    |
 |
|
|
|
The Aussie Shane Watts: who is campaigning the very competitive USA GNCC series (Specially since it was joined by Juha Salminen) has fought hard to Overcome Injuries: to get back to his previous competitive form. This year he was dropped from KTM's official team and is riding in a support team.
Shane regularly updates Silver Bullet on his progress.
KTMHutt.com/Fun Mart Cycles Team rider Shane Watts defied the critics yesterday with an emphatic return to the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) podium with a strong third place finish at round two of the series.
Held over three hours on a brutally rough and demanding sandy course, Watts rode a strong and consistent pace throughout the race on his 125SX machine to garner his first GNCC podium in over 18 months, much to the delight of the massive and vocal crowd in attendance.
"With 30th pick on the gate and the 125 I knew my start would be poor. From there I picked my way through the field until I reached third near the end of the second lap. It seemed as though everyone was going pretty slow considering the ease with which I passed them, obviouly except for the two guys in front of me. They were flying. I made no mistakes and rode quite conservatively just focusing on the finish. This kind of result just reaffirms to me my ability on the bike and the fact that I have what it takes to run up front. My confidence will grow immensely from this."
"To be back on the GNCC podium was a very emotional experience for me. Most people don't understand what I have been through in the recent past and how bad the condition of my body is. I've worked exceptionally hard this year to overcome these hurdles and to be in a position to fight for a podium position. This finish gives me a feeling of relief, and hopefully it will gain me some respect from those doubters who had the impression I was a slacker and wasn't putting any effort in."
Next race for Watts will be Round 3 of the GNCC series in Georgia this coming weekend (March 13).
Read the MXLarge Report:
