VOL. 55 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 30, 2018 P33
GASGAS REVEALS
OFF-ROAD TEAM
G
asGas North America will take on both the GNCC and National Enduro
(NEPG) in full force in 2018, having hired Fred Andrews Racing (FAR) to
manage its GasGas Factory Racing effort.
Andrews will manage the team that will be made up of Andrew DeLong
and Thorn Devlin. DeLong will focus on the GNCC Championship, while
Devlin will go after the number-one plate in enduro. Both riders will pilot
GasGas XC 300 two-strokes.
In addition, GasGas will support a few other racers, as well. GasGas will
back Nick Davis in the XC2 class in GNCC and in the NE Pro 2 division in
enduro, and Korie Steede in the WXC Pro-class in GNCC. CN
Fred Andrews will manage
GasGas' off-road effort in the
U.S. in 2018.
NO HARE & HOUNDS FOR
SUTHERLIN, BRABEC
G
ary Sutherlin and Ricky Brabec are some of
the top names when it comes to desert racing
and the AMA National Hare & Hound Champion-
ship, but neither will be chasing the hare this year.
Both Sutherlin and Brabec were no-shows at the
AMA National Hare & Hound opener in California,
January 28.
Sutherlin, who now gets backing from Suzuki,
says that he won't try and defend his number-one
plate in the desert this year, but will instead defend
his number-one plate in the 2018 WORCS Cham-
pionship, and follow the Big 6 WCGP Champion-
ship aboard his Suzuki RMX450Z. Sutherlin was
forced to switch teams/bikes late in the off-season
and couldn't lock in the financial support that he
needed in time to commit to the entire hare and
hound championship. He did say, however, that
he plans to compete in the Montana
round, August 11-12, and run the
number-one plate in front of his home
fans. He might race one of the Califor-
nia rounds late in the season, as well.
As for Brabec, he's now focusing
all of his attention on rally racing. The
JCR Honda rider said, "I want to bring
a Dakar Championship home to the
USA and I'm willing to make the sacri-
fices necessary to accomplish that."
JCR founder Johnny Campbell
said, "Ricky is a special talent and this
upcoming season is going to show
that. We will be announcing details
on Ricky's complete international rally
racing schedule in the near future." CN
Ricky Brabec
plans to focus on
rally racing full
time in 2018.