Jarrod McClure
Pro ATV Race Report - GNCC Round 1 - The Triton
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Jarrod McClure
Showing off on his Shiny Honda 450R ATV
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Melbourne, FL (3/5/2008) - With
the holidays over, and the Superbowl behind us,
it is a good indication that GNCC racing is right
around the corner. It was about a week away from
the season opener, the Triton, which was to be
held at Kempfer Family Ranch, near Melbourne FL,
and I was finally getting everything wrapped up
at the last minute as usual. This year will be
my first time on Pro Row, so I wanted everything
to be perfect and looking sharp. We had our enclosed
trailer wrapped with full Atvriders.com graphics,
thanks to Vinyl-Ad wraps, and also got hooked
up with a sweet graphics kit for the ATV from
317 graphics, and some awesome looking imitation
carbon fiber plastic from Maier-Mfg. I will be
racing a 2005 Honda TRX450R this year just like
last year, and with the help of my mechanic Jonathan
Bowers, Matt Smiley, Scott Samuel and Wes Stone,
I got the Elka/Laeger’s suspension dialed
in and ready to go.
We decided that we would leave from my hometown
of Kaska, PA on Wednesday and head down to Croom
State Forest Riding Facility, which turned out
to be the perfect place to get in some testing
for the Florida terrain. We arrived at the track
early on Saturday. We were interested to see all
of the major factory teams that would be there
this year. It was great to see the factories stepping
in and helping out so many of the top riders.
Some of the Pro’s changes this year will
include Chris Borich on a factory Suzuki ride,
while Chris Bithell, Chris Jenks, Duane Johnson,
and Brent Sturdivant will all be riding Can-Ams.
KTM riders Adam McGill and Taylor Kiser were also
in attendance getting in some practice before
the big day. Despite all of the new factory 450
rides, there was also a handful of top pros, including
myself, still running the tried and true Honda
450R. After taking in all the action, I knew Sunday’s
race would be a very interesting one and I was
anxious to see how the new ATV’s would perform
in the brutal Florida sand.
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Jarrod McClure
ripping his ATV through the woods
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Practice had arrived on Saturday and the tracked
appeared to be a little more hard-packed than
in the last couple of years, but after a few laps
it got just as whooped out as always, and had
berms that were about three feet high! Adding
to the punishing whoop sections were the palmetto
roots that literally jerked the bars right out
of your hand. One good thing I noticed was that
as the track got run down into the wet sand, it
eliminated most of the dust.
As Sunday morning rolled around, the weather
was sunny and mild, but as the day went on, the
temperature began to increase, which would be
a factor in the performance of some racers throughout
the day. Finally it was time for the A.M. youth
race to begin. One of my fellow riders, Austin
Findley, took the win in his class and claimed
third place overall for the youth classes. (Way
to go Austin!) The next morning race to get underway
was the Women’s classes. Angel Atwell secured
the morning overall win and the Women’s
class win. (Congrats to her as well.)
It was now time for the pro race to begin. After
a quick warm up and some stretches I suited up
in my new Shift gear, and was ready to go. Once
I got to the line, and line up of the 26 Pros
began, I realized that I had never drawn a spoon
at sign in and ended up with the third to last
pick on the gate! The flag dropped and my bike
fired instantly, allowing me to get the jump over
several riders. It seemed like I was off to a
great start until the number twenty-two bike of
Jeffery Pickens was forced up under my bike sending
us both upside down on our heads!
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McClure's
ATV Trailer with Graphics done by Vinyl-Ad
wraps
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McClure had
a rough start but was able to recover
and finished in the top 10
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At this point, I new it was going to be a long
day in the Florida sand and heat. Once I got turned
back over, with the help from my mechanic, Jon
Bowers, I ended up following Pickens into the
woods in dead last. It turned out to be a very
dusty first couple of miles, until we caught up
to the rest of the pack. I was trying to maintain
a smooth pace, yet pick off as many riders as
possible. The bike seemed to be working flawless
for me with the Elka suspension really soaking
up the whoops and palmetto roots. By the end of
the first lap I was in 21st place and had a feel
for the track. I started to push a little harder
and by lap two I had moved up to 13th place.
I caught and passed some Can-Am riders who seemed
to be having a tough time in the whoops with the
new machines, but with a little more testing I’m
sure they will be running stronger. One by one
I just kept picking people off, and set a steady
pace for myself. By the last lap I was up to 10th
place and figured it was time to push it, which
paid off in the end allowing me to catch and pass
Can-Am’s Chris Bithell for 9th place.
When it was finally time for the checkered flag
I was exhausted! I was very happy with my top
ten finish coming from dead last. All of my training
in the Pennsylvania cold had paid off! Chris Borich
ended up with the win with Bryan Cook taking second
and Bill Ballance taking third.
With Florida out of the way, and my hands basically
blister free, I am looking forward to Georgia!
See you there!
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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