Afternoon Race:

XC2 star Nick Davis was on Row 6 and got a great jump off the start, only to crash in the first turn after a little too much overspray of Silkolene Pro Prep inadvertently oiled the brake rotors. Hundreds of people witnessed his crash, but Nick was up and going quickly with determination to push to the front!

Nick came into through the pits in 11^th place on the first lap and had a long road to get a podium finish. Nick’s first lap was right at 45 minutes. KR4 made the call to fuel him on the other side of the ski mountain near the finish line to put him in the window of 1 hour and 10 minutes for his first fuel stop. Nick pitted and said his bike was quitting on the downhill’s but running awesome everywhere else.

By Lap 2, Nick had pushed his way up to 5^th, and then to 3^rd on Lap 3, only to have his bike quit. He lost some time and few positions before he could get it re-fired and back in the hunt. Nick pitted on Lap 4 and was told to put the hammer down, which is just what he did, passing for 4^th and closing in on 3^rd as the white flag flew. When Nick came through Pro Pits on the last lap, he was in 3^rd position and still pushing hard with a few miles remaining to the finish. Nick crossed the checkered flag with 3^rd in XC2 division and a career-best 7th overall!

 When asked about his day, Nick explained, “I moved up to the front only to have my bike keep quitting on the downhill’s. I should have jetted my bike differently for this event; I tested it and thought it was good, but unfortunately it was a little off the mark. It was my fault, but I found a way to keep it going and was able to put KR4 up on the box!!!

Fellow XC2 rider Shane Hufford pulled a good start but had trouble with West Virginia’s slippery rocks. It was a struggle all day for Shane and he never got into his race pace. He came through in 7^th position on Lap 1, but fell back to 14^th at one point. Shane was able to pass two guys on the last lap to finish 12^th in XC2. 

A dejected Hufford confided, “I could not keep myself off the ground today. It was my career-best crash day for sure…”

In 250B racing action, Colin Keegan had a good day, finishing in 5^th place. This was not the position Colin was looking for after being a Podium finisher at the last few races, but Snowshoe is not your typical GNCC race. Colin stayed steady all day long and added valuable points to his quest to be a GNCC Champion at the end of the season.

KR4 was very excited to welcome back our friends from Finland for another Arrive-n-Ride experience at the Snowshoe Mountain GNCC.

Returning Finnish rider Henri Petman got off to a good start on the pavement and came around in 6^th position on Lap 1. At the fuel stop, Henri was very quiet and said nothing as KR4 fueled and provided water and a fresh pair of goggles; he was focused on the task at hand and took off looking to make some passes. Like countless other riders throughout the day though, Henri got stuck on one of the many rocky uphill’s and lost a few positions on Lap 2 to drop to 9^th. During Lap 3, Henri made a few passes and moved into 7^th with one lap to go. Henri never gave up and pushed hard to the finish to net 4^th for the day.

Henri told us that the course was a lot harder than it looked and exclaimed, “I believe ALL THE ROCKS in West Virginia are on that mountain!” 

Henri’s fellow countryman Eero Nieminen made his first appearance at a GNCC with a hard-fought 9^th place finish. Eero came through in 10^th on Lap 1 but made a pass on Lap 2 and put in a good result.

KR4 Team Manager Fred Andrews put the day in perspective when he said, “The entire KR4 Crew, both staff and riders did AWESOME today! This was the hardest track we have raced on in years, and just to finish today is a great accomplishment.”

KR4 PM Bike Results:

• Nick Davis: XC2 Pro Lites.  – 3^rd
• Henri Petman: Vet 30+ B   - 4^th
• Colin Keegan: 250B   - 5^th
• Eero Nieminen: 4 Stroke Lites B    - 9^th
• Shane Hufford: XC2 Pro Lites   - 12^th

Morning Race:

By far the most exciting performance of the weekend’s AM race was Brooke Cosner finishing 2^nd in the women’s pro WXC class! Brooke started the race in the first row but slid out in the first turn. Undeterred, she quickly remounted and promptly worked her way forward to finish the first lap in 4^th place. At that point, Brooke really unleashed her riding skills, and on the third lap, her lap time was faster than class leader Kacy Martinez! For the rest of the race, the gap between the two was very low - so much so that the team was hoping for a possible win for Brooke! Kacy pulled away slightly on Laps 4, 5, and 6, but on her final lap Brooke again dropped the hammer and her elapsed time was around 1.5 minutes faster than Kacy’s last lap. At the end of the two-hour race, only three minutes separated the pair. Great job Brooke!

Conner Keegan had an excellent come-from-behind race in the 200C Schoolboy 12-15 division. Unfortunately, Conner endured a dismal first lap after getting stuck in a huge mud hole. He had major problems freeing his bike from the muck and came through at the end of Lap 1 in 7^th position. Once free of the murky prison, however, Conner produced the 2^nd fastest lap times in his class and motored his way back to 4^th place at the finish!

KR4 was also pleased for the return of Masters 50+ A competitor Brad Myers to the team for Snowshoe. We missed Brad and his supportive wife as they were not with our program for the previous round, but they were both glad to be back under the KR4 tent! Brad had an exciting back-and-forth battle raging with another rider for the third place spot. During the final two laps, the combat intensified and you could almost throw a blanket over the two. Brad finished the day in a season-best 4^th position, only 16 seconds behind his nemesis. After finishing the race, he immediately praised the bike we had setup for him, commenting that it seemed even more dialed-in than it was during the last race he did with KR4. We can’t wait to have Brad back with us again soon!

KR4 AM Bike Results:

• Brooke Cosner: WXC   - 2^nd 
• Conner Keegan: 200C Schoolboy (12-15)   - 4^th
• Brad Myers: Masters 50+ A  - 4^th
• Karlynn Beam: WXC   - 9^th
• Albert Chuppa: Elite Masters (65+)   - DNF

Youth Race:

During every race throughout a GNCC weekend, KR4 team personnel uses simple but effective radios to relay pertinent information in a timely manner. KR4 spotters are positioned at key points along the race course to point out “hot lines” on hills and mud holes and to pass along important information back to the pit area.