Whibley GNCC

[denill]

Race Report:
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ450
Round 5 OMA XC Series, Michigan. Result: 1st

My RMZ 450 fired up quickly and I rounded turn one in third place. Jimmy Jarrett, the holeshot king, led the way on his fast starting RM 250. I quickly moved into second and latched onto Jimmys back wheel as we entered the woods. I chased him around the first lap looking for a way around until I tucked the front end into a big soft berm after a drop-off and went over the bars. I got back up and got my bike restarted just as Brian Garrahan passed me. I pinned it not wanting to lose Jimmy and quickly repassed Brian.

I caught back up to Jimmy late in the second lap and the race was on. The track was pretty tight in places, this would make getting around lappers difficult. I some how got past Jimmy and tried to open up a gap. We were soon in traffic and struggling to find a way around. Lucky some of the riders politely moved over to allow us through although some needed some encouragement like a 450 on the limiter. I pushed hard and opened up a small gap only to get caught behind some riders in the tight sections allowing Jimmy to catch back up.

We both gassed up together and continued to battle it out. I made some mistakes and Jimmy took the lead and made a break for it. He was riding really good and I had to push hard to keep him in sight. On the last lap Jimmy still had the advantage and was leading the way.

I pushed hard and mid lap made a pass around the outside on a sweeping choppy corner. Jimmy fought back and retook the lead when I hesitated and took a bad line around a lapper. We both bounced off each other as our lines came together. He shot to the lead determined to keep it to the finish, but I wanted to win just as bad and hounded him as the lap ran down. I saw a gap and made a risky pass through the weeds but it paid off as I dived to the front as we entered another tight section. Jimmy made a last ditch attempt at a pass on the last corner but I had the inside covered and took the win.

1st- P. Whibley
2nd- J. Jarrett
3rd- B. Garrahan

[takitimu]

1st- P. Whibley
2nd- J. Jarrett
3rd- B. Garrahan

A really fantastic effort again, looks like a great team with Jarrett.

[Danger]

Wow sounds like an awesome race between the two Suzuki riders!

[raglanash]

Knight Back in Victory Lane at GEICO Mountain Ridge GNCC

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Red Bull KTM's David Knight finally got the momentum back in the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, as the defending Series' Champion caputured the GEICO Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, PA, today. Knight edged the winner of the previous GNCC, FMF Suzuki's Josh Strang, with fellow Red Bull KTM rider Nathan Kanney grabbing a podium finish with third. Knight led the whole day, but Strang had to battle Kanney hard for the second spot.

Paul Whibley took fourth on his FMF Suzuki RM-Z450, while Jason Raines carded fifth on his Am-Pro FMF Yamaha.

Barry Hawk returned to action and snagged sixth on his Am-Pro FMF Yamaha YZ250.

Thad DuVall pulled off his own David Knight-like effort by getting back on top of the XC2 class. DuVall also finished seventh overall. Monster Energy Yamaha's Dustin Gibson scored second on his YZ250F, with Red Bull KTM's Justin Williamson on the podium once again with third.

Full results are posted, stay tuned to GNCC Racing.com all week for more info from Mountain Ridge.

Mountain Ridge
Somerset, PA - Round 9
Sunday, July 06, 2008
GNCC Bike p.m.
Overall Finish Results 239 Entries
Place Racer Hometown Class Nbr Brand Laps Elapsed
1 DAVID KNIGHT UNITED KINGDOM, XC1 Pro 001 KTM 5 02:45:29
2 JOSHUA V STRANG SALEM, OH XC1 Pro 008 SUZ 5 02:46:40
3 NATHAN A KANNEY HIGH FALLS, NY XC1 Pro 116 KTM 5 02:46:41
4 PAUL J WHIBLEY PETERSBURG, KY XC1 Pro 006 SUZ 5 02:46:48
5 JASON RAINES BELFAIR, WA XC1 Pro 100 YAM 5 02:49:49
6 BARRY HAWK JR SMITHFIELD, PA XC1 Pro 002 YAM 5 02:51:35
7 THADDEUS DUVALL WILLIAMSTOWN, WV XC2 Pro Lites 012 YAM 5 02:51:38
8 GLENN J KEARNEY ANTIOCH, CA XC1 Pro 007 HSQ 5 02:52:26
9 CHARLES MULLINS HAMILTON, OH XC1 Pro 003 SUZ 5 02:54:05
10 DUSTIN M GIBSON CUMBERLAND FURN, TN XC2 Pro Lites 5003 YAM 5 02:56:26

