Despite tough track conditions and heavy lapped traffic, Sipes was able to finish atop the podium at the opening round, a good confidence booster after missing half of the 2016 season due to injury. 

"It was a pretty tough day, I was really sick and just kind of tried to get into the zone and tough it out," Sipes said. "I was able to make it work. I'm happy with the way my fitness is and the bike is really good so I'm looking forward to this season. I've got a new focus this year and I'm ready to stay up there on the podium - we're here to be on top!" 

Following a successful 2016 season, team riders Layne Michael and Craig DeLong are back to compete for an XC2 250 Pro (16-24) championship and both riders showed much promise at the opening round. Michael came into the season opener fresh off knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus sustained during a late-in-the-off-season practice crash. Despite being off the bike for nearly a month, Michael was able to put himself into a favorable position off the start as he jumped into 2nd place aboard his Husqvarna FX250 on the opening lap. DeLong wasn't able to grab the same holeshot however, as he came through the opening lap just outside the top ten. 

Michael overtook the XC2 lead on lap two and held the top position for almost one hour before dropping back to 2nd place on lap four. Meanwhile, DeLong powered his Husqvarna FX250 through the pack of lapped traffic to eventually reach 3rd place just after the halfway point. 

As the two-lap card came out, both Michael and DeLong were able to maintain their pace to ultimately earn 2nd and 3rd place podium finishes after three tough hours of racing. 

Michael commented, "Getting on the podium is never easy and we didn't have the greatest offseason but the important part is that we were able to be here at the first round. A couple weeks ago I didn't even think I was going to be racing, so to be on the podium is good. Honestly I was just looking for a good finish and not DNF or something silly so to end up here is just a bonus. It's a good start to the year and we'll take it on to Florida, that's going to be a really gnarly race I think so we just have to make it through that, get a little break, rest up and keep plugging away the rest of the year."

DeLong put forth an impressive charge to climb his way from 11th place on the opening lap to ultimately finish atop the podium with 3rd place.

"I was dead last going off the start and this was the worst place to get a bad start - fighting dust and passing people all day long," DeLong said. "I got into 3rd but these boys were checked out quite a bit so I just tried to reel them in but it wasn't working too well, so I did what I could. I'm happy to take a podium finish at the first round and looking forward to getting things into place this weekend in Florida."

For the first time in history the XC3 125 Pro-Am class was added to the GNCC lineup and Coastal Racing/Husqvarna's very own Jack Edmondson came away with the inaugural win. The 125cc World Enduro Champion proved his merit by leading five of the six laps of racing against former National Champions and many talented up-and-comers. Edmondson put his Husqvarna TC125 into a top five position off the start as he took his time settling into the lead position. From there, Edmondson rode his own race to capture a big victory over the competition, inheriting the early points lead in the new class.