harm the Sunday Creek Raceway facility again. The Wiseco john Penton GNCC almost never runs without dust or mud. This time it was mud. although the riders admined it was gening bener as the race went on. "The first lap was the worst," race winner Juha Salminen said. ';.\fter that. there were a lot of lines." CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 1,2005 51

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