Overall Overall Points
1 KTM 001 DAVID KNIGHT 1 3 1 1 1 7 5 3 1 222
2 SUZ 006 PAUL WHIBLEY 5 4 3 4 6 1 1 4 4 184
3 SUZ 008 JOSHUA STRANG 6 4 2 2 2 3 1 2 184
4 SUZ 003 CHARLES MULLINS 11 1 6 3 3 6 2 9 149
5 KTM 116 NATHAN KANNEY 6 2 8 5 5 4 6 3 139
6 SUZ 004 JIM JARRETT 2 5 5 13 8 3 8 11 122
7 YAM 100 JASON RAINES 7 16 13 7 7 8 7 7 5 112
8 HSQ 007 GLENN KEARNEY 14 10 6 4 2 5 8 105
9 YAM 012 THADDEUS DUVALL 10 8 7 10 9 4 15 7 99
10 KAW 005 GARRETT EDMISTEN 3 17 12 10 19 11 10 13 76

[NordieBoy]

2nd thru 4th covered by 8 seconds

[denill]

Race Report:
Round 9 GNCC Series, Pennsylvania
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ450
Result: 4th

With testing and practice done in the weeks leading up to this race I felt more prepared to race in the rocks.
Off the line I had to double kick my bike to get it to fire up, so I brought up the rear of the pro pack as we rounded turn one. The first section was pretty fast and a little dusty, but I made some ballzy passes and moved up to about 5th mid lap. We headed into the woods and into the slick rocks. I bounced my way through and with the slick softer suspension setting that RG3 had come up with inspiring some confidence, I pushed on towards the leaders.

Near the end of the first lap I was following Strang and Kanney and riding comfortable. With slightly longer than normal laps we were soon into the pits for our gas stop. After getting gas and back out on the track I lost contact with Strang and Kanney and found myself in a battle with the two Yamaha pilots, Raines and Hawk. In one rock garden Raines got up beside me and showed me a wheel but I managed to keep his attack at bay. I also got into a race with Hawk until he went down. With the Yamaha duo behind me I pushed on trying to catch back up to Strang and Kanney.

I had chosen to run a Q silencer at this event, this is FMFs enduro spec silencer. I used it to smooth the power out and it worked great allowing me to find some traction in the slick conditions. It also made the four stroke roar more pleasing to the ear (something that needs to be addressed - especially in the quad classes) although it did make passing lappers a bit harder as I don't think they heard me coming.

On the last lap I had closed the gap to 20 seconds behind Strang and Kanney who were battling it out for 2nd, but that wasn't going to cut it so I pinned it a little bit more. I eventually caught sight of Kanney, who was in 3rd place, on the last quarter of the lap. This was a fast slightly dusty section and I never got close enough to attempt a pass.
I was disappointed not to be up on the podium, although I was close. Just needed another lap.

One other product I used at this race was the G2 throttle cam. This product allows a rider to select a cam that allows for faster or slower throttle openings. With the slick conditions out on the course I chose a slower cam that provided smoother bottom power allowing me to find some traction on the slick rocks.

Well there is a break in the GNCC schedule now but I will be doing some other races to stay sharp for the remaining rounds when the series resumes in September.

1st- D. Knight
2nd- J. Strang
3rd- N. Kanney
4th- P. Whibley
5th- J. Raines

[denill]

Race Report; IXCR event, Indiana
on Wednesday 06 August 2008 - 01:46:59 | by Whibbs
Race Report, IXCR event, Indiana
Rider, Paul Whibley
Team, FMF Suzuki
Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450
Result, 1st

With not a lot of racing happening over the break I heard of a race down in Indiana. I had heard good reviews from this series (Indiana X Country Racing) and with Scott Summers and Brian Garrahan local to this event I was hoping for a good race.

