Paul Whibley race report - GNCC Round 4 South Carolina

Round 4 of the GNCC series turned out to be a disappointing race for myself. I had planned on putting in another good performance like Round 2 of the series where I put my Yamaha in the centre of the box but a poor start didn’t help my cause.

When the green flag waved I was left stranded on the start line, a couple of kicks later I was underway. I latched on to the back of the pack and in the few open turns closed in on the top ten. The first few miles was pretty dusty and moving up much further was risky until we spread out a little and vision improved.

I hooked up with Chris Bach on his Beta and my former teammate Jimmy Jarrett on his GEICO Honda. I got past both of them after a couple of laps but it had taken me too long to make the move and the leaders had already put a sizeable gap on me.

I pushed hard to try and reduce that gap but it wasn’t happening. The guys up front were in their own battle and I imagine, able to key off each other and learn the fastest lines. I seemed to be stuck in no man’s land.                                                 




The bike was working great and my Kenda tyres were finding some great traction but I couldn’t find my way up to that podium.

Pretty disappointed with my 6th place. I really need to get up on that box soon and reflect some of the hard work my team is putting in to get me to the line. Still, there are a few races left in the championship and plenty of points still on the table.

The 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series heads to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee for the Parts Unlimited Loretta Lynn's GNCC on April 30 and May 1.  ATV racing will take place on Saturday, followed by bike racing on Sunday.  

GNCC Round 4 South Carolina - XC1 Results:

1. Charlie Mullins (KTM)

2. Josh Strang (Suz)

3. Kailub Russell (KTM)

4. Cory Buttrick (KTM)

5. Russell Bobbitt (KTM)

6. Paul Whibley (Yam)

7. Nate Kanney (KTM)

8. Chris Bach (Bet)

9. Jimmy Jarrett (Hon)

10. Mike Lafferty (Hsb)

 

XC1 Standings:

1. Charlie Mullins (100/2 win)

2. Josh Strang (98/1 win)

3. Paul Whibley (73)

4. Cory Buttrick (72)

5. Nate Kanney (58)

6. Kailub Russell (53)

7. Chris Bach (48)

8. Garrett Edmisten (46)

9. Mike Lafferty (46)

10. Jimmy Jarrett (43)

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

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 Matrix Racing Products Motion Pro MSR Pro-Clean Rekluse Scott Shoei Slavens TM Designworks Twin Air Wiseco ZipTy Racing