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AMA Grand National Cross Country Series Round 4: Steel Creek figured the organizers would figure it out by the end of the race." They did, and with little controversy since all the riders at least had a clue what was going on. The race started with a holeshot by Suzuki's Steve Hatch, a common occurrence at the GNCC, but his lead was not destined to last the exploratory lap of a decidedly muddy, rainy course. Hatch wound up dropping back to fifth by the end of the first lap; his was one of many radical position changes before the pack settled down. Tucking in behind Hatch on the first lap was Andrews, 'who was hoping for a better finish than he had the week before, when he took a rock in the eye and dropped out with a goose egg and requiring stitches. Andrews came around seventh after the mix-up on the second lap, but hung in there for a fifth-place finish behind Hatch. Misfortune was rife in the mud, though, with a number of riders dropping out after minor mistakes led to major problems. Suzuki's Rodney Smith, defending champion of the GNCC series, was the most obvious victim. Smith stuck his foot in a hole and tore a quad muscle on the first lap, dropping out of the scoring immediately. Yamaha's Randy Hawkins had a top-10 start on his big YZ446F thumper but then took the loooong step on the fourth lap, pulling a groin muscle in the process. KTM's Mike Lafferty was circulating strong in the top 10 when his chain's master link decided to part company, and Suzuki's Joel Dengler wound up seizing a connecting rod late in the race. "It was a fun course, though," said a disappointed Lafferty, "in spite of the rain. This is a great location, and I hope we get to come back here next year in drier weather." He was talking about the beautiful accommodations at Steel Creek, including a camping area with hook-ups right next to the pro pits, a beautiful little trout stream running alongside camp, and plenty of level parking for everyone. The course was brand new, never having been ridden, to the joy of the ATV racers the day before. After their race, the course was re-routed by trail chief Jeff Russell in response to the slippery weather. Steep climbs and tight downhills were the order of the day, and most people appeared to enjoy it in spite of the weather. Slippery conditions do make for confusion, though, and the everchanging mudholes kept everyone on their toes. Said Hawk, "I made one little mistake in a little mudhole. I was following Watts all day, and I thought it was about time I started finding my Paul Edmondson put an end to his GNCC dry spell, scoring his first win since '97. way until the last lap. In the end it was Watts taking the checkers to learn that Edmondson, who was closing fast, was given a two-minute time adjustment to make up for the advantage Watts and the rest had at the reroute. Edmondson came in well within that two-minute grace, followed soon after by Hawk, and that's the way they finished. "I don't know what happened," said Edmondson at the finish. "I was leading, and my teammate Fred Andrews was behind me, and all of a sudden I came upon Jimmy Jarrett. Apparently J went from first to 14th. I don't really know what happened. I just kept getting good support from my mechanics, and they just kept saying, 'Keep pushin', keep pushin'!' And that's exactly what I did." Nearly the same words were echoed by Watts. "I didn't have a clue what was going on, actually. I came up on a hill, and I saw Jeff Russell there saying, "Go down, go down!" and I thought, 'Well, I'm going to do what he says, he's the boss.' So I went down, and come around at the end of the lap and I'm in first position. I thought, 'What's going on now?' but obviously those other three guys had gone up to the top, and I STORY AND PHOTOS By PAUL CUPPER/TRAIL RIDER MAGAZINE MORGANTON,NC,AP~L2 l7aul Edmondson once again proved he's the "King mudder of the world," according to track announcer John Ayers, by taking his first overall win of the 2000 GNCC series. His win today in muddy, rainy conditions breaks a GNCC dry spell of nearly three years. "Being from England, these conditions really kind of suit me," said the Team Green/Moose/Pro Circuit/Smithsponsored Edmondson. "It reminds me of Boyers in '97 when it was really muddy. And I should remember that; I haven't won since then!" An elated "Fast Eddie" took the top spot on the podium, but he wasn't the first rider across the line. A quick decision to re-route the course around a treacherous, bottlenecked uphill at the start of the second lap sent Shane Watts and everyone behind him down, while a few of the Pro-class riders went up, causing a slight amount of confusion but not enough to stop the racing. At the end of that lap KTM's Watts came out in the lead, with Yamaha's Barry Hawk right on his tail, and they stayed that r 30 APRIL 19, 2006· cue • e n e _ s Points leader Shane Watts was the first rider across the finish line, but a mid-lap course re-routlng meant that Edmondson was the real winner.