by: Jared Bolton
Thursday, May 9, 2019 | 1:30 PM
Welcome to Quick Fill.
X Factor is in the books! Rains leading up to the event led many folks to expect a mudder, but while there were definitely some tough and muddy areas, it definitely was not a full-blown mud race. By Sunday afternoon there were a lot of sections of the course that really began to tack up nice and while it was definitely soft and rutted out, the track got better as the weekend wore on. This led to some pretty good racing by the end of the weekend, and while it may not have been a tight battle for the bike win on Sunday, it had it’s own unique feel.
Speaking of that, I was once again given the opportunity to discuss some of the key points from the race for our friends across the office at Racer X. Check out the story HERE. There’s some pretty cool stuff that was discussed in the article including the lead Kailub Russell developed, Ben Kelley tying history, and just how far the overall leaders lapped through the pack. Take a look; it’s a pretty cool read! As I mentioned after Camp Coker, this is geared for the two-wheeled crowd who may not follow every GNCC event, so if you’re an ATV fan please don’t feel like you were intentionally left out. In fact, I’ve got a special section later in this week’s edition of Quick Fill that is essentially an ATV-themed version of the same story.
With X Factor in the rearview mirror, we now shift our focus to The John Penton. This is one of those classic GNCC events that holds a very rich history in the series. This year will mark 30th running of this event, which was originally born as the Burr Oaks GNCC. Along the way, the name was changed to The John Penton GNCC in honor of the great John Penton, who is directly responsible for many of the advancements in racing that we see today.
I feel like we give a quick history lesson on Mr. Penton each year, but for those who may not know much about him, it’s nice to find out exactly who he is. John was an avid off-road racer in the days of big street bikes modified for off-road use; Triumph, BSA, BMW, etc were the norm in those days. After attending the ISDE (then known as the ISDT, International Six Days Trial) and seeing smaller, lightweight European machines, John knew right away that a machine like that is exactly what Americans needed.
John would partner with an Austrian company to produce a lightweight, off-road specific motorcycle and he would import those machines to the USA, selling them as Penton Motorcycles. That Austrian company was a small scooter and bicycle manufacturer named for two men and the city where their business was based. Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, or KTM for short. For years KTM would produce the Penton machines, and over time would begin producing KTM motorcycles of their own.
It goes much further than that as John also saw the need for other off-road motorcycle-specific products. Outside of Penton Motorcycles, John also founded Hi-Point Products. Hi-Point would be the early go-to for boots as they were the original ones to produce an off-road specific racing boot. This boot was born when John travelled to Sweden to partner with a ski boot manufacturer. He wound up at the wrong company, but the company he did find was even more interested in the partnership and with the help of a company named Alpinestars, the Hi-Point boots were born.
Another interesting tidbit is that Hi-Point Products was almost the title sponsor of a motocross track. Big Dave Coombs had built a new track and was in negotiation with Hi-Point Products to be the title sponsor. Unfortunately, the sponsorship fell through at the last minute, even after signs for the track had been made. No worries as Rita is great with a paintbrush, and with the addition of two letters, the now world-famous High Point Raceway was born.
So as you can see, naming the event in honor of John Penton is well deserved! With that race just around the corner, our friends from WEXCR will be racing this SATURDAY May 11, just around 20 minutes or so away from The John Penton. They’ve moved their race to Saturday as there is some heavy rain forecasted for Sunday, while Saturday’s forecast looks much better. If you’re interested in checking out the race, you can get more info HERE.
That’s going to do it for the intro this week. We hope you enjoy your weekend and whether you’re riding somewhere or taking the weekend off, stay safe and we’ll see you in Ohio!
Three ATV Things We Learned at X Factor (Jared Bolton)
The fifth round of the 2019 GNCC Racing season produced some pretty exciting racing. On a tough and rutted course with the occasional mud hole, the ATV pilots at the front of the pack put on a tight race that will be remembered for quite some times. Here’s what we learned.
1. Five Fast Fellows
The top five riders at the front of the XC1 pack were absolutely flying around the course. There’s some serious talent right within arms reach of those guys, but the top five were able to stay together and push each other through the entire race. Walker Fowler would lead early, but it would be Brycen Neal making his way into the lead during the middle stages of the race, while Chris Borich, Cole Richardson and Jarrod McClure all continued to swap positions for podium contention.
The entire top five rode nearly the entire race no more than 15 seconds apart. These guys were absolutely on rails making their way around the course, and with five of the world’s best ATV riders pushing each other the entire time, you can bet your last dollar that they were going pretty darn fast. Even in the end, after just shy of two hours of racing, the entire top five were only separated by around 30 seconds! That’s impressive and there’s no doubt that this sets the bar high for the coming rounds as all of these guys, and others, know they have what it takes to contend for race wins.
2. Another Glauda Win
John Glauda Jr has been dominating the XC2 class this season and continued the domination at X Factor. He now has five wins in five rounds and sits atop the XC2 point standings. Of course, this win didn’t come easy as he had to work his way through the pack coming from sixth place on the opening lap. However, once he was able to find his way into the lead he managed to put his head down and pull away from the rest of the XC2 field.
Meanwhile, Matthew Blankenship and Tanner Walker were left to battle it out for the XC2 podium while lap one leader, Ronnie Rusch, tried to play spoiler to their podium hopes. In the end, Blankenship and Walker would hold off Rusch to round out the podium in second and third. Much like the XC1 class, there is some serious talent in the XC2 class that can run in podium contention at any event. While Glauda has been the man to beat, there’s no doubt that the rest of the field is looking to topple him and claim wins of their own.
3. Wolfe Wins Again
Much like John Glauda in the XC2 class, the 4x4 Pro class has been dominated by one rider all season long; Landon Wolfe. Landon has been on fire this season and has come away with five wins in five rounds. Not only that, but Wolfe also holds five overall wins in the 11AM race as well. In very similar fashion to what we just discussed with the XC2 class, that X Factor win didn’t come with immediate ease as Wolfe came around in fifth place at the completion of lap one. Putting his head down and charging through the pack is no big task for Wolfe, as he would find his way into the lead on lap three.
Robbie Pecorari would ride exceptionally well in the early stages, leading the first lap with Jordan Phillips and Dwight Pollard hot on his heels. However, in the late stages of the race it would be Robert Smith making the move as he worked his way into second place, where he would end the day while Pecorari rounded out the podium in third. These guys have proven to produce some exciting racing time and time again, and much like the competition throughout each of the pro classes, there’s a number of top talent looking to put everything together and claim a win of their own. Stay tuned because it could get exciting!