GNCC Round 1
River Ranch, FL
www.gnccracing.com
This race came only 11 days after the WORCS beat-down I received in California. I jumped at the chance to go along to Florida with Yamaha's Tim Olson for an off-road doubleheader. Thank goodness we had two YZ250s prepped for serious sand blasting. At this point I already started noticing the big differences in each series.
The GNCC series is about as varying in terrain as you can get (next to the National Enduro scene) and is alone in its sheer quantity of participants. It literally blankets the eastern U.S.! The youth racers wake up early and race 90 minutes. C and Industry (that's me), plus old farts (over 50) race two hours, and the Pro and B classes race for a ridiculous three hours after everyone else has beat the track to hell.
The GNCC is a lot like a WORCS race in theory. However, if you hammer down 100 percent in the first few laps, you'll be left with an empty tank at the finish line. The racecourses aren't usually single-track but never grow much past two-track-wide, either, so they're tight enough to rub some lumber with your knuckles. Bottlenecks can and will happen at mudholes, water crossings and hillclimbs--something you don't have to worry about in most WORCS races. Gas stops are a must, even with bigger tanks, and also in the shorter Amateur classes. Don't think you won't need to carry water, either. And grabbing an energy gel at a gas stop will keep you from passing out for a lap or so. All of this is what you have to worry about after you master the dead-engine start. You can back the pace down in hopes of maintaining your energy levels, but try that when you're being tailgated through palmetto roots and sand whoops. And this is only Florida!
Look ma! Yamaha still makes...
Look ma! Yamaha still makes YZ250 two-strokes!
That's a lot to deal with; I don't care who you are.
Bikes take more of a beating in GNCC races, too. More rocks, more trees, more water and more time on the bike make pretty much everything about this series more painful than WORCS. That is except for speed. GNCC races are generally at a slower pace in tighter conditions for longer duration. Which is harder? Hold on, we're not done yet.