The facility has seen a huge makeover since our last stop in 2015. New motocross track managers Mark and Sherri Ridgeway spared no expense upgrading infrastructure and getting things race-ready for the GNCC Racing Nation. The motocross side of the property was so nice that the GNCC trail crew moved the entire race headquarters over to the motocross track opposed to the opposite side of the property where the event was previously based. This created a throwback of epic proportions, as the event had not taken place on the motocross facility since the inaugural event in 2003.

A series of short blasts of rainstorms Saturday morning fogged goggles, brought sloppy mud and slippery conditions to the already slick Georgia red clay for the Youth and WXC ATV racers.

Racers were treated to new trail sections and old favorites, open grass fields and tight woods. Also known for its roughness, the 1,431 total riders who competed certainly had their hands full.

Fans were treated to the return of multi-time GNCC champion Angel Knox. Angel, who is taking time off to raiser her children, hopes to compete in select events this season. Her time off the track has not slowed her down, as she was the first rider off the line and into the woods, chased by Alicia McCormick and Traci Pickens. Pickens was able to make a pass on McCormick in the field section near the end of lap one and Knox retained a razor thin lead of 0.8 seconds over Pickens. New York’s Katelyn Osburn worked her way into fourth place, just one second behind McCormick, while Indiana’s Sadie Welch, in her debut WXC race, held down fifth place despite getting stuck on her first lap. Although the top four came through the Scoring Zone in short succession, following other riders so close was especially challenging due to the slinging mud. Most riders finished the first lap with goggles dangling from their arms or slung backwards around their helmets.

Knox continued her lead through the remainder of the second lap, with just over a second separating her from Pickens. Osburn was able to pass McCormick when the latter took a bad line through lapped traffic. McCormick had a spectacularly unpleasant second lap where she found herself stuck in a mudhole and broke her goggles after getting nailed in the face with a rock. Clearly the luck of the Irish was not with her on this St. Patrick’s Day, as she would drop to eighth place at the end of lap two. McCormick’s misfortune allowed Ohio’s Megan Shephard to move into fourth place. Welch, in the meantime, made several mistakes or her owns, which put Sadiee Gorrell of Ohio into the fifth place spot.

Knox lost her lead on the third lap when a stick jammed in her rear brake lever, forcing her to stop and yank it out, allowing both Pickens and Osburn to make the pass. The two engaged in an intense duel for the remainder of lap three, rubbing tires and swapping positions. Osburn moved into the fourth and final lap as the leader, with Pickens just over a second back and Knox roughly forty-five seconds behind them. Shepherd also encountered trouble on lap three, ultimately dropping her out of podium contention. This moved Gorrell into fourth place, while McCormick, gradually recovering from the effects of her second lap, was three minutes down in fifth, with Welch close behind.

Osburn and Pickens continued to battle wheel-to-wheel before Osburn made a mistake that cost not just the win, but the rest of her race. The slick conditions created by the steady overnight and morning caused Osburn to lose traction and skid off the trail into a culvert ditch. The force of the impact was so powerful it broke her spindle, leaving her unable to steer her machine. Unable to finish the final lap, Osburn had to settle for eighth for the day, and the second race in a row she has been hit with misfortune in the middle of a strong ride.

Even though her battle with Osburn was over, Pickens still had Knox to contend with. Near the end of the last lap, Knox was within sight of the leader, but a jostle with a non-WXC competitor pitched her into a mudhole. Knox was able to dig out her machine in time to still take a second place finish, and beat 204 other AM race competitors, including several 4x4 pro riders. When asked about her race, Knox told us “I’m excited to take a second place finish, since I just washed the Ironman mud off my machine two weeks ago. Life has had me too busy to even think about racing lately, but it felt good to get out and spread my wings again!”

With both Osburn and Knox out of the picture, Pickens was able to cruise to her second WXC win of the season, and an eighth place overall in the field of 215 riders. She says that “[i]t was nice to be back at the General. The track crew created a fun technical course which made for a day of fun, competitive racing!” She also gave a shout-out to Gorrell, who would finish on the WXC podium for the first time ever. As you can probably imagine, Gorrell was thrilled with her ride: “I got my first WXC podium finish this weekend at The General and couldn’t be happier!” McCormick took fourth, and Welch, in an impressive showing for her first race in the WXC class, rounded out the top five.

Meanwhile in the Girls class, 12-year old Morgan Johnson of Ohio (YAM) took her second win in a row and sixth place overall. She was joined on the podium by Andrea Rodgers (YAM) of Ohio, and Indiana’s Alexis Keys (YAM). Bella Burgess (YAM) again put a strong showing in the 125 Sr. (12-15) division, netting a third place finish in class and fifteenth overall out of 69 youth riders. This weekend’s finish moves her up to first place in the series points. The winner of the women’s class at The General was Hannah Hunter of Pennsylvania.

In the bike WXC division, Mackenzie Tricker (KTM) of Australia pulled the holeshot. Korie Steede (GasGas) and Becca Sheets (KTM), both of Ohio, took second and third off the line. Tricker’s lead and race would both be short lived, however, as five miles into the race she suffered a mechanical failure that prematurely ended her race, giving her a DNF for the day.

Australia’s Tayla Jones (HQV) got a so-so start, but rapidly mowed through most of the riders early in the lap. Although last and next-to-last off the line, Maryland’s Brooke Cosner (YAM) and Indiana’s Rachel Gutish (Beta) also picked their way through the pack with relative ease. Gutish and Cosner would finally catch and pass Steede for fourth and fifth by taking a faster, though rocky and slippery, line up an embankment. With Tricker’s race ending just a few short miles later, they were able to move into third and fourth.

Cosner was hot on Gutish’s heels, waiting for an opportunity to make a pass. That opportunity came in the mudhole at the eight-mile marker. Gutish took an overly cautious line around the outside, while Cosner took an equally safe but much faster line through the inside. Seeing Cosner make the pass, Gutish took the next corner too quickly in an effort to hold her off, washing the front end out and giving Cosner a twenty second lead going into lap two. Meanwhile, Sheets had a couple of issues on the first lap, enough so that she lost sight of Jones, but not enough for Cosner to catch up after the time spent battling up through the pack.

Putting her head down and charging, Sheets slowly gained ground on Jones and lengthened her lead over Cosner. These top five riders; Jones, Sheets, Cosner, Gutish and Steede, all held their positions through the second and into the third lap, although each was riding virtually alone, with gaps ranging from twenty-seven seconds to over two and a half minutes.

At the beginning of lap three, a poor line choice trapped Jones in a mudhole long enough to destroy what was left of her lead over Sheets. Jones stayed just ahead of Sheets for some time before going down, allowing Sheets to take the lead. Right before the Scoring Zone, Jones would pass her back for the lead and retain it through the remainder of the race, taking her third win in a row. According to Jones “It was a good day and a challenging track. Once I made my way back to the front I just rode smart for that last lap. I am happy to get the first three rounds done and to have a few weeks off to work on a couple of things.” Though unable to beat Jones for the day, Sheets commented “While it was not a perfect race, our program is improving each round.”

Heading into the last lap, Cosner had a comfortable lead over Gutish, who had encountered problems on both the second and third laps. However, in a stroke of bad luck, Cosner’s recently submerged bike gave out just four miles from the finish. Unable to complete the rest of the lap, she fell from a podium position back to eighth place. Gutish took the last podium spot, while the younger riders, 16-year old Steede and 17-year old Shyann Phelps of New Jersey rounded out the top five.