Despite rain early in the week, conditions at Big Buck were the best I’ve seen in years! While there was a bit of standing water in the low spots, the dirt was tacky almost everywhere else. The corners bermed up perfectly and hitting the banked corners at speed was almost like being on a roller coaster. Out of the 180 riders in the youth bike Race, Grant Davis was the overall winner, while Colby Goodman took the overall win in the 57-rider micro bike race.

In YXC1, Grant Davis started the season strong with a win. Jack Joy was able to briefly take the lead on lap two. Davis got back around when Joy got stuck behind some lappers. It looked like there might be a good battle brewing between the two, but then Joy had a nasty get-off which ultimately dropped him back to third place. Meanwhile, Noah Cooper rode a smooth and consistent race, earning him a second-place finish for the day. When asked about his race, Davis said “I got off to a great start, getting the holeshot. Jack got around me and I followed him until he got stick behind some lappers. I put my head down and charged to the end, getting the win in my class and first overall. The GNCC racing crew made an awesome track that suited my Kawasaki perfectly. Thanks to everyone!”

In addition to taking the YXC2 victory, Nicholas Defeo was also able to take third overall from the second row! After a mid-pack start, he spent the first three laps fighting his way up to the front. On lap four he passed Cole Forbes for the lead and held on to it the rest of the day. Forbes stayed in second the rest of the race. Third place finisher Matthew Hallenback put in a respectable last lap charge and made up some time on Forbes, but not enough to get within striking distance. When asked about his race, Defeo said “The track had perfect conditions. I got a good start, stayed with the lead pack and then on the fourth lap had the opportunity to pass for the lead. I started pulling away and pushed really hard to try for the overall podium. I saw Jack [Joy] in the distance, went for it, and it paid off. I’m really excited to take third overall from the second line!”

The overall non-YXC rider in the bike youth race was Peyton Feather (KTM) racing in the 85 (12-13) class. He placed 21st overall.

The racing was intense in MXC1. Gavin Harwell led through the first part of the race, though Colby Goodman and Landon Husted were never far behind. Husted took the lead on lap five and six, but Goodman was less than a second behind. Harwell had faded back by then, but was only twenty seconds down, and it looked like there was still a chance he would regroup and rejoin the fray. However, it looks like he had a problem on the last lap, as his lap time was three minutes slower than all of his others. However, the setback was not enough to knock him out of third place for the day. Sometime on the last lap, Goodman was able to pass Husted for the win, though at the end of the race the two riders were separated by less than one second. When asked about his race, Goodman said “This was my first time racing at Big Buck. The track was slick with some frozen spots, but nothing too hard. I struggled with bike issues most of the race but was still able to take the lead on the last lap for the win! I can’t wait till Wild Boar! I’m excited to go back there since it is where I got my first ever GNCC win”

Hunter Hawkinberry took the win in MXC2 after leading most of the race. He steadily put time on second place Tatum Michaels, who had a problem on the final lap and was unable to finish the race. Abram Shields, who had been in third the majority of the place, was bumped up to second place. Ace Tokar was about thirty seconds down from Shields the entire race, neither able to close the gap nor falling any further behind. When asked about his race, Hunter Hawkinberry said “I liked the track! It was dry and there were lots of bottlenecks but I got around them good. There were some rocks that made it tricky and some fast field parts too.”

The overall non-MXC rider in the Micro bike Trason Landrum (KTM) racing in the 50 JR (6-7) class. He placed 12th overall.