I made it to the track today and things are looking pretty good at the Aonia Pass venue, I must say. After talking with Sweep Master Tommy Harris he said that the rain we encountered last week in Florida did make its way into Georgia as well but it’s not too bad in the woods. It may be a little wet on Saturday morning but I think we’re in for a good weekend for racing. Please note, there’s currently a 70% chance of rain on Sunday but I don’t always set my heart on what the forecast says.

If you have tried to look at results from Round 1 – the Moose Racing Mud Mucker GNCC, you may have noticed that it looks much different than years past. Unfortunately we had some issues with the merging of information in our database so right now the best thing we were able to do is post the results by class, which can be found HERE. Our tech crew is working diligently to fix the problem but there’s a good chance it won’t be fully working until after this weekend so bear with us.

For those of you on your way with RVs, the landowner would like us to pass along that there are 30 camping hookups available for this weekend that will be available for purchase on a first-come-first-serve basis at the front gate. These spots will be $35 per night and include water, electric and sewer. If you’re interested, you may want to get here early and be sure to mention at the front gate that you’d like to purchase a spot. It’s important to note that the poles are set up to accommodate two RVs on each pole, but they can only be a 50- and 30-amp plug. You can't put two 50's on the same pole unless they have an adapter to convert down to a 30-amp plug.

I talked to Chris Douglas this week, who by the way got an impressive fifth place finish in the XC2 Pro Lites division at Round 1, and he wanted to pass along some information about a cool new opportunity he has this season. He’s repping for Imperium Bicycles this season as part of his connection with WMR/KTM, who is the sole importer of KTM bicycles. Basically, Imperium will have demos available for the public to test ride but the deal is that they aren’t actually selling the bicycles but working on getting KTM dealers interested and involved. Here’s a small note Chris sent over this morning:

“First off, Imperium Bicycles would like to congratulate Charlie Mullins, our first support rider, on his victory at the GNCC opener! Be sure to stop by the Imperium Bicycles tent this weekend to checkout the KTM Bicycles we have on display. All models will be available for free demo rides at every GNCC round this year. Come see us and inquire about becoming a dealer or finding a dealer near you!”

Bike guys and girls, or even ATV guys and girls who like bikes, if you haven’t signed up for the Cycle News digital edition yet, click HERE to sign up for FREE. The folks over there are giving GNCC lots of love this season and you don’t want to miss out so get signed up and they’ll send you email reminders each time an issue goes live.

In light of the season opener for UTV racing this weekend, our friends at UTVScene.com caught up with Can-Am's Tim Farr for a quick interview. Here's an excerpt from John Pellan's interview: "His name is as legendary as he is heroic. He’s one of the most winning-est professional ATV riders of all time. His career began as primitive as you can imagine, – racing an unsuspended three-wheeler in his north east Ohio home front. He went on to win hundreds of races, thirteen Pro ATV championships, including an astounding seven Pro Motocross National Titles among others in TT and Pro Quad Stadium racing. The last few in his long career perhaps the most impressive since he won them while riding in severe pain from a recurring back injury that would eventually force him to retire from professional ATV racing in 2007.

On to his life’s latest adventure, racing with his copilot and wife Julie for the 2014 Pro UTV GNCC Championship in a factory-backed Can-Am Maverick. I got a chance to talk to Farr while he was in route to the GNCC UTV Series Opener in Georgia." Click HERE to read the full article.

RacerTV has made a huge commitment to bringing GNCC fans as much video coverage as possible this season and we’re very excited about it. GNCC Live will be broadcast from all 13 rounds this season, with both the 1 p.m. ATV and bike pro races, on RacerTV.com. In addition to watching the shows LIVE on each raceday, you can go back and watch the archived shows in their entirety at anytime.

Also, the day after each round Jason Hooper will have a short highlight video capturing some of the best moments of the Pro racing. If you haven’t watched them yet, I suggest you click HERE to see the ATV action and HERE to see the bikes. Hoop got some new equipment in the offseason and I’m almost certain you guys won’t be disappointed in the new slow-mo cam!

Remind your friends and family at home that GNCC Live coverage will air on RacerTV.com at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday from the Maxxis General GNCC.

Unfortunately we won't be hearing from @JaredBolton this week. I got reports from Barry Hawk that he was last seen at the 6 mile marker. I also know that there's a tunnel between the motocross track and El Kiosco in Thomson, so chances are he's safe and sound munching on a burrito and a maragarita.

