DirtWise Race Report from Limestone 100
Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | 1:15 PM
Fantastic weather greeted riders at Round 5 of the GNCC series held near Springville, IN over the weekend, and Maxxis/KLIM/DirtWise KTM team rider Jesse Groemm railed to an impressive 3rd place finish in the XC2 Pro class, while teammate Jason Thomas rode to a solid 10th place in the XC1 Pro class.
Jesse Groemm was enthusiastic about his performance, saying, "I got into the lead early on and built up a 30 second buffer without feeling like I was pushing hard at all, and led the first 3 laps. Then Grant and Ricky came along and they were rolling so I went to hitch a ride with them and tag along for a few laps but the lappers just weren't working for me and I tangled and crashed with them 3 times on that 4th lap. That put me at a deficit that I just couldn't catch back up from. This is my first GNCC podium, but next time I'm planning on being on the top step."
Jason Thomas had these comments about his ride, "Last week I had a great ride at the OMA race but this week it was just average so I need to work on being consistent with my performances. Today's result isn't going to get me down because I'm focused on improving each week and refining my program after a slow start to the year."
Team owner Shane Watts added, " I'm very pleased with how things went for Jesse, and that is the kind of result we were expecting from him during 2014. It's great to see that he has been able to turn things around after a difficult start to the season and get himself back to the results he is capable of. Jason rode well also but he just missed being in the right spot at the right time to make use of the opportunities to run further up towards the front."
DirtWise support rider Jesse Ansley continued with his domination of the GNCC 12-13yr 85cc class by taking his 5th straight victory of the season.
DirtWise "Ready to Race" bike rental program participant Mat Herrington scored a season best 16th place in the XC2 Pro class.
DirtWise "Full Factory" rider training participant Jeremy Randolph scored a career best finish of 6th in Open B, saying, "The recent one-on-one training I've been doing with Jason Thomas has provided huge improvements to my riding. I can't believe that I realistically have a good chance of getting a podium finish now, and I'm going for it!"
Meanwhile in Australia, DirtWise support rider Daniel Sanders again laid waste to the competition in the Under 19 class at the Aussie Off-road Nationals with another very convincing performance that also placed him in the top 10 Overall for the event.
The next racing commitment for the Maxxis/KLIM/DirtWise KTM Race team will see Jason Thomas competing at Rd. 2 of the OMA Nationals in Kentucky this coming weekend.