three-hour duration. And they
do it on the worst course of the
weekend. The ruts are deeper,
the bumps are bigger, and the
ground is slicker—a real-life
marathon, if you will. When the
dust settled, it turned out to be
an excellent day for the Coastal
Racing GasGas Factory Racing
Team. Girroir bested the XC2
250 class, Whitmer won the
250 B race and wrapped up
the series championship, and
Russell landed another solid
top 10 in XC1.
Like any other race weekend,
fans and riders alike eventually
leave to make their way back
down the mountain for home.
What was a bustling city just a
few hours before quickly be-
comes a quiet ghost town, only
whispers of bench-racing drama
occupy the thin mountain air.
The obvious camaraderie shared
in the East Coast off-road scene
continues to strike me. After the
checkered flag flies, the riders all
come together to laugh and talk
about the "could've beens" that
were left out on the racecourse.
They're all friends and share a
deep common bond despite the
colors on their team shirts. There
is no "cool guy" vibe, and no one
is really better than the other—
something we West Coasters
could take a few notes from.
The Snowshoe GNCC was
a bucket list race that proved
to be even better than I had
expected. The course is harder,
the people are super nice, and
the entire GNCC experience
(Snowshoe or not) should be
a staple on any motorcyclist's
"must-do."
I must thank Hawk and the
Coastal Racing crew for making
it all happen for me.
CN
FEATURE I TAKING ON THE SNOWSHOE GNCC
P88
Jonathan Girroir
won the XC2
class. I, however,
did not win any
gold, but I did
finish, so that is a
win in my book.
1. Nothing on the West Coast
will prepare you for this
2. Despite number-one, you will
still have a great time
3. I could not imagine doing this
without an electric starter
4. Whatever gear you're in,
shift up
5. Do not wear tinted lenses
during the race
6. Do wear a hydration pack
(you would be an idiot not to)
7. That guy who doesn't look fast
is probably way faster than you
8. If you do the Snowshoe, you
must go to Howard's Hole
on ATV day
9. A "dry race" does not mean
dry conditions; it just means
it's not raining
10. Don't always trust fans
pointing out the "good" line
THINGS I
LEARNED
RACING MY
FIRST GNCC
10
