Race Report: The Ironman Crawfordsville, Indiana
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450
Result: 5th
 
The last GNCC of the year and as always the Ironman race was one of the best.  Track conditions were near perfect with some rain coming down Friday to moisten what would have been a dry event.

Sitting on the line I had an uneasy stomach.  I put it down to nerves at first and expected it to be gone as soon as the race started.

Off the line I got a good jump and came round turn one in third but as soon as we were charging I could feel something was wrong.  My stomach was gurgling and I seriously needed to unload.  I tried to put it out of my head and for the first lap I was able to follow Barry Hawk and the leaders.  As the race continued it was more difficult to fight the urge and just concentrate on racing.  After a couple of laps I was back in about 5th place.  I ended up riding most of the race by myself, just out of touch with the leaders.

At the pit stop Monty and Dan new something was up because I wasn't as fired up as usual, I had other things on my mind.  I got back out on the track and kept telling myself to just forget about my stomach and go but it never seemed to happen.  The more the race progressed the more shook up I became and by the time the chequers came out the stomach cramps were unbearable and I was ready to explode.  I raced back to the truck after the race and dove into the toilet!

I finished 5th.  It was a really disappointing way to finish up the year.

The good news is that I remained in second place in the GNCC Championship.  So next year look out for me on the number 2 bike in GNCCs and with the number 1 plate in the OMAs.  So overall it has been a successful season.

I head back to New Zealand for the kiwi summer in a couple of days and will begin preparing for the 09 season after some time off.

I would like to thank all my sponsors for their support, as without their help this would not be possible.  The emails of support also, from fans all around, has been amazing.