The Steele Creek GNCC Race Report

Morganton, North Carolina, March 21, 2009

William Yokley finished 14^th Overall and 11^th in the XC1 Pro Class today in the beautiful North Carolina mountains.  There were 247 total entries with 19 XC1 Pro Riders.  Team Rider Mark Notman finished 42^nd Overall and 20^th in the 30 rider XC2 Pro Am Class.

Summary

Steele Creek always makes for a rough event with all the creek crossings, rutted terrain and elevation changes.  This year, the weather was perfect for racing with the temps in the low 60's.  Week by week, I'm continuing to learn more about the Polaris Outlaw and make it fit my style.  I am getting closer and more competitive with each ride.

I got a pretty good start and entered the woods in 8^th place.  Everybody in the pro class is on good equipment and on top of their game, which makes for some great racing.  The first lap was a freight train of the top 14 riders only separated by 10 seconds.  I was in 10^th as we headed out on the 2^nd lap, and had a pretty good battle with Chris Bithell.  He decided to try to make a pass in a tight place, and we got hung up together.  I got the short end of the situation and was back among the Pro Am riders by the time I got unstuck.  I made it back to 14^th going into lap 4, and was only able to make it up to 11^th by the finish.  The bike worked well in the rough and muddy conditions.

My teammate Mark got a mid-pack start and finished lap 1 in 14^th place.  He was having problems with his suspension settings, and decided to come in the pits and try to adjust things.  Usually this is a last resort because you can't afford to give up time like that.  But, he was losing so much time in the rough sections he had to try something.  He soldiered on to finish 20^th and found out some areas where he can make improvements in his set up.  Like I said before, we are discovering improvements as we race these machines, and can't wait to get out there and dice it out with the front runners at the next race.

We have a 2 week break before the next race in South Carolina.  We will use that time to get prepared and test some new things.  We also are also preparing the Polaris RZR for the UTV races there as well.  Should be a busy but fun weekend; see you there!

Yokley Racing Team Sponsors are The Army National Guard, Polaris Industries, Kenda Tires, Elka Suspension, Roll Design, HMF Exhaust Systems, IMS/Roll, PURE Polaris Lubricants & Fuels, Intense Fabrication & Design, Douglas Wheel Technology, Moto Pro Training, Tire Balls, Andrews Cycle, Tsubaki Chains, IMS, Four Apparel, ASV Levers, CV4 Hoses, Hygh Octane Design, PIER Graphics, Universal Handlebars, Scott Goggles, ATVRiders.com, Hetrick Motorsports, Powermadd, and Rekluse Clutches.