Warnert Report GNCC Round 8

Warnert Racing’s Beasley and Swift Conquer the Dust to Continue Winning Streaks

 

Yadkinville, NC ”“ All though this season has been dubbed the “Year of Mud” , dust was the culprit that clouded vision and clogged air filters this weekend, but that did not seem to bother Warnert Racing’s Cliff Beasley or Michael Swift one bit as Beasley continued his sweep of the 4x4 Lites class and Swift claimed his 7^th 4x4 Limited win of the season. The dry conditions also seemed to favor Chris Jenks as well as he finished with a time of 02:01:30 in the Pro class.

Rick Cecco.

 

Cliff Beasley, who is known for his back of the pack starts stayed true to form this weekend. Beasley charged from the back and had taken over the lead by lap two. “I started in the back like normal, but my biggest weakness is dust, so it took me a while to catch up,” said Beasley. Once Beasley took over the lead, there was no stopping him. Cliff took his lead all the way to the finish line with a time of 02:01:32. “I got beat here at Yadkin last year, so it feels really good to take the win,” stated Beasley, who admits that wide open tracks such as Yadkinville are not his cup of tea, as he prefers the tighter, more technical, rocky style tracks such as Mountain Ridge in Somerset, PA, where round nine is scheduled to take place.

 

The fast, open track seemed to suit Michael Swift just fine. Swift grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. “It was a fun course. It was pretty dusty in the open fields, but I just played it safe. The bike worked great and I had no problems. The only time I stopped was to pit for gas,” said Swift, who finished with a time of 01:59:17, which earned him 15^th overall. Swift is hoping to capture his 8^th win of the season at Somerset next round.

Cliff Beasley.

 

Scott Kilby also grabbed the holeshot in the 4x4 Open class, but was misdirected by a spectator out on the track during the first lap and ended up having to backtrack, which put him back to 2^nd place. Scott maintained his 2^nd place all the way to the checkered flag and finished with a time of 02:02:03. Kilby currently holds second in the points race with 148 points.

 

Rick Cecco ran a solid race as well in the U2 class. Rick ran his fastest lap time in lap three where he laid down a time of 00:23:22. Cecco ran without any major complications to claim 4^th place with a time of 1:59:58, which got him 18^th overall for the A.M. classes.

 

In the Pro ranks, Chris Jenks’ luck seemed to improve this round despite a slow start. “I got tangled up with a couple people, which sent me towards the back, but I worked my way back up to 15^th by the end of the 1^st lap,” said Jenks. After the first lap, Jenks did run into a little trouble when he ended up with a flat tire, which slowed him down a bit. In the last lap, luck was definitely on Chris’s side. “I went for the creek jump and ended up casing it really hard. I thought I was going to break the bike in two, but it took the impact,” Jenks said. Jenks finished with a time of 02:01:30, which put him in 13^th place.

 

Chris Bithell was having a tough time of things. Bithell came off the line in mid pack and was doing well, but hit a tree early in the first lap, which sent him back to last place. Bithell began a charge to the front, and worked up to 7^th, but got tangled up when another rider spun out in front of him, once again sending him to the back. Bithell just couldn’t seem to catch a break this round as every time he would work himself up, things just went wrong. “It was dry and dusty out there and of course I had to be the guy that found the only mud hole out there and get stuck in it!” Bithell said disappointedly. Chris managed to complete 2 laps in 1:02:27, which put him in 19^th place. “I’m really looking forward to Somerset. That’s my home track and I’m looking forward to the hometown support,” said Bithell.

 

Round nine of the GNCC will have the Warnert race team heading to Mountain Ridge in Somerset, PA, where Beasley and Swift hope to continue their winning streaks and Bithell and Jenks will be chasing podium positions.

Michael Swift and Scott Kilby.