River Ranch, FL - "It's going to be tough to dethrone those Can-Ams," is what was overheard in the pits shortly before the morning classes were to take to the starting line; and truer words could not have been spoken. The Can-Am Warnert Racing team started off the 2009 GNCC season with a bang, claiming three class wins at the season opener in River ranch, Florida. With Michael Swift, Cliff Beasley, and newest Can-Am Warnert team member, Bryan Buckhannon, all defending their 2008 championships, the competition was intense.

Billowing clouds of dust were stirred up by high winds and dry conditions, making visibility difficult at times, but that didn't stop the team from putting the hammer down and giving it their all. Two time 4x4 Limited champion Michael Swift took no prisoners as he grabbed the holeshot and checked out on the competition. Swift's blistering speed not only claimed him the class win, but his time of 2:06:48 also earned him third place overall in the A.M. classes.

"It feels great to start the season off right like this," stated Swift, who has every intension of winning another championship for the Can-Am Warnert team. "There's a lot of competition this year so I started working with a trainer a little bit because I won't let go of the championship!" Swift concluded.

Cliff Beasley, who is also going for his third consecutive championship in the 4x4Lites class, also got off to a fantastic start. Beasley shot off the line in first place and held his position all the way to the checkered flag. "There's a lot of fast riders out there, but if they start to push me, I'm going to push even harder to get that win," said a determined Beasley whose efforts not only earned him a win, but also landed him in the top 10 overall with a 7^th place time of 2:14:18.

Bryan Buckhannon, who was picked up this year by the Can-Am Warnert team also, showed he has what it takes to stay on top. Buckhannon came off the line in second place, but took the lead by the fourth turn. Buckhannon began to increase his lead with every lap and had such a large gap between him and second place, that he never fell back even after rolling his quad when he clipped a tree in the woods section. "I'm really excited about being a part of the Can-Am Warnert team this year. It's really great to have the support, especially with the competition being tighter this year," said Bryan who claimed fifth overall in the morning classes.

U2 class racer Rick Cecco ran a solid race for his season opener as well, taking a third place in his class with a time of 2:23:16.

XC1 Pro class racer Chris Bithell was having a good day and came on strong. Bithell came off the line in mid pack and was pushing hard to make his way to the front. By lap two, Bithell had made his way up to fourth place and was holding strong, but a wreck in the fifth lap sent him back to finish in the top ten in 7^th place with a time of 2:10:22.

With back to back rounds, the Can-Am Warnert team will be busy getting prepared for The Maxxis General (round two) which will be held on March 7-8 in Washington, GA where the team will be pushing hard to be on top of the podium.