Justin Williamson GNCC Rnd. 1 race report
The first GNCC National of the 2007 season is history. It was a cool race, with a huge turn out, a great course, and perfect weather. Kurt Caselli's great ride for his win in the new XC-2 class was no surprise. Besides, he borrowed one of my excellent new bikes to do it on. My Red Bull KTM Team had a great day all around, with 2 riders on each podium--XC-1 and XC-2. Less than 4 months after my knee surgery, I'm probably not the only one surprised at my XC-2 runner-up finish behind Kurt; and a 12th overall out of 60 Pros that started the race!
There had been no rain in the area for quite a while, so we knew it would be a dusty one. We also geared up some, because the word was, we'd need the top speeds for the long stretches of fields on the 12 mile course. If there's a weakness in my skills, it would be fast, dusty, sand races. I'm on a great bike though--The KTM 250 XC-F. With plenty of sand practice in the past couple of weeks, I felt confident, until I pulled up to the starting line. After not racing all winter, it was a little overwhelming for a few minutes, until I remembered that I was the highest ranked guy in the new "Lites" class. No worries.
The XC-1 line took off with a massive roost, and left the rest of us fired up and anxious. A minute later, my sweet KTM e-starter, Michelin MS3 and some seriously nasty power flung me into the 1st corner with only a few other guys there. But pretty soon I heard the rest of them coming like a freight train. They were being super aggressive, so I just went with the flow. Besides, the dust was so thick, we couldn't see anything. I block-passed someone going into the woods, and was then in a good position--about 4th or 5th. We were suddenly forced to become expert trials riders just to stay upright on some of the sickest Palmetto roots I've ever ridden on. Those things will take you down with no warning. I know, because it happened to me a bunch of times that day.
For the first half of the lap, I just railed! First I just powered past Chris Robertson down a long whoop section. Then I caught up to Dustin Gibson and followed him through a patch of Palmettos. He was moving good, but suddenly his front wheel stopped, and he did a spectacular endow. Luckily, he was all right.
I almost never experience arm pump, but soon my arms started to pump up. I desperately tried to remember how to handle it; it had been so long. I finally realized I was holding on too tight, out of fear, on those high-speed field sections. The Pros aren't allowed to see the course until Sunday morning, so almost everything on the first lap is a surprise. I needed to stay looser, yet very ready. I relaxed my arms at every opportunity. It worked! Soon I was running fast again.
When I messed up on the Palmettos near the end of lap one, Thad Duvall passed me. I followed him for a while, until we came into another Palmetto section, where he slid out hard on the roots. I just cruised around him and took off. At the end of the first lap, I was in 3rd and feeling strong again.
Halfway through the 2nd lap, I caught up to Scott Watkins. We were very close together, making lots of noise ripping down through a nasty, muddy, rutted field, when I got cross-rutted. My bike was thrown into a patch of Palmettos that grabbed me tight. As my wheel spun, it was only going deeper into the muddy sand. I was stuck! Then I was lucky--a spectator came over and helped me get out.
Even though a bunch of guys got by me, I was up and running again; and I mean running. That KTM motor never let anyone out-drag me all day. I was even pulling some XC-1 Pros on 450s. My little mud episode set me back to 8th place at the end of the 2nd lap, so I had to get to it--time was running out. I didn't have time for any more big screw-ups. From my days as an amateur racer in Florida, I know that sand mud can be bottomless. I was lucky the first time. I decided to be my old conservative self in the muddy spots, and rail hard everywhere else.
By then I was really pressing. The Palmetto garden sections would take me down now and then. Only some bumps and bruises, but not much lost time. I couldn't believe my radiators were taking all that crashing though. My plastics were toast after the race, but those KTM radiators are very strong--no leaks.
By the end of the third lap I was in 6th. At that point, my speed was good (as Juha would say), so I rode with confidence. I concentrated on clearing my mind--no distractions, "just do your job (Juha again)"!
By the 4th lap I'd found my groove for the first time in 5 months. I easily moved through the pack. First I caught P A Allen and got by easily. Then getting by Watkins was a little tougher the second time. He had some fight left in him, so he kept closing down the inside line on each corner. I decided to take a chance, and just carry a ton of speed around the outside line of a huge sand berm. It set me up for the inside line on the next corner, but Scott was right next to me; one hesitation or missed shift and he had me. The only other way he could beat me to that corner was to bump me, or intimidate me. Scott knew neither would work on me. He laid off, and I was off to chase down Cole.
As I came up on Cole, with 2 laps to go, he pulled in the pits for fuel. I sailed by, but I knew he'd be in the hunt. Soon I caught Josh Weisenfels, who was in 2nd place. We were blasting huge sand berms and drag racing down the long field sections between each one. The whole time, I kept repositioning for a pass, first on the inside, then trying the outside. He was smart and fast. He knew how to close