FCA Camps This Summer (Chelsea Taylor)

Another week goes by that we aren’t heading to another round of GNCC, which is a little sad.  But hey, on the bright side there’s only 72 days left until the green flag drops at the Parts Unlimited Unadilla GNCC!  Not that I’m counting or anything… Okay, maybe I am! However, I’ll still be around racing this weekend as I head up to New York tomorrow for round eight of the Mountain Dew ATVMX National Championship at Unadilla.

That’s just one of the many things I love about this job. Even though my main focus is GNCC, I still get to have a little part of all the racing series. I may have grew up around two-wheels, but still love any type of racing. And I’m sure if you’re a part of the Racing Nation that you’re probably heading to a facility to ride this weekend too, because that’s what racers do. Even on our off days we still find a way to be around quads and bikes. 

And to that point, Ryan Sipes is enjoying his summer break by instructing at Minnesota FCA Motocross Camp this week! If you’ve never been to a FCA camp I definitely recommend it! It’s a weeklong camp about, you guessed it, dirt bikes! Which if you asked me is a big enough reason why you should go! There are still two off-road camps remaining this summer. Indiana is July 14-18 and New York is August 24-28.  For more information be sure to check out fcamx.com! 

Bach to Europe… For the Weekend. (Jared Bolton)

Arguably one of the biggest pieces of GNCC news this week comes from the JCR Honda camp as Chris Bach has made the trip to Belgium to give this weekend’s World Enduro round a try. This is pretty big news as it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen a GNCC regular give a round of World Enduro a shot.

Chris made his way to Belgium earlier this week and has been scoping out the course all week. Yes, they’re allowed to walk the entire course, multiple days in advance. Keep in mind that they’ll typically only ride everything one time, so knowing what’s coming up is a big key in that type of racing. They are also a lot faster than the enduros we’re used to here in the US.

Bach has never been a very strong enduro rider here in the US, but with the different format and terrain that the World Enduro rounds use, he very well could put together a solid performance as it plays out to his riding style and riding preferences much better than American enduro events. He’s also been scoping out the course with fellow Honda rider, Alex Salvini, who is arguably one of the best World Enduro riders.

It will definitely be interesting to see how things work out for Bach this weekend. I’ll give an update next week to let everyone know how Chris did, but in the meantime, Bach is keeping everyone updated with “Bach’s Belgian Blog” on Enduro21.com. So if you want to follow along, check it out here: http://www.enduro21.com/index.php/component/k2/item/2991-bachs-belgian-blog

Perfect (Rodney Tomblin)

Perfect can mean many different things to many different people. By definition, perfect is having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. To a racer it can mean a good, clean, close battle for a championship. It can mean a day without mistakes or it can mean you win every race on the schedule. Whatever your definition of perfect truly is I feel most can agree we have seen a rather perfect year so far.

At the beginning of the season there was some hype as to whether Kailub Russell would, or could have a perfect season. First off, let me say that it has been exactly a perfect season, even though he finished 2nd one time so far this year. Second, let me say it may have been unfair to Kailub to start asking the question so early in the season, but from a fan standpoint you have to admit it did offer a little excitement as to whether it could be done. Now, we know at least this season will not see that happen in the XC1 Pro class and the pressure to do so is off. But again Kailub is riding a perfect championship and we cannot take that away in any form as he is doing exactly what he needs to do to win. 

As we look forward to the final four rounds of racing Kailub will likely wrap the title up early for the bike side of things. The ATV side of things will likely see a possible multi-man shoot out for this year’s title. And though no one is close to seeing every win in the class, it too is still yielding some perfection according to definition. The battles hold all the desirable elements, qualities and characteristics that are required to deem it so. It is without a doubt one of the greatest championships in the 40-year history of our sport.

As far as perfect records go at this point in the season there are only three riders who have raced and won every round of racing in their class this season. Two ride ATV and one rides a bike. The accomplishments of winning every race are certainly noteworthy and possibly more so this late in the season. 

Ronnie Rusch, a.k.a. Little Ronnie, Rocket Ronnie and most recently Rippin' Ronnie, has won every Youth Overall so far this season. Remarkably, I'm not sure Ronnie even dreamed it possible or was even looking to do it. Like I said before every rider hopes for it but doesn't truly expect it. There are just so many variables to consider that it is difficult to accomplish. You have to perform at your best during your worst. You have to perform your best at Mother Nature's worst and you must perform at your best when your equipment is not. Just keeping a machine together for the duration of a race is tough enough let alone an entire season. So to win every race is a rather big deal, especially in the Youth division.

The 10 am race yields another rider looking for a perfect class record for his season. It is "Super Dave" Simmons of the Super Senior 45 Plus class. Dave has won every class race this season, and while that is the perfect season by all rights, Dave may have another opinion. Dave is a former morning overall champion and as important as class wins are, Dave is in search of overall wins, which may make his season seem "not so perfect" to him. To us it is amazing and Dave is a Super Human. So by all rights it is "perfect."

The final rider to mention who is looking at perfection at the moment is the bike Girls (8-15) class leader, Brianna May. Brianna has won every round in that class so far this season. It has been under pressure to as this young girls class is yielding some fast little ladies. The battles are starting to get interesting and as hard as she is going for all the wins the other young ladies are trying to as hard to stop her. 

What does this mean for we race fans? It means we get to see more great battles this season, which from any fan’s perspective has to translate simply to perfect.

