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Race Report: Yadkinville GNCC Round 11
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: JG Offroad, GEICO, Monster Energy Kawasaki
Bike: Kawasaki KX450f
Result: 1st
With plenty of rain falling in the lead up to the Yadkinville GNCC the usual red dust cloud was absent from this years event. Instead the importance of a good start lay in protecting my vision through my Smith roll offs from the sticky red mud.
From the drop of the flag my KXf shot me to the hole shot line first although Glenn Kearney snuck by as I ran a little wide before turn two. Glenn set a good pace early and I was happy to follow him the first lap.
Rumours of bottomless mud holes in the low lying section along side the creek encouraged me to hang back a little and let someone else discover the bad lines.
I found myself promoted to the lead before we came to the creek jump after a couple of better lines carried me to the front to tackle the section of endless mud holes. We worked our way through the slop and ruts, each taking different lines both Glenn and Josh Strang took turns in the lead but as we headed towards the end of lap one I had taken control and begun to open a gap over the pack.
The first three laps went by smoothly and I was soon directed into the pits for a quick gas stop. Back out on the track things were drying slightly and I began to piece together the safe with the fast lines through the tricky section, although stray off the safe lines one bit and that could be the end of your race as the bogged bikes that littered this section illustrated. My Pirelli tires doing a great job of dealing with the range of traction available and delivering the best grip.
Josh had settle into second and was making a charge in the second half of the race. I tried to stay consistent but a couple small mistakes in the third and second to last laps cost me a little time. As I began the last lap Josh had the gap down to about 20 seconds. I pushed hard not wanting to give up the lead on the last lap and managed to extend my lead and take the win by about 40 seconds. Josh remained second and Charlie Mullins came home in third.
Results
