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Race Report: Florida Trail Riders, Gatorback FL
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: Am-Pro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha WR 450
Result: 1st
With the development of the WR coming along nicely and the opening GNCC in Florida just over a week away, Katherine and I packed up the van and headed South in search of sun and sand. Destination for the weekend was Gatorback park for the latest F.T.R race.
Lining up at the start with my former teammates Jimmy Jarrett and Scotty Watkins, as well as all the top local Florida riders who are pretty quick in the sand.
A poor start again left me with some work to do. The track was a fun mix of sand whoops in the trees and some hard pack sections around the quarry that the track looped around. I worked my way forward slowly and by the fuel stop was battling for the lead with Jimmy and Chris Bach on his new KTM. After the gas stop I moved into the lead and put my head down. It was tough to make a break for it with a lot of lappers and some narrow sections of track where all you could do was just follow and allow the lead you had just built evaporate. I eventually gained enough of a lead that I could work my way through any hold ups and not be caught by 2nd and 3rd. With the chequers out I took my first win on the Yamaha in the States.
We now have just over a week to do any final preperation to the bike before the first GNCC kicks of on Tuesday. So its riding sand and thawing out after the unseasonable cold weather we have had in SC.
Results:
