Weekly Updates (Chelsea Taylor)

The days are winding down until the Ironman GNCC so don’t wait to order your pink number plates from Stuk MX Graphix. Not only is Stuk MX offering a great deal for both front and side number plates, but your purchase will automatically result in a donation to the Montgomery County Free Clinic (MCFC). For more information on the “pink” race in honor or October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month of to order your backgrounds please click HERE.

Also, Linda Zakowski would like to remind everyone that they are also assembling their own fundraiser, too. After raising an unprecedented amount last year, Zakowski Motorsports has set a new goal of $20,500. They will have special merchandise for sale including autographed jerseys from a few of the 4x4 Pro riders such as Bryan Buckhannon, Kevin Trantham, Michael Swift, Zak Zakowski, Robert Smith, Jordan Phillips, Ben Bruce, Corry Savage and Tanner Bowles. All proceeds raised will go directly toward helping end the fight for breast cancer.

Jarrod McClure is also joining the fight against breast cancer and auctioning off a wheel kit or four tires. You can purchase raffle tickets at McClure’s pit area the Friday and Saturday at Ironman and the winner will be announced at the conclusion of the 1 p.m. pro race podium.

If you’re a racer or a fan wondering how you are going to get to Ironman, then we have the perfect opportunity for you. Consider taking part in our GNCC Ten Seconds video contest! All you have to do is make your own rendition of announcer Rodney Tomblin’s “Ten Seconds” call and post on Instagram. Make sure to tag @gncc_racing and use the hashtag #GNCCTenSeconds. The deadline to submit your video is this Sunday, October 23. The winner will receive four gate passes and four event t-shirts at next weekend’s race.

The preferred parking lottery is now open as well. Entries must be submitted by next Wednesday, October 26 at 9:00 a.m. EST to be considered for one of the 30 open spots. We will also post the winners that same afternoon. You can get registered by heading over to this webpage.

When packing for Ironman don’t forget to bring your best costume for trick-or-treating and the costume contest on Saturday night. Parts Unlimited will be hosting their hospitality dinner Saturday night at 6 p.m. and we also have two bands lined up for Saturday night beginning at 7 p.m. Stone Senate will kick off the night with the popular Davisson Brothers following. The full weekend schedule is listed HERE.

Get pre-registered for Ironman and earn not only your $20 Race Gas gift card from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, but also your commemorative poster! If you pre-registered for all 13 GNCC rounds you will have a whopping $260 in Race Gas gift cards redeemable on anything that Rocky Mountain ATV/MC carries!

Last, but not least, don’t forget to reserve your seat at the awards banquet on either Friday, November 25 (ATV/UTV) or Saturday, November 26 (Bike). Hotel reservations need to be made by November 4 to receive the group rate. More information is HERE.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend there is a PAMX race at High Point, in addition to the Ron Henderson ATV Memorial Race at Lincoln Trial MX. Whatever you get into, have fun and stay safe. We’ll see you in a week!

Coming To Fruition (Rodney Tomblin)

It became apparent many years ago that GNCC was a sport of the whole family and as the sport evolved it created an environment where there is something for the whole family. The addition of the youth classes may have been from the growing popularity but once it began, it created the next generation of stars and help to not just put the U.S. off-road world on the map but also make it one of the strongest on the planet. Last week the USA ISDE World Trophy Team did something that has never been done. 

I realize Bolt-On has plenty to say about the subject this week so I will try not to delve too much but what this means for us as a country is rather monumental. However, I do want to weigh in. I have been around and watched the efforts of our teams in the past. There have been some close calls but it seems that something, somehow, every time has presented something that has just taken its toll on the team. A few format changes, narrowing the number of riders per team, could have been a positive but if you look at the big picture, our Junior team had some talent and strong results too. All around it made for a rather interesting ISDE this year and one that we will not forget soon

What makes it so precious? It is literally the best of the best, from all around the world. It takes hard work, determination, speed and possibly most important of all is luck. So congratulations to all US riders this year as it was for sure the best showing we have ever seen by the Americans. And as well to Layne Michael for stepping up last minute to help pull it all together after Ryan Sipes incident leading into the event.

Aside from Taylor Robert who is not a product of GNCC, the team was one familiar to us in the GNCC Racin’ Nation. We watched each one of these riders grow and blossom into the world champions they are. Again, when youth racing began, this was not so much of a thought, but you see where it has led. I remember how exciting it was just realizing that we were basically farming and producing our own stars of the off-road world, and not even realizing the potential. Now that we have realized what is possible, will this become a dream of racers? Not only to go for the GNCC title but to be part of World Championship teams? In my opinion a new fire has sparked and no longer will riders be looking to only excel here, but will also be striving for world recognition. I am proud to be part of this and hope to be part of many more moments like this in the future. So much so that it becomes expected, not anticipated. 

The great things we see on two wheels is kind of mirrored on the four wheel side of things. However, there is not much of a platform such as ISDE for them to participate. There are a couple of one off events like Ponte De Vu in France and another radical off-road event in Argentina that draws thousands of racers starting all at the same time. That sounds crazy by today's standards but also would be cool to watch.

Even though it took us a while to get to where we are on the world stage, the fact remains that the fruits are being harvested in GNCC as we speak. Riders moving up this late part of the season may signal what is coming next and we should expect to see many riders moving up in classes if championships and point races are settled. The 2016 Ironman will be a graduation, as well as celebration and with recent accomplishments, this could be the most special GNCC in a long time. To me, the specialness of this race will come for me from knowing that I watched each one of these young men grow as racers as well as into men to achieve what they have.

The harvest has only begun and all indications are that we have lots more where these riders come from. Congratulations once more to all of the US ISDE Team for the win and to Taylor Robert for his person accomplishment being only the second American to ever win the individual overall.

