Okeechobee GNCC

We spent the last few days before we left for the GNCC working on bikes and putting in lots of time on the new box van before we left.  We had the van painted by streamline auto body in Campbell and it was looking good and orange.  We finished insulating and installing the walls and put up the wall between the bikes and the living area.  We have six feet up front for living area and nine feet in back for the bikes and gear.  We then began working on the workbench and installed shelves under the bench and a tire rack.  We got a bike tied down on the passenger side and then used a bike shoe to hold the second bike right next to it and that left plenty of room to walk through the door and get to the workbench.  We build a bed up front that also doubles as a couch with lots of room under to store the ice chest and cloths bags.  We were stoked on the way it turned out and took off on Thursday morning.  We didn't have the right license or registration yet since it is new but weren't worried since we just got it insured.  The driving was nice in the new box van.  It likes to cruise about 75 down the freeway and was nice to sleep in when the other was driving.  I had the hard shift and drove through  Thursday and Friday until four in the morning without getting too tired.  We got to Florida on Saturday and got in contact with Shane Watts who was staying with Jimmy Jarrett at Bobby's house in Orlando.  Bobby was cool with everyone there and we all went out Saturday night for a little while to see what Orlando was all about.  Orlando rocked but we were tired and took off a little early and went back and got some sleep.  The next day we went riding at a local riding area.  There was a bunch of locals with quads and no helmets going everywhere so we set up a track in the back.  The track was really fast and was a bunch of fun with a bunch of jumps like dunes and big sand hills.  We rode for quite a while which loosened us up and got us ready to race.  Unfortunately Shane Watts tried to ride for the first time after injuring his wrist but he wasn't ready yet.  On Monday we went down to the track for practice that afternoon.  They had a couple mile loop set up along with the mototrack that was really rough but was fun.  The mototack was fun and it was nice getting to do the jumps a couple of times before the race.  We were glad we got to ride couple of times and felt ready to race.  

The opening GNCC in Florida had about the biggest gathering of talent at any off road race ever.  In addition to the GNCC regulars from Suzuki, Kawi, Yamaha and KTM, there were west coast riders Destry Abbott, Russ Pearson, Ty Davis, Brian Brown. and GP hero Kurt Nicoll.  The only person out of action was Shane Watts who hopes to be ready for the third round in North Carolina.  Brian and I had about the twentieth pick on the gate but had a good strait line to the first turn.  We got pinched off in the first turn and just tried to stay up but both ended up falling.  I was the last one going and saw riders getting up from the second turn when I got there.  I began to make passes on riders and was feeling good when I got any open ground.  I was making some progress up the field and banked off a big berm and cut to the inside to pass a couple of guys.  They didn't jump a little table top and I had a good straight line and hit it in a good spot in third gear.  When I left the ground I jumped it fine but the wind caught my bike in the air.  It blew my bike and rotated it and I put my foot out to keep up.  When I hit the ground I could feel my leg break and I separated from the bike.  I crawled off of the track and could feel the bones rubbing against each other just below the knee.  I could feel the bones against the skin and that had me worried.  I remember yelling I broke my leg, I couldn't believe it, I never wanted to do that and didn't think I landed that hard.  Right away there was some medical personal there and the got me off the track further and onto a backboard with a neckbrace.  They brought me over to the ambulance, then off to the hospital.  When I left I could hear the announcer and the first riders weren't even done with the first lap and I was out of there.  Thanks to all of the on track personal for dealing with so quickly.  Brian was making up ground on the first lap and came in 12th the first lap.  He said he felt good but the track was really rough.  He passed a bunch of top name riders that lap and knew he was going to have to keep charging to have a good finish.  He continued to charge though the dust and the whoops and got into the top ten by the time he pitted after the second lap.  Brian continued on and was caught by Randy Hawkins and Barry Hawk which was good since they kept pushing Brian.  By the second pit Brian was up to seventh place.  Brian said he charged the whole race in the fast stuff and only slowed about two laps through the deepest whoops through the pamento, which were dangerous and took a whole lot of energy.  Brian made one last pass on Randy on the last lap for seventh.  Jason Raines had the best race of his life and dominated the race from the third lap on, winning by over three minutes.  Fred Andews came back from a crash in the second turn pinnin it all day and moving up to second.  Third went to the defending champ Rodney Smith who rode up front all day and was happy to finish on the podium since he figures that was the hardest race for him and his riding style.  Russ Peason led early until he hit his foot on a pamento and then was caught by a lead pack of riders who were riding very hard.  He battled most of the day with Mike Lafferty who is riding a 400 4-stroke this year and seems very comfortable on it.  Mike was a little disappointed with his ride and no doubt will win his first GNCC this year.  Barry Hawk charged to sixth, followed by Brian, and GP rider Kurt Nicoll who has a newfound respect for the toughness and speed of the GNCC racers, with Hare and Hound champ Destry Abbott coming out from Arizona to round out the top ten.

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