GNCC pics from this weekend...

[MaineExport]

Just got home from West Virginia! My race didn't go so well, but we had a great weekend anyway. I got a DNF due to some poor planning on my part. After an extremely bad first 11 mile lap, and a somewhat painful second lap, I pushed my luck and skipped a refueling pit stop before the third lap. This was a BIG mistake! I ran out of gas 8.5 miles into the third lap and did not finish the race as a result.

Anyway... here's some pics from the Mountaineer GNCC race in WV!

Getting geared up for the race:


Last minute carb adjustments:


The man himself... Bill Ballance's pit:

[MaineExport]

Me shooting the shit with Joe Margaria, one of Project Blaster's sponsored riders. Real cool guy and one hell of a racer!



In case you guys don't know who Joe is... here he is on Project Blaster's homepage:



The truck all packed up at the hotel:

[MaineExport]

Some of the Factory trucks as they rolled in:







Me off to a REAL bad start... got tangled up in that hay bail in turn #1 with three other guys...

[CHAD]

that looks awesome man, i hope i can make the next race, i'm gonna ask my friends tommorrow and see if i can possibly get a crew to go!.

[Drew67420]

I'd like to go and watch one of those races, How would i find out what kind of races are around Kansas?

[CHAD]

http://gnccracing.com/schedule/index.html

[MaineExport]

HAha.. I just found out I still finished 30th out of 41 in my class and 210 over all? Somehow they counted my first two laps (as pathetic as they were) and the fact that I didn't complete the 3rd lap wasn't considered.

Sad sad sad performance....

[keller45]

Wow thats sweet man. how long is the track?? Shouldnt a stock Blaster get about 50 miles?? Or is the 240 kit eating it up?? thats cool? Do they only do GNCC races back east? I wish i could race in those those things look so big.

[MaineExport]

Originally Posted by keller45

Wow thats sweet man. how long is the track?? Shouldnt a stock Blaster get about 50 miles?? Or is the 240 kit eating it up?? thats cool? Do they only do GNCC races back east? I wish i could race in those those things look so big.

The courses are usually between 10 and 12 miles long. An XC usually consists of a LOT of narrow, winding, rocky, muddy, off-camber trails. Then there's wide open sections on logging roads, across fields, and even short pavement sections at times. At some of the events, this one included, there is also an MX track during some portion of the course. The nature of the course totally depends on the location and the weather. This one was very dry and dusty with a few muddy sections. It was also one of the faster courses. A lot of it was dirt roads and fields, some hill climbs that required wide open throttle and good traction. There wasn't too many tight woods, but the parts that were tight were ugly... no room for error.

I think a stock blaster will get around 35 to 45 miles on a tank under "normal" riding conditions. The big bore and 36mm carb tend to swollow gas a lot more than a stock setup... plus the throttle is pinned a lot of the time in a race which drastically cuts down on gas mileage. Joe convinced me to spend the money and get the 4 gallon tank... so I'll be rocking that for the next race.

GNCC is mostly east coast but goes out to Texas now too. They are huge events. Usually 300 to 500 quads on saturday and 500 or more bikes on sundays. Definitely worth coming to check it out and race too!

[MaineExport]

Some pictures I stole from Photoreflect:

Coming out of turn #2 just after the start...



Just after a nasty hill climb that ends with a 90 degree turn underneath that overhang. Not a real fun way to end a steep rocky hill!



Part of the MX course...