Jarrod McClure's
GNCC John Penton & WORCS Riverdale Report
GNCC ATV Racing - Round
8 - Millfield, OH
WORCS ATV Racing - Round 5 - Toutle, WA
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Jarrod Mcclure finished
9th in the John Penton GNCC on his Yamaha
YFZ450
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Kaska, PA (6/11/2009) -It was time
again to go GNCC racing. The John Penton GNCC is
a different due to the extreme weather conditions
it always presents. It seems that every year it
is either extremely muddy or dusty. This year would
be a little different than any other year though
because I had to hurry out of the track once again
on Saturday night to catch a plane to Washington
for round five of the WORCS racing series.
Arriving at the track, I was surprised to see
very nice conditions. It was a little wet but
not enough whereas mud would be an issue. With
no rain in the forecast I realized we might actually
be in for a nice race! I geared up and headed
over to the start. The sun was out and the temperatures
were hot with highs in the mid 80’s! The
flag waved and I had a great jump heading into
the woods in fifth place right behind Chris Borich.
The track had a lot of fresh new trail cut in.
They were super-tight, and very slick and muddy.
You had to try to be smooth and pick smart lines,
because a little hot into a corner and you were
sliding into the trees. I was able to pass Borich
and also Adam Mcgill, Bryan Cook, and Taylor Kiser
who all had troubles in the tight woods. I was
going along good till I slid into a tree allowing
a pack of riders to get by. I got straightened
out and on my way again riding behind Bryan Cook.
At the end of lap one I came up to a mud hole,
and when I entered a stick cross rutted me in
the mud, allowing a train of riders to get by
me. I came through the checkpoint in 14th place,
and headed out for lap two. The track was getting
a lot rougher and rutted out and the tight woods
kept you on your toes. This was the tightest track
we raced on all year! For the next two laps I
stayed smooth and was able to pass Ryan Lane,
and Brent Sturdivant.
I pitted at the end of lap three and was sitting
around 12th place. On the last two laps I got
by Johnny Gallagher and William Yokley and I actually
had a good battle going with Don Ockerman. I crossed
the finish in 9th place. I would have like to
have done a little better, but a top ten is a
top ten right!
With the race was over now it was time to head
to the airport and make my flight to Seattle for
the WORCS race on Sunday. I waited for Wes Stone
to come off the tack and we loaded up and headed
for Columbus airport.
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Jarrod McClurewent
into the race blind due to racing the
GNCC on Saturday
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I made my flight with little time to spare and I
arrived in Washington at 11:30 pm. I had Chris Webb
and Lisa Breshears with Atvriders.com pick me up
at the airport. I decided to crash at their place
and head to the track in the morning.
The track was about two hours from the house,
so we left at 6:00am to make sure we were there
on time. Arriving at the track I went over to
Motoworks and did some last minute prep work on
the bike. I wasn’t able to ride the track
at all, because practice was on Saturday, so I
was going in blind like last time. A lot of riders
told me the track was my kind of track, meaning
it had trees!
‘
The start was on a motocross gate like always,
and after the parade lap we lined up and awaited
the drop. I had a decent start, probably somewhere
around 8th. I was riding behind John Shafe for
the first lap until I felt the track out. The
track had tons of turns! It was also very whooped
out and had some wide-open sections. I could feel
my shoulders a little fatigued from Saturdays
race.
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Jarrod Mcclure scored
his 2nd Straight WORCS podium finish
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By lap two I had a smooth pace going and was
getting comfortable on my Honda. I passed Shafe,
and eventually also got by Josh Row and Mike Machado.
My EXIT suspension was working flawless on the
track, and I felt really smooth out there. About
halfway through the race I made a quick pitstop
with Motoworks.
With two laps two go I caught Dustin Nelson,
and was pushing him hard trying to make a pass.
He broke his link on his steering stabilizer in
an earlier crash and I could tell he was fighting
the bike. Coming into the first woods section
Dustin clipped a tree sending him over the bars
hard and pinning him against a tree. I immediately
stopped and pulled his quad back making sure he
was okay! I got going again in third place, and
stayed there for the last two laps.
This was my second podium in a row and I was
excited to see some hard work payoff! I am looking
forward to the next round at Straddleline MX Park.
I will be back in august and have my Honda dialed
in and ready to go. For now I have to get my Yamaha
ready for the AMA Harescramble this weekend at
Miles Mountain in Pennsylvania! I will see ya
there!
I’d also like to
thank my sponsors: Motoworks,
Bowers Motorcycle Supplies, Atvriders.com, Motoprotraining,
GBC Tires, Motoworks, Exit Shocks, Ars-fx, Tireballs,
Pro Armor, Hiper, Shift, Powermadd, Pro Taper,
Yamaha, Precision, DP Brakes, Graphic Creations,
friends and family, also Mike Cafro Racing.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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