Alex Salvini Heads to The USA For Ironman GNCC
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 | 12:05 PM
Alex Salvini, the 2013 World Enduro World Champion, is heading to America to contest the final round of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series, America’s premier off-road racing organization, on 25-26 October.
The AMSOIL Ironman is the last round of 13-race GNCC season, and is run in the state of Indiana, just outside Indianapolis in Crawfordsville. The moniker Ironman is apt as the event is a three-hour endurance that Alex will undertake in the XC1 Pro class riding the Honda CRF450R.
The state of Indiana is typically flat, but this course is no easy test. Running through riverbanks, the ascents and declines are some of the toughest of the year. It also mixes tricky and rocky technical sections, tight trails and creeks with flat-out blasts through harvested cornfields so it’s a real test of all-round skill. Something Alex is well versed in from the rigours of the World Enduro Championship.
The affable Italian won the Enduro Italian Championship for the second time in succession this season, and finished the World Enduro Championship strongly with a win in the Italian round to finish runner-up in the overall standings with the Honda Zanardo team.
Pink is the colour of this race, in support of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“It’s the first time ever that I race in the USA and I’m very excited for this new adventure” said Salvini. “Considering the injuries I have had already in the pre-season, I’m happy with the second position in the Enduro World Championship and to have conquered the Italian crown for the third year in a row. Now that the season is over I can discover the Enduro world in the USA without any pressure. I’m curious to understand the level of the US series. The format is very different from what we are used to, with three hour-long races and a Motocross-style start.
“Before the race I will be at the bike show in Orlando, Florida for some promotional events with the team. Then I will head to Tennessee for some days of testing. After the Ironman GNCC I look forward to some holidays in Baja California.
“I’m confident as I can count on the experience and the professionalism of Johnny Campbell and his team. I’d like to thank my team Honda Zanardo, Honda Europe, Honda USA and of course Johnny Campbell for this extraordinary occasion.”