Round 11 of the 13 round GNCC series took place this weekend at the famous Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, NY. The rains came in on Friday and it looked as if it was going to be a mudder, but on Saturday afternoon the rain stopped and the track started to dry up and look great....so we thought. On Sunday afternoon, about 10 minutes before the pro race started, the skies opened up and down came the rain for the rest of the day. Actually, it did not stop raining until we got into Virginia on the way home from the race later that night! The soil turned into pudding and the race we all though that would be perfect turned into a full on mud/survival race for the bikes and riders.
 
Thad Duvall
 
Thad had the best day out of all the Am-Pro riders and this young rider from West Virginia continues to improve his talents and riding abilities each and every week. Thad took the race by the horns and even though he had a slight mishap on the first lap and was in 3rd, from there on it was all "Bad" Thad for the rest of the day. He continued to pull away form the class and inch up on his overall position. As the race wore on he continued to move up in the overall standings and by the end of the day, not only did he win the XC2 Pro-Lites Class by over 1:30, he had gotten into 5th Overall! It was a great ride by the youngster and with this win he was able to clinch the XC2 Pro-Lites Championship too! This will mark the last time ride for Thad in the XC2 Class and he will now move into the premier XC1 Class and try to make his move towards his first overall race win. Congrats to Thad for having a great year in the XC2 class and we all wish him continued success in the XC1 Class.
 
Barry Hawk
 
Barry's day started off great with the Racer X Holeshot Award, but things didn't go so smoothly the rest of the day. Barry had a bad day due to a bad bike set-up. He had set-up his bike for the dryer conditions and when it started raining at the last minute, he didn't have enough time to adjust so he did his best with what he had to deal with. At the end of lap one after numerous falls he crossed the line in 5th position. Barry wouldn't give and kept fighting for each and every position, but kept getting frustrated and making mistakes and as the race wore in he fell back to 7th position. At the end of the race after a very frustrating day Barry wound up in 10th place in the XC1 class, he was very disappointed, but he was trying to ride the mud with a dry set-up bike and it made his bike almost un-ride able. He is re-grouping and not letting it get him down, he is bound and determined to get up there and fight for their top positions at the final two rounds!
 
Jason Raines
 
Jason didn't have the greatest of days either. After getting off to a mediocre start and crossing the line after the first lap in 10th place, he started to move up a few positions and was able to work up into 7th. Then, un-expectedly mid way through the 2nd lap his brakes went out due to a hole in the rear brake line. He was unable to make it around the course with no rear brakes and had to cut the track to make it back to the pits. His day was over. They thought they could replace the break line, but by the time they would have replaced it and Jason got back into the race he would have been over a lap down and there was no reason to beat the bike up in the muddy conditions to get no points on the day. The reason for the broken brake line was a vine wrapped around the hub and with each revolution of the tire it kept hitting the brake line until it had slapped a hole in it. Jason looks forward to the last 2 rounds to redeem himself of his bad luck!
 
Joe Scherer
 
Joe's day started off with a decent start and at the end of lap one he was into 5th. That was not good enough for Joe and he put his head down and flew through the mud and by the end of the 2nd lap he had make it into 4th position. The next few laps he was in the battle but was unable to make any moves on the leaders and stayed in the 4th spot until lap 4 when he moved up one spot into 3rd. As the race wore on Joe made a few mistakes and the mud took him for a ride and by the end of the race he was able to finish a respectable 4th on the day. Joe was disappointed not to get the victory, but he kept his bike and body in one piece and will push on to the next race and look to improve his finish and get back to the top spot where he has finished so many times this year!
 
Ryan Belue
 
Ryan wrapped up his 4-stroke B Lites Championship at the previous round and wanted to get his feet wet in the 4-Stroke A Lites Class for the remainder of the season. And get his feet wet he did, literally.  His WR 250F fired quickly and he rounded the first turn around mid pack. As he finished the first lap he was up into 5th spot. The next two laps he held his own and ran in the 5th spot, but after throwing his goggles off and getting his eyes filled with dirt, he fell back a few spots. After 3 hours of racing while barley being able to see due to dirt filled eyes, Ryan's debut in the class ended with a great 7th place finish. I know that he wants more and this youngster has a ton of heart and we all know he will be climbing the ranks in the rounds to come. It was a great ride and he never gave up even when his vision was so blurred he could barley see the fornt of his fender!
 
Walker Fowler:
 
Walker made his return after a severe ankle injury earlier in the year to put on a great ride in the 4 Stroke A-Lites Class. Walker's WR250F fired lighting fast and he rounded the first turn with the holeshot. At the end of lap one he was sititng in a 3rd place spot. He rode a smart consistent race and held 3rd position all the way until the final two laps when a few minor mistakes dropped him to 4th. After 3 muddy hours of torture Walker finished out the day in 4th position which is very respectabe considering he has been out of compeition since March of this year! Walker is excited about the final two rounds and knows he can get up their with the front runners and battle for a victory before the year is finished.

 
Results:
Jason Raines:13th-XC 1
 Barry Hawk: 10th-XC1
Thad Duvall: 1st-XC2 (5th Overall)
Joe Scherer: 4th-Open A
Ryan Belue: 7th-4 Stroke A-Lites
Walker Fowler: 4th-4 Stroke A-Lites
 
Points Standings (11 of 13 Rounds)
 
Jason Raines: 8th-XC 1
 Barry Hawk: 11th-XC1
 Thad Duvall: 1st-XC 2*
 Joe Scherer: 1st-Open A
 Ryan Belue: 1st-4 Stroke B-Lites*
 Walker Fowler: 16-4 Stroke A-Lites
 
*Clinched Championship
 
Thank you to all of our family, friends and sponsors for all their continued support.
 
Hope you all enjoy your day and we look forward to seeing you at the races!