Whibs' 2011 Campaign

[denill]

Race Report: GNCC Round 2
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st

Round 1 of the GNCC series didn’t go to plan but we made up for it at the second round in
Georgia. A top 10 start wasn’t too bad with a couple of early passes I was in contact of the lead
bunch.

The track was rough and soft in the trees with a lot of lines fanning out through the wet
sections. These provided plenty of opportunities for passing and allowed some great racing
with the lead changing constantly and a bunch of riders all wanting a piece of the pie.
Midway through the 3 hour event the battle was still raging with hole shotter Nate Kanney,
Suzukis’ Josh Strang, round 1 winner Charlie Mullins, KTMs’ Cory Buttrick, myself and my team
mate Thad Duvall still duking it out for the lead. With about three laps to go Josh and Thad
began to open up a small lead. I was behind Nate Kanney in 4th and quickly needed to get by
him to bridge that gap to remain in contact with the lead.

As we came out across an open field I out braked Nate going back into the woods and chased down
Thad and Josh. With two laps to go I moved into the lead and tried to open my own gap. Going into the last lap I think I had
almost 15 seconds over Josh but he was pushing hard and was not going to hand it to me. I
continued to keep the pace on and maintain the lead. Mid last lap a branch nearly ended my
run for the win, smashing me in the face and nearly cleaning me off the bike. It broke off my
Smith roll-off canister and half tore the lense out of the frame. Lucky the Smith goggles are
quality equipment and I was able to carry on although I was struggling to see out my left eye
with it swelling fast. I made it to the line with a small buffer over Josh to claim my first win of
the season.


1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Josh Strang
3rd: Thad Duvall

Paul Whibley is supported in NZ by:
AmPro Yamaha, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith,
G2, CTi, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders
MCC, Darbis, GHQ, Pirelli, Sargent Motorcycles,
Yamaha NZ, Rosscos Start up Services

[denill]

1st in this race puts him 3rd overall and only 3 points behind damn good recovery!!

2011 is looking better already.

[denill]

Race Report: Mid East HS Series Round 2
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st

Round 2 of the Mid East HS series was held near Morganton North Carolina over the weekend, and being only two hours drive from the AmPro team base was nice. With the first pick of the line I took the inside line for the very short start straight. I got a good jump and was side by side with Stu Baylor going round turn one. I had a better line going into turn two and took the lead. Mid first lap the track split up one hill, I chose the left line, Stu and Jesse Robinson took the faster right line and inherited the lead. Later in the lap I was able to return the favour on an off camber hill where both Stu and Jesse struggled and took bad lines allowing me back into the lead.

Coming around to complete the first lap I led the way through the barrels. On the second lap I had a small moment on an exposed root and lost drive up a hill climb allowing Jesse to slip by into the lead again. As we closed in on the MX track at the end of the lap I closed in on Jesse and was able to sneak up the inside of him as we approached the double jump.

During the week we were able to test some new Kenda tires and I ran the new Millville combo at this race and I have to say they performed great, finding traction on the range of conditions from hard pack to loam at this race track. From lap three onwards I was able to begin to open a gap and build a lead. By the time the flag came out at the two hour mark I had over a minute lead.

Thanks to Katherine and Scotty for keeping the pits running smoothly and the bike and body fuelled.

1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Stu Baylor
3rd: Jesse Robinson

Paul Whibley is supported in NZ 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

[NordieBoy]

Going nicely. Hiccups and still wins...

I think he'd even be able to beat me now.

[kezzafish]

awesome, cheers Denill

[vazza]

Cheers for the consistant updates denill, very good read!

[Katoomer]

Says he had an off day today ending up 5th.
Last into the first corner wouldn't have helped either.

http://www.gnccracing.com/articles/2...eele-creek-win

[denill]

Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 5th
The green flag waved and I sat on the line as the rest of the field roared off towards turn one.
Not exactly sure what happened but the bike just didn’t fire but after several kicks the YZ
sparked to life and I gave chase.
The Steel Creek venue in North Carolina is dominated by the hills and we are typically going up
or down. Another element that is common at this track is the weather, it is always cold. This
year temperatures didn’t rise above 50f (10c) and after the warm weather we have been spoilt
with lately this was hard to take.
I picked a few guys off and moved inside the top 10 but quickly felt my arms pump up and I
began to ride tight. I think it was temperature that played havoc with my forearms. My
progress slowed until I loosened up after the halfway mark then I was able to push again and
make some more passes. Charging past Finnish rider Simo Kirssi and GEICO Honda rider Jimmy
Jarrett, I closed in on the top five. I got stuck in a small mud hole allowing XC2 leader Jason
Thomas by. I got going again and over the last two laps got into a battle with Jason, eventually
getting the position back. Jason had started a row behind me and therefore I needed to put a
minute on him to finish ahead of him overall. On the last lap Katherine was giving me pit
boards with the lead I had built on Jason, 30 seconds then 42 seconds. The last board I got was
45 seconds. I needed 15 seconds over the last couple of miles.
By the time I got to the flag I had done enough to move up to 5th
overall. Not what I was
hoping for but it is some points in the bag.

