Whibley GNCC

[takitimu]

The last ones

[denill]

Tough day @ the office for Whib's at the Unadilla GNCC coming 9th, but that does not quite tell the story, he was last off the line ( I guess it didn't fire 1st kick ) & up to 3rd by the second time around, then he pulled clear into 2nd, but on the last lap he ran out of gas, real bad luck & it meant Knighter won the day & the series today.

Outa gas.......... Bugger...............

Reckon you did the right thing Nigel and not engaging in small chat. Although Whibs would take that better than most!

Great picsl. The mud shots reminded me that there are good points to being retired

[denill]

Race Report: GNCC Series Rnd 11 Unadilla NY
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450
Result: 9th

Gutted, disappointed, and plenty of other stronger emotions and words that probably aren't fit to print are the feelings I have after the Unadilla GNCC.

I got a wicked jump out of the gate and was right at the front rounding turn one but went down in the wet slick conditions. I picked my bike up quickly but was near the back of the pro field. Passing was difficult with the wet ground and slippery rocky base and the amount of roost coming up was destroying goggles. I would close in on someone and just get filled in. Lucky for me, Fritz the Smith rep, had hooked me up with plenty of roll offs. By the end of lap one I think I was in the top five.

We soon encountered lappers and plenty more roost. It was terrible passing lappers as they seemed to be going a lot slower than the pros and struggling in the conditions. It was difficult and very frustrating trying to get past. It's not their fault, they are there to race as well, but there is such a speed difference that at times it can be so frustrating, even dangerous. The pit stop was a slick affair with Katherine and Monty getting me in and out in record time.

Through the course of race I worked my way up picking off one muddy rider at a time. I got into a race with Kanney as I keep wiping out after I would put a pass on him. By the last lap I had worked my way up to second place. I had pulled about two minutes over Kanney who was now third. With about two miles to go the bike stopped and it wouldn't restart. I kicked and kicked. I tried to crash start it but nothing. Then I thought may be it had run out of gas. I couldn't see into the tank as everything was so muddy. I ran back to the pits and grabbed some gas.

Chris (Josh's mechanic) followed me back to the bike to maybe try diagnose the problem. We put some gas in the bike and it still wouldn't start so that wasn't the problem. We checked over the bike the best we could but it was difficult to see if anything was out of place with the amount of mud coating the bike. We still are at a loss as to what went wrong.
The bike had been running awesome all race. The team will be working hard this week to identify the problem and do their best to prevent it from happening again.
But for me the race was done.
Gutted.

[denill]

Mmmm. So it didn't run out of gas after all.

But the result still a bugger..............

[clmintie]

[QUOTE= I ran back to the pits and grabbed some gas.

[/QUOTE]

After 2 1/2 hours in the mud at warp 5, he can still run for gas......

[denill]

After 2 1/2 hours in the mud at warp 5, he can still run for gas......

About 2 miles!

[denill]

Whibs Wins the OMA!!

[takitimu]

Whibs Wins the OMA!!

Damn nice job & I'm sure a good feeling after last weekends disappointment.

[denill]

Race Report: OMA Rnd 9, Missouri
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450
Result: 1st


Round 9 of the OMA series was held near Kahoka, Missouri. Track conditions were near perfect with a fun mix of fast grass track, a mx track and the typical OMA tight woods. Jimmy Jarrett holeshot but I was right with him as he rounded turn one. I followed him all of the first lap, riding relaxed and learning the track. I got a chance to take the lead early on lap 2 on a flat out, 5th gear grass straight between two woods sections.

I out braked Jimmy just as we got back inside the trees. Once in the lead I got the RMZ wound up and began to build a gap. By the end of the second lap I had over a minute. I kept the heat on until the fuel stop when I was informed I had a sizable lead. Jimmy was having a bad day and crashed a couple times dropping back to 5th. Brain Garrahan had an even worse event with a monster crash in one of the 5th gear grass tracks. Going over the bars tapped out is never going to be pretty and his bike was bent up beyond use.

I continued to put in good laps and enjoy the fun track. Adam Bonneur rode awesome and came in 2nd place. Jimmy fought his way back up to 3rd. I took my seventh win in a row.

With that result I also clinched the OMA title, picking up my first American championship.

1st- Paul Whibley
2nd- Adam Bonneur
3rd- Jimmy Jarrett

[takitimu]

Whib's won the second to last race @ St Clairsville Ohio.

The points table is

1 KTM 001 DAVID KNIGHT 282
2 SUZ 008 JOSHUA STRANG 238
3 SUZ 006 PAUL WHIBLEY 235

Cross fingers Paul has a another good ride in the final race in 2 weeks.

David Knight was not there for the ride, though given he's already won & not riding KTM next year no real surprise there.

Turns out David Knight raced the Weston Beach Race @ will ride a quad @ the last GNCC

[denill]

The points table is

1 KTM 001 DAVID KNIGHT 282
2 SUZ 008 JOSHUA STRANG 238
3 SUZ 006 PAUL WHIBLEY 235

Cross fingers Paul has a another good ride in the final race in 2 weeks.

Yeah, 2nd place is beckoning Whibs.............

[denill]

Those bloody Suzukis are a weapon!!

[takitimu]

Those bloody Suzukis are a weapon!!

The kit they are bundling with the 450's is supposed to be damn cool as well.

Mind you whib's bike is not quite standard , that suspension setup is seriously impressive.

[denill]

Race Report: GNCC Series Rnd 12, St Clairesville Ohio
Rider: Paul Whibley
Team: FMF Suzuki
Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450
Result: 1st


Round 12 of the GNCC series went down at Saint Clairesville in Ohio over the weekend.

I got a good jump off the line but Nate Kanney spun sideways and came across and hit my front wheel, nearly taking me down. So I ended up at the back of the pack rounding turn one. Not where I wanted to be as the track was pretty dusty and passing was going to be really tough. I made some passes during the course of the first lap and moved up, but I gained some serious time when Rodney Smith pointed out a hot line for us around one of the bog holes. I think by the end of the lap I was up to fifth place.
The course was dusty but the track crew had utilized as much of the creek beds and wet areas to give some kind of break from the choking dust. There was a pretty good bog hole at the 2 mile marker that drew in a big crowd, that enjoyed helping, point lines and witness the carnage of those who didn't make it through clean.

On lap two I missed the turn and went the long way round the mud hole where Rodney was and dropped back a few positions. I ended up behind Mike Brown searching for a way around. He was riding really good but he hit a big powder berm too hard and went down allowing me to shoot by. Next I caught my team mate Charlie Mullins who was battling with Nate Kanney. Charlie passed Nate and I followed suit and made a move on a fast straight. I caught Charlie again but it was really tough to make a pass in the dust. I think it took me almost a full lap to make it happen. Once I got by Charlie I got a pit board saying I was up to 2nd and Josh was leading, not to far in front.

I caught Josh but again struggled to find a way past. The team signalled us that we were going to need a splash of gas to finish the race. Josh and I came into the pits at the same time. My pit stop was Nascar fast and I left the pits in the lead. I got the white flag then seen a pit board from Katherine saying to pin it as I needed to pit again! It seems my pit stop was so fast I didn't take enough gas on. So I got on it to try and build a buffer over Josh so I could gas up again. Mid last lap I had a crash and lost probably about 20 seconds when I hit a lapper and shot over a bank. I got going again and made it to the pits with about a 30 second lead. I left the pits and rode hard the last 3 miles to the finish and took my third win of the season.

It was a good day for Team FMF Suzuki. For the first time we swept the top four positions overall and we were also all riding the awesome RMZ 450.

Results:
1st: Paul Whibley
2nd: Josh Strang
3rd: Charlie Mullins
4th: Jimmy Jarrett
5th: Nate Kanney

[raglanash]

Awesome!! Some pic's here.
http://www.racerxonline.com/gallery/...C-Round12.aspx