Liqui Moly Beta Racing - The John Penton Race Report
Thursday, May 26, 2022 | 1:55 PM
The 7th stop on the GNCC calendar brought the series to Millfield, OH for the John Penton GNCC. The event is hosted at the old running facility on the schedule. The weekend had its share of rain and thunderstorms, making the course muddy for the riders. Evan Smith had a fantastic start grabbing the holeshot in the XC2 race. He was riding quite well and was the leader through 1½ laps. He battled for the lead until lap 4 when he got tangled with another rider, knocking him back down the pack. Evan proved capable today even with a 7th-place finish. Jon Johnson didn't get off to a crisp start but was able to ride steady all day pushing forward to a 6th-place finish. In the XC3 race, Jay Lipscomb was 4th heading into the woods and was able to get into the lead a couple miles into the race. However, soon after a deep ravine took out his rear tire dashing his hopes of a podium finish. The team will take the good and learn from the bad heading into Pennsylvania for round 8 in a couple of weeks.
Results:
Jon Johnson - 6th Place XC2
Evan Smith - 7th Place XC2
Jay Lipscomb - 9th Place XC3
Jon Johnson - Factory 250 RR -"I had an okay day at the John Penton with a mid-pack start. I was able to keep a steady pace and work my way up all day and ended up bringing home 6th place."
Evan Smith - Factory 250 RR - It was a great day at the John Penton. I got off the line well with a holeshot and led the first 2 laps and at one time even the adjusted time overall. I battled for a podium for 2 hours but due to some mistakes on my part I faded back hard. I look forward to resting up and continuing our upward trend at the Mason Dixon GNCC!"
Jay Lipscomb - Factory 125 RR -"I got off to a decent start headed into the woods in 4th place. I got the lead after a couple of miles but hit a deep ravine at the third-mile mark that busted my rear wheel. Tough break but happy with the start of my race and looking forward to building off that."