1st: Josh Strang
2nd: Charlie Mullins
3rd: Cory Buttrick
4th: Kailub Russell
5th: Paul Whibley

[denill]

Have you read this interview with Katherine?

[NordieBoy]

Have now.

[denill]

Race Report: Mid East HS Round 3, NCHSA Round 2
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st, 1st

Double header weekend.

The 3rd Mid East XC was held on Saturday and Round 2 of the North Carolina Hare Scramble Association Series being held on Sunday.

The Mid East race was staged at the Antioch Speedway and the first mile and a half incorporated the dirt track oval and infield. The track also ran through the embankment above the oval allowing spectators to view the first couple miles of the lap. With a pretty high average speed the 6 mile loop was completed in 12 minutes.

I got a good start and swept into the lead as we speed around the dirt track oval. Cory McDonald gave chase on his YZ 450 until a flat tire allowed KTM rider Stu Baylor and my AmPro teammate Jordan Ashburn past. The short fast lap made it tough to really gain an advantage and the traffic was constant. When the day was done I took the win ahead of the battling Stu Baylor and Jordan Ashburn.

Mid East XC
1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Stu Baylor
3rd: Jordan Ashburn

The NCHSA event was held a short drive up the road near Taylorsville NC.

Taking the hole shot helped me gap GEICO Honda rider Jimmy Jarrett early in the race as he recovered from a poor start. The rocky soil was sketchy on the first lap especially in the fresh section that was still covered in leaves. Visiting Aussie Ash Day kept me in sight on the first lap until Jimmy Jarrett took the position, although Jimmy’s day ended early with some bike problems a few laps later. Ash had his own problems with a violent endo putting a finish to a strong run.

I was ticking off safe, smooth laps at the front with my Vortex Ignition and G2 throttle Cams allowing me to find traction in the at times slick rocks. Another Aussie, Ben Kearney nabbed second when the checkered flag was waving.

NCHSA
1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Ben Kearney
3rd: Glenn Drum

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

[Reckless]

Two wins He'll be as stoked as us!!

Thanks Denhill

[denill]

Two wins He'll be as stoked as us!!

Thanks Denhill

Yeah, don't expect ther would a lot of prize money with those events, if any. But I'm inclined to assume he regards riding those events as the best form of training. And if so, I reckon he's right.

He's surely keeping his sponsors happy.

[denill]

Race Report: GNCC Round 4 South Carolina
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 6th

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 tires 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.

1st : Charlie Mullins
2nd: Josh Strang
3rd: Kailub Russell

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

[denill]

Race Report: OMA Round 2, Arkansas

Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: AmPro Yamaha
Bike: Yamaha YZ450 F
Result: 1st


Round two of the OMA series was held at a new location in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was a unique venue as it was within the city limits on some old military ground. Storms that had passed through the area that had caused death and destruction across several states had drowned parts of the track and after the Saturday Quad race parts of the track were churned into massive bogs.

I got a good start but not good enough to beat Shane Klemick to the hole shot line. Shane took the money and drowned me in the second turn mud hole. I quickly took the lead and Jimmy Jarrett latched onto my rear wheel and followed my lead as a game like chess began that would last almost to the finish. Both of us were a little wary of how bad the track was going to cut up and neither of us wanted to be the first to find that bottomless rut that could end your day. We both took turns at the front testing different lines and running a conservative pace until Jordan Ashburn began to eat into our lead. Jimmy and I both picked up the pace and the real race to the flag commenced.

The track really cut up in a lot of sections with many of those bottomless ruts snaring a bike and holding it to well after the race. After the gas stop I took the lead and started to edge away from Jimmy with a couple laps to go. I kept an eye on the mud holes and tried to plan my lines a lap in advance and in doing so managed to stay out of trouble and keep the bike rolling. I held it together and took the win, Jimmy remained in second and Jordan filled out the final podium spot.


1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Jimmy Jarrett
3rd: Jordan Ashburn

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