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Jarrod McClure Pro ATV Race Report - GNCC Round 1 - The Triton

Jarrod McClure ATVRiders.com ATV

Jarrod McClure Showing off on his Shiny Honda 450R ATV

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.

Jarrod McClure 450R ATV

Jarrod McClure ripping his ATV through the woods

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!

ATVRiders.com McClure ATV Trailer   Jarrod McClure GNCC ATV Crash

McClure's ATV Trailer with Graphics done by Vinyl-Ad wraps

 

McClure had a rough start but was able to recover and finished in the top 10

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!

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