Paul Whibley's 2nd overall in the GNCC With two rounds cancelled earlier in the season due to flooding and bad weather, a double header weekend at Lorretta Lynns was planned to make up the events. The racing was intense right of the bat with plenty of rubbing going into turn one. Josh Strang came up the inside of me and hit me pretty good bending my gear lever almost beyond use. My good start evaporated when I went to shift up and couldn’t find the gear lever with my foot, everyone else was hooking gears and flew past me. I eventually found that by taking my foot off the peg and pointing my toes in I could shift. I rode most of the lap in third but surprisingly I wasn’t loosing time and even made some passes. I was going to stop in the pits next time through but decided to persevere for a couple laps then we could gas and fix the lever at the same time.  The gamble paid off as I wasn’t too far back at the gas stop and with the lever bent back to a useful position I was back in the race. I worked my way forward and moved into second and eating into Charlie Mullins lead. With a lap and a half to go lady luck swung our way with Charlie dropping out with bike problems. Taking the win meant moving up to second overall in the points and tearing a big chunk out of Charlie’s championship lead. The start on the second day was a carbon copy of the first with Strang hitting me again, a quick check of the gear lever and all seemed good, leaping to an early lead crossing the creek. I felt good up front and knew it was where I needed to be but was struggling with the suspension setup. I couldn’t push hard without risking a crash and just before the end of the lap Mullins came by. I maintained second for a couple more laps until Kailub Russell took the position. I regained second briefly after Kailub went down on a deteriorating track but he recovered quickly and retook the position a lap later. Finishing the race in 3rd and securing 2nd in the championship. Huge thankyou to Katherine, Scotty and Gary, the whole AmPro Yamaha team and all the great sponsors and supporters for making this possible. Paul Whibley is supported by: AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Sargent Motorcycles, Yamaha NZ, Rosscos Start up Services, Works Connection, Pro Taper, Race Pace Services, Unabiker, Leatt Brace, Tire Balls, bikesportnz.com The AmPro Yamaha Team is supported by: FMF Kenda Yamalube Asterisk CV4 Cycle Gear E-Batt EBC Brakes Factory Connection Fastway Gaerne GYTR IMS Leatt Brace Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse Scott Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Cycra Twin Air Wiseco ZipTy Racing AllBalls Racing Pro Taper GNCC comment by Shan Moore: Rewinding to Friday, Mullins suffered a mechanical issue near the end of a race that he indisputably dominated, while Paul Whibley and Josh Strang closed the points gap on the American off-road racing star heading into Sunday's finale. Mullins proved that he could handle the pressure, though, riding his way to claim his first-ever GNCC XC1 title. And to top it off, Mullins also won the $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award at the start of the race.  who won the title in 2009. In fact, Mullins is the first American to win the GNCC title since Rodney Smith held it in 2004, which demonstrates the wide reaching scope of GNCC Racing. To put the significance of Mullins' title in perspective, seven of the last 11 GNCC championships have been won by foreign riders, including the last five straight:
To say the least, Mullins' win was a popular one, especially since he's been racing the series since he was a youth rider. |