With an early start at 10am sharp, I looked across the start line and there wasn't a huge turnout of Pros, both Brian and Scott were no shows. Off the start I rounded turn one in 3rd and quickly moved into second. The track was fresh and it was hard to see the arrows on lap one, so the pace was slow. I soon found myself in the lead, but didn't really want to be there. It was risky at times charging through the grass with the amount of rocks and sticks hiding in there.

On the second lap I picked up the pace and began to build a lead. The track was fast and fun and the laps rattled off with ease. There was a rocky creek section with a really slippery slab rock base. The 'Wasting Time' film crew were there and I hear they got plenty of sweet crashes as people laid their bikes down and slid on their butts down the rocks.

I look forward to seeing that on their upcoming release, 'Well Wasted Time'.

After 2 hours, I took the win and the number one plate trophy that came with it. Cool!

[denill]

Race Report,
Rnd 6 OMA series Ohio
Rider, Paul Whibley
Team, FMF Suzuki
Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450
Result, 1st

What a turn around track conditions were on Sunday. Watching the Quad race on Saturday and completing practice revealed a dust bowl. Unusual for an OMA race but we had a fast grass section that lead to a MX track for the first part of the lap. The grass soon turned to dirt as the quads stripped all grass from the surface. There was some woods sections but not a lot of fresh tracks for the bikes. The dust prevailed everywhere. I suspect the property was not that large.

So when we arrived on Sunday morning to see that overnight rain had the track watered to perfection, hopes were raised for some better racing. Also Gusse had been hard at work as usual and found some more tight, fresh (typical OMA terrain) for the afternoon race to tear up.
During the week leading up to the race I had my custom CTi knee braces serviced. After using an old pair of braces for a week I really appreciated the serviced one. Slipping back on my fresh braces is like putting your hand into a glove that has been used just enough to conform to every contour of you hand. The braces fit almost like a second skin.

From the wave of the flag I got a average start with 3 kicks to get the RMZ fired up. But I held a tight line around the second turn and moved up a lot of positions. By the time we hit the MX track I was 2nd behind Brian Garrahan. I pushed hard, wanting to be in the lead before we hit the woods. On the last corner before diving into the trail I made the pass and took the lead. I continued to push and opened up a gap on the field. The bike was running great and the RG3 suspension was handling the fast MX track as well as the numerous log crossing with ease.

After 5 laps I was gassed up, thanks Bret and Nick for helping out while Katherine is back in NZ. I could feel my rear mousse tube going bad and the rear tyre began to feel like it was rolling around a lot. I was kind of worried that it would come off the bead and began to take it a bit easier on many of the off cambers and faster sections of the track.

The track conditions remained good pretty much the whole race with only a small amount of dust creeping in near the end. The fresh single track that had been added was also a nice addition to a track that turned out pretty fun.

Jimmy Jarret who was running second had a big crash late in the race and carded a DNF after a possible concussion. Hope Jimmy's doing alright and has a speedy recovery. Brain Garrahan took over from Jimmy's misfortune and took over second.

I took the win and was stoked to take my 4th OMA win in a row.

[secondfield]

Holy Crap, this bloke may just take out the series!

Go Paul !!Give em hell !!

[denill]

Holy Crap, this bloke may just take out the series!

Yeah, he just might. Series points: to date.

[secondfield]

Heres a couple of recent non GNCC race reports Whibb's has just posted on his website... both wins!

