Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128602
Normally, off-road pre-season speculation is fairly non-existent, especially compared to the volumes of winter hype about supercross and road racing. This year, however, there's plenty to talk about when it comes to the Grand National Cross Country Series, which has become the premier off-road circuit in the country. As usual, that series kicks off during Daytona Bike Week, with the Okeechobee race taking place a couple hours south of town on March 7. The series itself comprises 14 races this year (one more than in '99), and features two new stops (Morganton, North Carolina, and Sparta, Kentucky). KAWASAKI TEAM GREEN Much of the aforementioned discussion is focused on likeable Brit Paul Edmondson, who has left Team Suzuki Off-Road in favor of Kawasaki Team Green. Not a dedicated trainer, Edmondson likes to stay in shape by riding - and racing - on a regular basis, and Suzuki's GNCC-only policy did not sit well with him. Now Eddy has the green light (so to speak) to also contest several rounds of the Hare Scrambles and Enduro circuits. Not only that, but with assistance from Kawasaki U.K., he'll be attending two World Enduro rounds, two British Enduro rounds, a Spanish enduro and the ISDE. Edmondson says he's much happier with the current set-up, and it shows: He has already won the yea r' s first two AMA National Hare Scrambles races and the Tecate Hare Scrambles. "There's a reason for it," says Edmondson. "I've done nothing different from the last two years, but I'm happy with the team. Teams in Europe are more like a family, and that's what I feel like I have now." In keeping with that theme, Edmondson will be traveling to the races in a motorhome with mechanic Rob Walters. Fred Andrews is beginning his third year with Team Green, and manager Ron Heben says the former GNCC champ looked good during durability testing in late January. With nearly $150,000 in contingencies for the series, the squad is also supporting over 12 riders (including several returning champions) in various capacities. KTM Last year's round-one winner was Australian Shane Watts, whose race win kicked off an earlyseason tear that saw him dominate four of the first six races (of the other two, he finished second in one and didn't race the other). That tear was thwarted by another - to his ACL - and Watts missed much of the season due to an operation and subsequent recovery. He did return in time to win the last two rounds, though; in fact, series champ Rodney Smith never won a round at which Watts was present. Pundits continue to shake there heads about the fact that Watts scored overall victories aboard a little 125, but such enigmas occur periodically in GNCC competition, in which being comfortable with your bike seems to be of major importance (witness Scott Summers' success on a Honda XR600R). That said, Watts says he'll ride a 200 in Florida, and he hopes to ride everything from the 125cc two-stroke to the 520cc thumper before the series is through. For the new season, KTM USA picked up Watts' contract from the factory back in Europe, so the former ISDE champ will now be foregoing the periodic overseas jaunts to World Enduros (though he plans to race the Six Days). He's still homeless (living out of his box van), but word has it he will no longer sleep under the rig at races. Now that he's healthy and focused, is there any beating Watts? The competition's best chance is to not let him get away early - in the season or individual rounds - as he does sometimes crack under severe pressure. Watts will be joined at several GNCC rounds by teammates Mike Lafferty and Patrick and Brian Garrahan. SUZUKI OFF- ROAO The GNCC champ for the past two years and counting is Rodney Smith, but he's one of the few riders about whom there's not much to say right now. He's on the same team as last year, and his RM250 is relatively unchanged (rumors that he'd be on a 125 are untrue). Smith won with consistency - always important in the GNCC - and he thinks he can do it again. "I can't wait for it to start," he says. "I don't feel like there's as much pressure as last year, since that was my first year defending the title." Of course with even more talent coming into the series, Smith's title defense won't be getting any easier, but as he puts it, "It's not fun if you win when it's easy." Among that aforementioned incoming talent is Smith's new teammate, Mike Kiedrowski. The former 125, 250 and 500cc National MX Champion is joining Smith on Suzuki this year, but he'll be riding the new DR-Z400, with motorwork by Yoshimura, suspension by RG3 and components by 909. Suzuki puts all of its off-road eggs in the GNCC basket, which normally prevents us from getting a pre-season peek at its riders, but since he's new to the series and is the only major player from Southern California, Kiedrowski has been warming up at some Mid-South races. He hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire in those events, but his National MX titles were no accident, and he should be a threat to at least win individual rounds. The third team Shane Watts member is Steve (right} and Hatch, who will also Steve Kuczko be on a familiar RM250. Hatch says things went well during the team's December testing, and adds that Suzuki "wants to go 1-2-3 in the series." HONOA Once the undisputed king of Hare Scrambles and GNCC racing, Scott Summers has shown some chinks in his armor the past couple years. Last season, a horrendous practice crash over a huge jump resulted in a broken femur, and progress was further hampered by a torn ACL that initially went undiagnosed. Will that injury be his Achilles heel? Definitely, in at least one way: On January 16, Dr. Ting replaced Summers' ACL with an Achilles tendon from a cadaver. Summers is now able to bicycle, but while he's reportedly hungry to get on a bike, he'll most likely have to sit out the first two races. Three throw-away rides are allowed this year, so Summers still has a chance at landing a sixth GNCC title, though he'll also have to cope with adapting to a new bike. That bike is the new XR650R, which Summers tested extensively in December, before his surgery. It's proven to be fast in the desert, but after so many years aboard his beloved XR600, it will be interesting to see if Summers can make the transition. Don't count him out. YAMAHA We put in a call to Yamaha off-road boss Mike Guerra, who informed us that most of his squad's GNCC effort will be aboard two-strokes. Doug Blackwell rode a YZ250 last year, and will be doing the same this time around. Multi-time ATV champ Barry Hawk is the team's only other rider who will contest the entire series, and not only is he switching from the thumper, but he will not chase the A TV title this time around (he may ride a four-stroke at selected rounds where he judges it to be more competitive, and he could ride the occasional ATV race to learn the course for the following daY'$ motorcycle contest). National Enduro champ Ty Davis plans to enter the first two rounds on a YZ250, and Lancaster Sportcycles will field up-and-comer Robbie Jenks. The only serious four-stroke effort will come from veteran Randy Hawkins, who will compete in the rounds that don't conflict with the National Enduro Series. Chris Jonnum cue' e n e vv s