91^st ISDE Is In The Books! (Jared Bolton)

For the first time in the 91-year history of the International Six Days Enduro, the US ISDE Team has claimed the World Trophy victory. This year’s team of GNCC regulars Kailub Russell, Thad Duvall, Layne Michael along with west coast racer Taylor Robert, put in six great, consistent days of racing to come away with the World Trophy honors. Of course, this still didn’t come easy. Many expected the Australian World Trophy team to be extreme fierce competition as well.

Unfortunately, Josh Strang would injury his nagging ankle on the first day, making for an untimely end to Australia’s World Trophy hopes. Italy would be the next toughest competition throughout the week, but the American team hung tough and stayed ahead of them until they would also lose one of their riders on day five. Spain and Great Britain would be in a close battle through the beginning of the week but Spain would also lose two riders towards the end of the week. When it was all said and done, USA came away with a commanding win over Great Britain and the Czech Republic would come away third.

This World Trophy win has been a long time coming. While the ISDE is in it’s 91^st year, a true US World Trophy Team has only been fielded since 1964. Interestingly enough, a rider who competed on the team funded the first-ever US World Trophy team. Who was that rider you ask? Well, it was none other than The King of Cool himself, Steve McQueen. What also makes this incredible is that during this time, he was essentially at the peak of his fame. By today’s standards, that would be like seeing Channing Tatum, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, or Chris Evans compete in the ISDE.

Since then, the US has fielded teams with some of the best off-road racers the US has ever seen. There’s been a number of top racers compete as part of USA’s ISDE efforts and even Aussie Geoff Ballard raced as part of the US World Trophy team from 1984-1986 during his residence here racing the AMA National Hare Scramble Series and some GNCC events as well. His Can-Am teammate, John Martin, also contested a number of ISDE events and these days you would recognize his sons; Pro Motocross racers Jeremy and Alex Martin. GNCC champ Ed Lojak has three ISDEs to his credit, and our own GNCC Trail Boss, Jeff Russell, has competed six times himself.

In the history of the event, the US Junior Trophy teams have claimed four victories but the one thing that eluded the US teams was that World Trophy victory. This year that all would finally change and while the win is still fresh, many are already looking ahead to next year in order to try for a repeat win. Another question that frequently comes up is “will we ever see another ISDE hosted in the USA?” This has been discussed for a number of years and many have wanted to make it happen, but finding a suitable location in the USA has been tough. There have only been two ISDE events ever hosted in the United States. The first took place in Massachusetts in 1973, and then the second took place in 1994 in Oklahoma. Since then the idea of another ISDE on US soil has simply been an idea. However, many things begin with an idea and while that idea still remains an idea, nothing is impossible! Wow that was a confusing sentence! 

While the 2016 ISDE has come to a close and history has been made, let’s all keep in mind how monumental this year’s World Trophy victory really is. These guys accomplished something that no other American team has been able to pull off. A lot of this is owed to Steve McQueen for getting the US involved all those years ago, and a lot is also owed to the late Kurt Caselli, who really dreamed of seeing a US World Trophy victory and pushed for a serious US ISDE effort. Hopefully 2017 yields the same result!

Aaron Plessinger Race Scholarship (Chelsea Taylor)

Aaron Plessinger. It’s a name we all know and one we are very proud of in the GNCC world. Aaron grew up pulling double-duty racing both GNCC and premier amateur motocross events. Not only did he race both, but he was equally skilled in both aspects. In 2015 Aaron made his professional Supercross debut, and even though he chose to carry his professional career into Supercross/Motocross racing instead of GNCC, the GNCC family continues to support Aaron in his new journey.

The support is reciprocated where Aaron recently announced the Aaron Plessinger Race Scholarship. Composed of two division, motocross and off-road, Aaron is offering a total of $2,000 ($1,000 to GNCC, $1,000 to motocross) to up-and-coming GNCC riders. This unique opportunity is a perfect time to showcase not only what you can do on two-wheels, but also what you can do when it comes to academics.

To be eligible for the scholarship you must submit an essay detailing, “what racing means to me.” In addition, you must include a race resume and an academic report card/record. Applications are being accepted now through Friday, November 11, at 5 p.m. EST. To be considered please send all the requirements to [email protected].

The GNCC Rider Fund Board of Directors will then review all applications and we will announce the lucky recipients name at the GNCC banquet on Saturday, November 26. If you have any questions about the scholarship, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Racer Productions is challenging each racer to take part in this opportunity!

 

The search is on for the best "TEN SECONDS" call! Submit a video giving us your best "TEN SECONDS" using the hashtag #GNCCTenSeconds and you could be a winner! Contest rules and info below. See the link in our bio for more! -------------------------------- Rules & Info: 1) Must tag @gncc_racing 2) Must use the hashtag #GNCCTenSeconds 3) One video entry per instagram follower 4) Deadline: Oct 23rd 5) Winner Announced: Oct 26th at 5pm ET #GNCC #GNCCNation #GNCCLIVE #GNCCTenSeconds

A video posted by GNCC Racing (@gncc_racing) on Oct 12, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

Headlines

U.S. World Trophy Team Makes History by Winning the International Six Days Enduro for the First Time

Aaron Plessinger Race Scholarship Offered to GNCC Competitors

AMSOIL Ironman GNCC Goes Pink in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

GNCC "Ten Seconds" Contest 

What's New on RacerTV.com?

RacerTV will be LIVE from the season finale at the AMSOIL Ironman GNCC on October, 29-30. If you can't make it in person, be sure to tune in on Saturday at 1 PM for the Pro ATV Racing and then at 4 PM for the Pro UTV Racing. Then on Sunday check out the Pro Bike Racing at 1 PM.