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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128403
Round 13 OFF-ROAD he riders of the Pro class had a small glimmer of hope. Perhaps KTM's Juha Salminen, they thought, would slack off a bit after having already clinched the 200S GNCC title, which would open the door for possibly someone else to take the win at the last round of the series. Well, so much for that thought. "If I was going to party, I would have started doing that seven years ago," said Salminen, who was obviously still quite serious about winning the Ironman GNCC. "This is my job, so I come here to T win." And so he did, dominating the Klotz Ironman GNCC just like he had throughout the 2005 GNCC Series. He pulled out to an early lead - about a minute - and held it there, while a snarling pack put on a great race behind him. When it was over, Salminen barely looked tired, and he had his ninth win of the 13-race tour. "It was a great track," the 10-time World Enduro Champion sa i d. ~ Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series "I like all the tracks here, but this was fun. It was like a long motocross track, and I liked that." Salminen proved over the course of the year that it doesn't really matter what the track is like, for the Finn handled them all with ease. As a result, his 2005 title drive was one of the most impressive ever in the GNCC Series. What he left behind him at the Ironman was some great racing for the number-two spot. Am Pro Yamaha's Barry Hawk was able to bust through the pack for a strong second-place finish, with his young teammate Charlie Mullins laying down another great ride to finish on the podium. Behind them, England's Paul Edmondson, FMF Suzuki's Glenn Kearney and KTM's National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty put on a great show for the Ironman fans. "I had just a little arm pump early on, not too much, but just enough to where I couldn't charge really hard," Hawk said. "It took, like, three laps to get it out, and I knew Juha was getting away. But I knew if I had pushed any harder, it would have gotten really bad. So I couldn't really push it. Once my arms went down, I was able to get around these guys, but I know you can't give Juha that kind of time. The gap would be S5 seconds, then a minute, and then 59 seconds." Mullins' third-place finish was another eye-opener. The 19-year-old from Ohio collected his third podium in four races since turning Pro, and if he hadn't lost his rear brake at Unadilla, he probably would have finished on the podium in all four. "This is better than I could have ever imagined," Mullins said. "Everything has worked out great for me, winning the 250cc A Championship and then getting three podiums in four races. I got a good start today, but then I don't know what was wrong, I was just making so many mistakes. I thought I wasn't even going to finish in the top 10! Then I finally started flowing." Mullins did get the start and tried to battle with Salminen early, but mistakes quickly dropped him back. There were two riders on the move early, each a refreshing change. First, 2004 Suzuki GNCC Champion Rodney Smith was in the hunt, and he looked much better than he had all year. And second, former GNCC contender Edmondson was on the gas in his first GNCC in nearly five years. "Rodney was really aggressive in the woods," Salminen said. "He actually passed me, but I took the good line and got around him. He was riding really strong." Smith dropped behind Edmondson after the mistake, but he got back around the Englishman and then went back after Salminen, only to bend his shifter in a rut. "I think I got a little over-anxious," Smith said. "But I felt really good out there - really good." Edmondson ran second, as Mullins and Hawk struggled, but then he lost a few positions pitting for gas since he didn't have a dry-break system on his Honda CR250. Mullins then had second and went after Salminen, only to get stuck badly in a ravine. "Edmondson, I would catch him in the woods, but in the fields and the grass track, I couldn't catch him," Mullins said. "He finally made a mistake and I got around him. Right out of the corner, there was an uphill out of the creek, and there was a lapper I couldn't see. So I got stuck in a rut that was too deep and there was nowhere to go. Barry was riding good. He had a lot of speed, and I guess we stayed about the same the whole last lap." Edmondson held strong for an impressive fourth, with Kearney holding off Lafferty for fifth. eN