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Warnert GNCC Round 7 Report
Beasley, Swift,
Kilby and Cecco All Finish Top Three in Their
Classes
Clifton Beasley
Michael Swift
Scott Kilby |
Sparta, KY – Mother
Nature finally gave the Warnert/Can-Am team a
break from the rain and mud this weekend as
Cliff Beasley and Michael Swift continued their
winning streaks at round seven of the GNCC. The
Sparta, KY track may be one of the more
technical tracks that the GNCC travels to, but
the Warnert team was up to the challenge and
showed they have what it takes to conquer the
tight Spartan trails.
Cliff Beasley took no prisoners as he continued
his sweep of the 4x4 Lites class. Beasley
grabbed the holeshot and continued to increase
his lead over the rest of his class. Cliff ran
his fastest lap time of 00:21:59 in lap two. The
#206 Can-Am Outlander 500 ran a smooth race
without running into any major bottlenecks or
lap traffic. Beasley was the only one in his
class to complete six laps and crossed the
finish line with a time of 2:18:19 which earned
him 1st in his class and 19th overall in the
morning classes.
Michael Swift also ran a strong race this
weekend in the 4x4 Limited class. Swift started
in the front row and took the holeshot. “Track
conditions were great, but some of the
off-camber stuff was a little technical for the
utility classes so in some spots we had to slow
way down,” said Swift. Despite the technically
challenging track, Swift maintained his lead
throughout the entire race. Swift finished with
a time of 02:15:56 which not only allowed him
the win in his class, but earned him 5th place
overall in the A.M. classes. “We had a good day
out there. The Warnert team did a great job as
always!” Swift concluded.
Scott Kilby, who has been super consistent in
the 4x4 Open class this season, had another good
run as well. Kilby took the holeshot, but lost
his lead shortly into the first lap. Running in
second, Kilby maintained his position despite
pressure from Daryl Rath. “It was a fun track.
There were a couple of sections that were a bit
treacherous, but my bike was set up really good
and it was able to handle it,” said Kilby. Scott
crossed the finish line with a time of 2:22:13,
taking second place in the 4x4 Open class.
Rick Cecco’s luck seemed to improve this round
as well. The U2 class racer grabbed the holeshot
and held his lead until reaching the tight
technical trails, where he slipped back to 2nd
place in lap one. Cecco dropped back to 4th in
lap two, but picked up the pace and worked
himself back into third where he ran
consistently and unchallenged for the rest of
the race. “The weather was beautiful and the
track conditions were perfect. It was a nice
change from all the mud,” Cecco stated. Cecco
finished six laps in a time of 2:15:56, which
earned him 3rd in his class and 10th overall for
the morning.
In the Pro class it appeared that Chris Jenk’s
luck had taken a turn for the better as he came
off the line in mid pack and was p to 6th place
by the end of round one, but Jenk’s charge ended
with the second lap when he was faced with
mechanical issues. Teammate Chris Bithell was
one of the last off the starting line but had
worked from 17th to 8th place by the end of the
second lap and it appeared as if luck were on
his side, but in lap four, Bithell also was
taken out by mechanical issues.
Round eight of the GNCC will have the Warnert/Can-Am
team heading to Yadkinville, NC on June 21st
where Beasley and Swift are hoping to continue
on their winning streaks and Bithell and Jenks
hope that luck will be on their side as we head
into the second half of the 2008 season.
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