Unadilla was the site for Round 11 of the GNCC Championship and it also marked the site of my very first victory in the series! You can believe me when I say I was the last person who expected this. Although I was reasonably confident that I could ride quite well at this venue, I also knew the capabilities of the competitors I would be up against.
With so much pressure to do well here again after last year's inspired ride to second overall, I took a different perspective on the starting line than I usually have. I went to the line looking forward to the drive home and the storytelling that you can expect out of a GNCC with muddy conditions like we were faced with. Not only that but I also decided that I was going to go out and race for myself and refrain from putting undue pressure on myself to do well for my sponsors. As it turned out, I might not have been the fastest, but I got into a position where I could control the race from the lead.
For the start of the race I had the 14th pick on the line according to my current point's position which was not so good, although luckily the spot I wanted was still available when it was my turn to go to the line. All the grass tracks we did in the beginning of the race were more slippery then I can even describe, so I was very anxious to get out to a good start. Going into the first turn I was near the front, although I went into survival mode when I got hit from the inside. I managed to get through the first turn without crashing but then someone crashed right in front of me and I had to slow way down to go around the downed rider.
By the time I got to the second turn there were enough riders who had crashed that the turn was nearly blocked altogether. Despite the early mayhem, I was riding well and by the halfway point of the first lap I had taken over the lead of the race! At that moment I knew I was in good shape for a strong finish because I was leading without taking any chances or even pushing very hard; I just rode the pace that was the most comfortable for me.
At the conclusion of the first lap I had a 33-second lead on Jimmy Jarrett and nearly a minute on Juha Salminen. I knew that if I could remain in that comfort zone and put 6 clean laps in I would have a great shot at the win. Shortly into the second lap I got to the first major mud bog and made an impulsive decision that got me as badly stuck in the mud as I have ever been.
While about 4 spectators worked feverishly to get my bike out, I could see the other riders cruise right by me one at a time. It nearly cracked me emotionally to have the whole race in the palm of my hand and lose it so quickly. When my heroes finally got me out of that treacherous rut, I was back in 4th or 5th position, but before I even had time to catch my breath I had already caught back up to the tail end of the new lead pack. I easily made my way through them again and took back the lead, finishing the second lap with 21-seconds over Mullins and 44-seconds over Salminen.
On the third lap, Mullins put in the fastest pace of the day. I could see that he was trying to break away, but I just kept riding comfortably and ended up losing 3-seconds to him. On the fourth lap, Mullins made a savage charge through the bogs in the beginning and pulled ahead and out of my site. Salminen was also on the gas and he was charging like mad to catch Mullins. Yuha got by me and was going bloody fast but I knew it was too quick for the terrible conditions so I just continued to stick to my pace. Shortly thereafter Yuha got cross rutted and went face down in a huge puddle and I knew he would have a rough time recovering from a crash like that. Shortly afterward, I passed Mullins back and suspected a problem because he didn't have the speed he had the lap before.
At the conclusion of lap 4 I had 18-seconds on Mullins and more than a minute on Yuha. That was also when I took the two lap board. I went in for gas and new goggles and had a little lecture with myself so to speak about keeping it together for two more laps. I knew that both Charlie and Yuha would be very strong and I was prepared to battle with them in the closing stages of the race. I told myself to just keep the pace I was comfortable with and only worry about sprinting it in if my friend Shawn Jackson told me to do so on the pit board. I kept a smooth pace and forced myself to be patient at every mud bog to look for the best line. At the close of lap 5 I had 34-seconds on Yuha and a minute and a half on Charlie.
My instructions from Shawn on the pit board were to just "Keep Your Pace" and did not include the time, which was comforting because Shawn knows I always want the times. I knew it was looking good if he didn't need to give them to me. For the last lap, I made a slightly faster pace but without riding any more aggressively. The moment that I knew I had control of the race was about halfway into that lap when I saw Shawn on the moto track and he didn't have that cold white serious look on his face saying to me, "faster, faster, faster." Instead he was enjoying the moment which told me all I needed to do was get through that last half lap without getting stuck or doing anything silly.
I have never had such a feeling of relief as when I finally crossed the finish line and took the win! At the finish I had 51-seconds over Yuha and 2 minutes and 14 seconds over Charlie. In the end, my big breaks came when Yuha went swimming in the mud and consequently had to stop for new gloves, and when Charlie burnt his clutch out and had to baby it just get to the finish.
With this win I moved up to 11th position in the point standings and still have a good shot at moving up into the top-ten by the end of the season.
Thanks again to everyone!
RER Motocity, Yamaha, SHIFT, One Helmets, Maxxis, Factory Connection, Zip Ty, Spectro, Sidi, E-Line, Dragon, Works Connection, Moto Tassinari, Fastway PMB, Tag, Powersport Grafx, DP, BRP, Am Pro, Asterisk, Autumn Sky Development, Jilcon Development, Charlotte Homes, Woodys Construction, Pro Active Health, Dave Bradley and Steve Hatch.
Also thanks to all my family and friends for supporting me through the years, and all the spectators for cheering me on out there!
Nate
http://www.shiftracing.com