@HotRodney22:

It’s official! The race season underway and in my opinion it could not have been a better start to the year. The surprise that the all-new event brought with a “non-typical” Florida opener left many scrambling to adjust setup and mindset as the extremely wet winter the nation has been experiencing certainly played a big role in what we were dealt this past weekend. The great thing that many don’t even realize is that we were very fortunate that things were not really horrible. According to reports I heard, the rain we got leading into the event was supposed to be a lot worse and we dodged a bullet as the weather system split and went north and south of our location.

This year’s opening round was held literally only minutes from the heart of the celebration of the 73^rd annual Daytona Bike Week. Being back so close to the history of American motorcycle racing and what the week-long event holds was certainly an honor for the GNCC Racin’ Nation. The hosts were more than accommodating and the facility certainly presented us with some new challenges and plenty of surprises.

The Mud Mucker GNCC was not your typical Florida GNCC and I am not talking about the mud because even though it was not expected for Florida it is certainly no far cry from a typical GNCC. There wasn’t as much sand or palmetto to speak of but then again with all the black mud who really knows what was out there.

I spoke with Jr. Trail Boss Barry Hawk and he told me only days leading into the event he was even sure he was going to be able to lay the course out completely. He said there was water standing everywhere and he had some doubts about whether round one was even going to be possible. He also said that each day he noticed the water was receding and the track began to fall together nicely. He said the locals said this isn’t normal but because of this wet winter they were experiencing higher than normal water levels for this time of year. Barry said they said there were some mud holes out there but nothing like this.

If you watched GNCC Live on RacerTV.com on Sunday then you may have seen one of the property owners on named “Iron Horse Billy”. Billy is one the “Iron Horse” from the Iron Horse Saloon and to get to meet this man was certainly a treat. Billy and the businesses and organizations he is involved with work hard for the community and give back so much that it makes me proud to be able to be at the Mud Muckers Family ATV Park.

The racing was without a doubt surprising and very expected. As mentioned many folks were geared up physically and mentally for a typical Florida style sand race and when this didn’t happen there was a lot of set up changes and in some cases just scrubbing it and using the practice bikes. McGill did this and it unfortunately ended his day early but something tells me he will be back this week to make some statement.

Chris Bithell opened up the season with a stellar ride leading most of the race until the very end when Bithell got “Boriched” and a new era of the “Killer B’s” began what looks like could be some exciting battles during this championship race season. The duo of Borich and Bithell actually set a fairly amazing pace and in dramatic fashion both ended with machines steaming from the intense battle that they just fought and congratulated each other with a smile and hand shake. One thing to point out though is that they had company from the Blu Cru Yamaha ride of Walker Fowler nearly the whole race.

Walker Fowler finished not far off pace in third for the day at the opening round and looks to be the biggest threat at the moment of stopping the two Suzuki riders. Fowler looked strong at the finish and said that it was just poor choices toward the end of the race that took him out of contention on the last lap. He also said it was nice to get through that day under those conditions that strongly and without any blisters to take to round two in Georgia this weekend was as good as a win at this point.

Heading into Georgia Fowler may be considered favorite in many books. The Aonia Pass track for the Maxxis General GNCC not only lends itself to surprises itself but also to Walker and his climb to the top of the ranks. If you remember two years ago in 2012 as a rookie Fowler nearly took his first win here and had to end up pushing his machine across the line after a dramatic last lap, last turns pass attempt when his machine failed only a few hundred feet from the finish line. Walker rode well in 2013 and is still looking for redemption from that day and this facility.

The all-new 4x4 Pro class was more than even expected bringing together for the first time literally the best of the best in the world in 4x4 ATV racing. Though the class was not the biggest the talent made up for the numbers. Kevin Trantham took what many may have expected to be surprising round one win since he seems to excel in more of the rough and mountain like terrain. The mud may have played a part in it too because that gave the technical aspect of things that Trantham is so good at.

Bryan Buckhannon and Rick Cecco also had great rides to open the season finishing second and third respectively and both are expected to be threats to win this class also. Buckhannon actually retired from the 4x4 Open class last season after the amazing run of championships and wins in that class. However, after hearing about the formation of the class and the way it brought everyone together basically sparked his drive to come and try to make it happen in this new class.

Cecco took a couple seasons off before returning last season on the Polaris, which he worked with all season and says that he is confident to be winning some races soon. Rick is another rider that was excited to see the formation of this 4x4 Pro GNCC class and has found a new life in his program and his riding. Rick, like many have felt this class, is long overdue and is expected to be a key player in the championships over the next few seasons.

Michael Swift made a rather impressive start to the new season on his new Factory Polaris-backed ride himself. Swift started out strong but ran into problems and was finished after only three laps of the five-lap two-hour race. Expect Swift to be back to form in Georgia and with a reset field and what right now seems like much better conditions should prove to be a spectacle to watch.