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Race Report: GNCC Round 2, Georgia
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: Am-Pro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha WR 450
Result: 2nd XC1
Round 2 of the GNCCs was held near Washington Georgia. With some work done to make sure the problems we had in Florida were a thing of the past, I was confident of a better result this time out.
My jump off the line was ok but got pinched out coming into turn one. I was able to duck up the inside and into the top 5 and avoid a pile up.
During the first lap there were several lead changes but eventually my teammate Thad Duvall made a break for it and took control of the race. He set a fast pace and built a lead of over 40 seconds.
The track was in good shape and the mudholes were minimal, although still catching some riders out. It was also pretty rough with the puggy soil in the woods cutting up fast.
I was racing with Josh Strang for 2nd place in the first half of the event until I collided with a lapped rider and lost a lot of time trying to restart my bike.
Josh closed in on Thad and they duked it out until Thad crashed heavily and retired from the race.
Late in the race I wore through my grip on the throttle side and could feel it balling up under my thumb but it didn't really effect my speed. Josh was riding good and no matter how much I tried I couldn't make up any time and had to take second.
I was happier with the result but these first 2 races have highlighted some things we need to work on and we plan to be a lot more prepared by the Steel Creek GNCC and be ready to make up some lost points.
Results
1st: Josh Strang, Suz
2nd: Paul Whibley, Yam
3rd: Chris Bach, KTM