Sometimes, Even the Best Need Help (Jared Bolton)

Even the best riders in the world could use a little extra help, and Kailub Russell is no different. KR has a little extra help coming his way as he’s now partnered up with former GNCC great, Steve Hatch. For those who don’t know, since Steve retired from racing, he’s taken a number of riders under his wing and helped them improve their programs even further.

With Kailub getting a little extra help, one has to wonder what this will mean for the final four rounds. Could this mean we’re about to see KR dominate even more than what he’s already done? While it seems like that’s hard to do, it’s definitely not impossible to see him step it up another notch.

Of course, KR can’t be the only rider who gets a little extra help. You can too! The Baylor Brothers will be conducting a riding school this Sunday at the RidePG headquarters in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. You can get instruction from them from 8am-12pm and then there’s an open ride day where anyone is welcome from 12pm until dark.

Cost for the riding school is just $100, and includes riding for the rest of the day. Or if you just want to ride, its $25 and all proceeds benefit the Baylor’s ISDE efforts this year. Give Stu a shout at [email protected] to get registered!

Shy One (Rodney Tomblin)

There are only three riders who have yet to lose a race in the first nine rounds of this years title chase. It is an honor many hope for, but few seldom actually experience. It can be a bit of a pressure release once one does come up short, just so they don't have added weight heading into a race. The loss of one round sometimes may be the saving grace from the entire season. I say this because if someone has that kind of pressure on themselves, then it could force bad things to happen if one tries to maintain. So once a bad race is over, then they can just focus in doing their best for the race without any lingering pressures lurking in the backs of ones mind.

As I scanned the points I found 7 riders who have only finished out of first one time, and by calculations I think have each wrapped up titles except for one, and that is Kailub Russell. Russell should be able to secure that title easily within the next two rounds, and depending on how things go at Unadilla, he may just have it all wrapped up then. So with that we know that one of those riders with one short of a perfect record is Russell.

Other riders who shy one win from perfection includes the following:

XC2 Pro-Am ATV racer Cole Richardson has had an amazing season. He has been on, or near an overall podium finish on several occasions. In doing so he has separated himself from the rest of the field in the class in all but one race which Cody Collier scored his first XC2 win. Cole has been admittedly looking to win the overall from the second row but even to him most important is his class title at the moment.

As far as two wheels are concerned there are a handful more in the "shy one" category. Starting with the Youth ranks we see that 85cc (7-11) rider Michael Beeler holds honors of 8 out 9 wins so far this season. Beeler is in a highly competitive class and though they are still young he may be mutating into one of the future stars of our sport. We recognized great talents at this level before and you may remember their names. Kailub Russell, Stu Baylor and Grant Baylor are possibly the most recent recognizable names and to put Beeler in this category is saying a lot.

Congratulations to Kacy Martinez on her second GNCC title as well as near domination in this years battle. She wrapped the title up at Snowshoe and was obviously excited and proud to do it. So far, Jessica Patterson has been the only rider to best her this season. Martinez is on has had a phenomenal year and for anyone to say they got the best of her just once may be saying more than you realize. 

Golden Masters (60+) point leader and apparent class champion is Woody Bramlet Jr. At over 60 years Woody has amassed 8 wins through the first eight rounds. It was not until the ultra competitive Snowshoe we saw him falter a little coming away with 2nd in class. It is amazing by one respect to even still be riding at that age let alone winning consistently at that age is even more impressive.

In the afternoon bikes there are two others aside from Russell who are also "shy one" of perfection. The first we mention is Open A points leader Zach Hayes. Hayes rode a perfect season himself until Snowshoe GNCC where he finished 8th at the end of the day. Zach had actually moved into the lead at the halfway point before running into problems dropping to 8th on the final lap.

Then in the 200-A class Christopher Venditti opened the season with 2nd at the Wild Boar, and has since won every round. The sands of Florida were a bit rough for the South Carolina Gentleman, but has since dominated the day taking the win at each round with some rather impressive rides. He has seen wins in excess of 7 minutes on occasion and it will fun to watch his progression into the upper ranks in the coming seasons.

Zoo City GP This Weekend (Jared Bolton)

If you’re wondering why my contributions may have been a little on the short side this week, that’s because I’m in North Carolina putting the finishing touches on the course for this weekend’s Zoo City GP. The track is an absolute blast! It’s definitely the best layout I’ve ever put together for this race and I believe everyone is going to have a great time.

It’s right around 2.7 miles, with motocross, fast flowing trails, a few slower trails, grass track sections, optional extreme sections and 100% awesomeness! As I mentioned before, I’ve got a 200% Pro payback with an additional $400 on top of that, courtesy of Carolina KTM. It doesn’t end there either! I’m also offering up a 100% Payback to the Women’s class as well.

In addition to all this, there’s also a ton of prizes up for grabs in the raffle with all proceeds benefitting the Kurt Caselli Foundation. Prizes range from gear to gift cards, clothing, parts and much more. There’s also a bunch of “2^nd chance” prizes up for grabs who those who don’t win the first go-round. You can also choose which prizes you want the chance to win. Our awesome Online Content Manager/Registration Lady, Kayla Olliver will be handling the raffle, so stop by, buy some tickets and hopefully walk away with some cool prizes! 

You can get all the race info including directions, race times, fees, classes, track map, and more here: http://bit.ly/1MjlTko