Jarrod McClure
GNCC Pro ATV Race Report “The Spartan”
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#14 Jarrod McClure
finishes in the top 5 overall at "The
Spartan"
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Sparta, KY (6/1/2008) - With
three weeks off between Ohio and Kentucky, I took
the time to complete tear down on my Honda and
grease every bearing and check over everything
in an attempt to avoid the issues that I encountered
in Ohio. Once everything was re-assembled, I broke
it in at a local race in Pennsylvania, and it
allowed me to get everything dialed in and ready
to go for Kentucky. With the quad ready, I then
focused on preparing myself for the next round
by meeting with Moto Pro Trainer, Marc Sparta,
who has been working with me for several rounds
on conditioning, and the results of my pre-race
efforts spoke for themselves with my second top
5 overall finish of the season.
Enough about the break, lets talk about race.
Before heading to the line, I spoke with my good
friend and up and coming youth racer, Derrec Robinson,
who won the 90 Modified class and finished 2nd
Overall. He gave me a little info on the track
conditions, and from what I heard it wasn’t
really dusty and it had some fast sections. I
also knew the start was going to be slippery from
all the freshly cut hay on the track.
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Jarrod McClure spins
around on the hay as he goes through the
first turn
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With the heat and high humidity, I was thankful
for my vented shift racing gear, which kept me
fairly cool waiting on the starting line for the
start of the race, but in no time, the flag flew,
and I had a great jump! If I had been closer to
the inside I would have had the holeshot! Instead
I tried to cut in and got punted like a football
sideways into the second turn across the slick
grass. I some how got straightened out and faired
out about tenth-not bad.
The track was pretty sweet. It had a little bit
of everything, tight woods, open sections, up-hills,
down-hills, you name it this track had it. I rode
smart the first lap and was able to pass Bryan
Baker and Santo Derisi. I also saw Chris Borich
flipped in the creek. By the second lap, I was
up into fifth behind Matt Smiley. I got around
him on an uphill section, and just tried to keep
riding smart. Near the end of the third lap, Bill
Ballance came ripping by me. He was moving! I
could tell he wanted to win in his home state.
He was on a mission!
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Jarrod McClure charging
after Bryan Cook
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By the fourth lap, I had Bryan Cook come up behind
me and eventually make the pass.. From there on
I stuck right behind Cook, and we charged to the
checkered flag. By the 10-mile marker, we each
gained a position when we passed Adam McGill sidelined
with some tough luck as he appeared to have a
chain or sprocket issue.
In a final dash to the finish line, I tried and
tried to make the pass on Cook, but I just couldn’t
make anything stick. I was using a new breathing
technique that Marc showed me, and it really helped
me push till the end, but Cook is just a super
smooth rider, and I couldn’t get him to
make a mistake. I crossed the finish line in fifth,
and was happy with the top five finish.
I had a flawless day, and would like to thank
my pit crew for a quick pit stop, which helped
me stay with the lead pack, and with two top 5
finishes, I am really starting to build some confidence
in myself, and I now have my sights set on a Podium
finish before the end of the year.
Between now and the GNCC Round 8, I am going
to race at Miles Mountain, which is round 3 of
the AMA Hare Scramble Championship, so if I don’t
catch ya there, I’ll see you at Yadkinville!
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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