Race Report, KORHS
on Saturday 23 August 2008 - 01:15:41 | by Whibbs
Race Report, KORHS ( Kentucky Off Road Harescramble Series)
Rider, Paul Whibley
Team, FMF Suzuki
Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450
Result, 1st

Well this report is a bit late coming out. I've had a busy week training and trying to sort a few things out, but lets get straight to the racing.
I raced this series a lot last year and I ran into Rick Hollenkamp at an OMA race a few weeks back. He asked if I could come back and do some of the KORHS events this year. It was cool to get invited back and know my efforts racing were appreciated there.
The venue was at Saddleback near Louisville KY. The track looked good, they had added a cool little enduro x section near the scoring tent to keep the spectators entertained and challenge the brave riders.
With the wave of a flag we were off (well everyone else was) I completely ballsed up my start and sat kicking on the line as everyone else raced off into the distance. I got the bike fired up after a couple of kicks and set off chasing down the pack. I soon caught back up and began picking off riders where I could.
The track was dry and pretty rock in places but some fresh trails had been added and it was a good loop. The track is similar to the Sparta GNCC in a lot of ways.
I caught up to the leaders and Allen Westerfeild was up front on his little KTM and being chased hard by Nathan Alering. I tried a different line to try get around Nathan and got up beside him only to be covered in muddy water as he splashed through a small mud hole. I grabbed a tear off a my vision was restored to perfect again through my Smith goggles.
I made a pass stick on Nathan and zeroed in on Allan. On a tricky rocky hill climb I cranked the RMZ up and passed Allan and took the lead. I put the hammer down the rest of the lap and built a comfortable lead.
Time for the pit stop. Somehow I had set my gas up on part of the track that was used in the morning race and was not used for the arvo event. I had been making laps trying to work out were my gas was then I seen Brandon and Jimmy track side holding up my gas can. They had carried it over to the proper track ready to gassed me up. Big Thanks guys.
I completed the 2 hours safely and took the win.
At the prize giving the results revealed a tie for second. Nathan Alering and John Maschino had the same finishing time, down to one hundredth of a second. Thats Olympic stuff. This was possible because John started a row back and on adjusted time they were tied. I'm not sure how the sorted it but that's freaky after 2 hour racing to be that close!!


Race Report, CRA xc, Lightning Raceway Ohio
on Tuesday 26 August 2008 - 01:51:53 | by Whibbs
Race Report, CRA xc, Lightning Raceway Ohio
Rider, Paul Whibley
Team, FMF Suzuki
Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450
Result, 1st

The green flag waved and my RMZ fired up quickly, taking the holeshot and heading into the woods in the lead. The track was dusty so up front was were I wanted to be. The organizers had made an effort to add some new pieces to the track to minimise the dust. The new sections were overgrown in grass and the ground was rough with hidden logs waiting to take the careless rider down.
I took lap one easy not wanting to go down but by the end of the lap I had allready built a lead. I picked up the pace a bit on the second lap and the track became more fun as the fresh sections began to be run in.
I topped up my IMS tank just over the hour mark and headed back out for the final hour of the race.
With 12 laps of the track complete I took the win. A good day out on the bike.

[takitimu]

He's on fire, managed to got some leave all sorted for my next US trip so can come back later & go watch the New Berlin ( Unadilla ) GNCC race.

[secondfield]

Have your camera handy mate...

[denill]

Race Report. AWRCS Pennsylvania
Rider. Paul Whibley
Team. FMF Suzuki
Bike. Suzuki RMZ 450
Result. 1st

With the GNCCs starting up next weekend and a AWRCS race being 2.5 hours plus a lap it would be a good warm up event. I also wanted to test the FMF Q muffler and power bomb header pipe in race conditions before the tough terrain expected at Sow Shoe.

I got a good start and grabbed the holeshot which was important as this place was dusty. The quads had turned a lot of the track to powder the day before. There was also plenty of confusion on the first lap with the track going on and of the quad track and in the dust a lot of the bunting was taken down. The organizers and track workers were onto it and worked fast to enforce the full track with a lot more bunting and arrows on the turn offs. I held a good pace and steadily increased my lead over Joe "Dirt" with Scotty Watkins running in third.

The track was pretty fun aside from the dust, it had a good flow in the woods sections and was cut up a bit like a GNCC so it was good practice. I took the win comfortably and came into the pits watching the race for second. Joe looked to have it at the start of the last lap but Scotty emerged from the dust in the number two spot. Joe had suffered bike problems from what we heard.

Big thanks to the Watkins clan for giving me a ride to the event and gassing me up at the fuel stop.

[denill]

Whibs is There or Thereabouts: