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Parts Unlimited/Moose/Maxxis/Yamaha/Wiseco/Klotz/FMF/Dunlop/ITP/Tire
Balls
Suzuki Grand National Cross Country Series
GNCC Series Tighter Than
Ever Heading into its Toughest Race: The Wisp
Hawk, Mullins, looking to stop Salminen
 Deep
Creek, MD – It’s on. That’s the best way to
describe the Suzuki Grand National Cross Country
Series heading into the Deep Creek resort area
this weekend for the Parts Unlimited Wisp GNCC.
A fierce battle brews between Finland’s
defending GNCC Champion Juha Salminen, two-time
Wisp winner Barry Hawk, and rookie-of-the-year
Charlie Mullins, and the rugged Wisp track will
only make things tougher.
After winning the first four rounds of the
series with seeming ease, Salminen has faced big
challenges from Hawk and Mullins in the last
four events. Hawk handed him his first loss of
the season in Ohio, but Salminen returned the
favor two weeks ago in Kentucky in one of the
best GNCC battles in years. Just three seconds
separated Salminen, Mullins and Hawk at the
finish after three hours of racing.
The Wisp complicates matters. The infamous
“race on the ski slopes” packs bigger boulders
than any other round of the series. Last year
Salminen found himself on the ground so often
that he put in the worst finish in his GNCC
career: seventh. Meanwhile, Hawk romped to what
he called, “the biggest win of my career.”
“It feels so good, it’s like I just won my
first race,” said eight-time GNCC Champion Hawk
after his winning the last year. “On the last
lap, I started thinking ‘I really am going to
win this race.’ I started getting chills!”
A strong crowd of supporters will cheer for
Hawk, who lives 45 minutes from the Wisp in
Smithfield, PA. He is no doubt comfortable on
the rocks. But the question is: does the rugged
course pose a real challenge to Salminen? Or did
he just have an off day last year?
“It was so tough, there were many big
stones,” said Juha last year. “I would crash,
and then when I would get up and start riding it
was like I was just waiting for the next crash!”
But later, it was discovered that suspension
problems had hindered his progress.
The pack will find out Sunday if the Wisp
favors Salminen or not. Meanwhile, Mullins
should be comfortable in the conditions. Last
year he finished sixth overall while starting in
the second row in his last race as an amateur.
Now the 20-year-old races pro, and he came
within a few feet of his first win in Kentucky.
“The win will come,” said Mullins, practicing
patience.
Throwing another wrench into the works is the
GNCC debut of AMA Motocross and Supercross
legend John Dowd. Fresh off of a sixth-place
finish at the Southwick round of the AMA/Toyota
Motocross Championship, and a runner-up finish
at least year’s Maxxis Endurocross, the
semi-retired Dowd is looking forward to his GNCC
debut.
“I have no idea what to expect!” says Dowd.
“People have been telling me to try one, and I
know this one is one of the toughest, but I
always seem to do things backwards like that.
Hopefully I can learn something. I know you have
to race for three hours, and that’s just
baffling to me!”
There are other contenders. Dowd will pit
with FMF Suzuki’s Glenn Kearney. The Aussie ran
second in the GNCC standings early in the
season, but mud in the last few races has slowed
him down. The well-conditioned rider should be
better off at the Wisp. Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki veteran Fred Andrews is always
tough on rocks, too. And New Zealand’s Paul
Whibley is coming off of a career-best fourth
overall in Kentucky.
The Wisp GNCC also features a full schedule
of ATV racing on Saturday. Yamaha’s Bill
Ballance wants to collect his record-tying
seventh GNCC ATV title, but the Kentucky rider
is locked in a battle with Sunbury, PA’s Chris
Borich. Borich has good and bad memories of the
Wisp. He broke his arm there in a crash in 2002,
returned to win the race in 2004, and then
crashed and broke his collarbone there last
year—an injury that knocked him out of the
championship chase with Ballance. In addition,
West Virginia’s Chris Jenks and Kentucky’s
William Yokley could win Saturday’s race, and
streaking 18-year-old rookie Chris Bithell, of
nearby Irwin, PA, wants his first win badly
after finishing second in Kentucky.
The Parts Unlimited Wisp GNCC begins
Saturday, June 24, with four-wheeled ATV racing.
Pro racing begins at 1 p.m. Bikes race on
Sunday, with the pro race beginning at 1 p.m.
Weekend passes run $15 and children six and
under are free. All passes include pro pit
admission and access to the Wisp ski lift
chairs.
From the West: I-68 East, take Exit 4 (42
South) at Friendsville, MD to U.S. 219 South to
McHenry. Follow signs one mile to Wisp. From the
East: I-68 West, take Exit 14A to U.S. 219 South
to McHenry. Follow signs one mile to Wisp. For
more information, log on to
www.gnccracing.com.
The AMA-sanctioned Suzuki Grand National
Cross Country series is America’s premier
off-road racing series. The 13-round series is
produced exclusively by Racer Productions.
Cross-country racing is one of the most
physically demanding sports in the world. The
nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead as many
as 1800 riders through tracks ranging from eight
to twelve miles in length. With varied terrain
including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and
motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of
both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors
include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli,
Wiseco, Klotz, FMF, ITP and Tire Balls, and
riders compete for over $3 million in series
prizes and contingency money. Associate sponsors
include Moose Utility Division, Scott, Acerbis,
Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears, Twin Air,
Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper
Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee’s, Weekend
Warrior, Owens Motorsports, Tom’s Marina
Polaris, EK Chain and Laeger’s. Media Sponsors
include Dirt Rider Magazine, ATV Sport Magazine,
www.ATVRiders.com and Racer X Illustrated. For
more information log on to
www.GNCCRacing.com.
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