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The Snowshoe GNCC
Race Report
Snowshoe, West Virginia,
September 13, 2008
William Yokley finished 12th Overall and 10th
in the XC1 Pro Class today in the tough West
Virginia mountains. There were 197 total
entries with 21 XC1 Pro Riders. Team Rider
Mark Notman finished 26th Overall and 9th in the
26 rider XC2 Pro Am Class.
Summary
Mark Notman getting fuel & goggles
What a great place to have a race! |
It’s always fun coming to the Snowshoe
Resort; the facilities are first rate and the
scenery is spectacular. It’s a real treat
to be able to walk out of a nice hotel room
right down to your pit area and the starting
line. This is the only GNCC race that has
a live engine Grand Prix style start on
pavement, which adds to the carnival atmosphere
of the event. The machines are lined up in
rows of five taking up the entire length of the
main street, and each row is flagged off in ten
second intervals. It’s intense, but loads
of fun and the spectators love watching the
quads backing in the first turn sprint car style
with tires smoking and a little beating and
banging going on.
I started on the
second row and my teammate Mark was right behind
me in the third row. I was in second place
in our group as we headed out to the ski slopes
and I settled in for what I knew was going to be
grind. The Snowshoe course is one of the
toughest on the schedule with a 14 mile lap with
lots of elevation changes, and long sections of
rock gardens, deep ruts and mud bogs. The
scenery is beautiful if you could only take the
time to take it all in, but you can’t, or you’ll
wreck big time! Getting your machine set
up right and jetted properly is very important
here, as the start area is almost a mile above
sea level, and you do go up and down the
mountain several times per lap.
I ran in 5th place most of the first lap,
that is until I hung a wheel on the edge of one
of the many deep mud holes. That hole was
much deeper than I thought, and just sucked my
whole bike into it; I in trouble already!
I struggled to get the bike out, and every time
I tried to lift one end out, I would sink down
in mud above my knees. I got a crash
course about the true meaning of suction.
I finally got the bike out after about 3
minutes; I was covered in mud, my gloves were
all wet and slimy which made holding on to the
bars challenging, and my heart rate was in the
red zone like a gazelle getting chased down by a
lion. I made it back to the pits at the
end of lap 1, and I had dropped out of the top
forty overall.
I
concentrated on keeping a steady pace and not
getting hung up in the many bottlenecks and
obstacles, and tried to work my way back toward
the front to salvage as many points as possible.
I did get stopped a few more times in traffic
jams, but everybody else did too. At the
end of lap 2, I had worked my way up to 15th in
the Pro class; so many other guys were having
difficulties like I had. I finally
finished the race in 10th place in the XC1 Pro
class, and I actually felt stronger as the race
progressed. Many thanks to Mark Spataro
and his training program! I salvaged some
points and I remained in 6th place in the season
standings with three races left to run.
My teammate Mark Notman actually had a very good
race, even though results show that he finished
in 9th place in the Pro Am class. At one
point, he was in the top 10 overall and running
strong. As he came through the pits on lap
1, the crew could hear that his bike was running
rough and missing badly under full throttle.
On this course, you need the horsepower to get
up all the steep mountain trails, and he was
under a huge handicap. We think he may
have gotten some mud or water in the carb and
clogged up one of the jets. Mark rode very
well to the finish, and actually had to push his
bike up some steep grades on the last lap.
Needless to say, he slept very well that night!
Good job Mark!
Although we were both
disappointed with our finishes, we realized it
could have been much worse. We both
finished in the top 10 in our classes, and held
on to our season points positions; Mark is 3rd
in the Pro Am class, only 1 point out of second.
We have 2 weeks to get ready for the next race
in historic Unadilla, NY, and a nice 17 hour
drive! Congratulations to Adam McGill,
Bill Ballance and Jarrod McClure for finishing
on the podium today, they earned it!
One
final bit of news, I am excited about signing
with Polaris for 2009. Yokley Racing will
be factory supported competing on the new Outlaw
450 sport bikes and RZR UTVs. Mark and I
can’t wait to get these new bikes, and work with
all the great people at Polaris. Polaris
has great products and we are honored to be
representing them. And best of all,
they’re MADE IN THE USA BABY!
See you next time; I’ve got to go shovel some
mud and rocks out of my leathers!
Yokley Racing Team Sponsors are: The
Army National Guard, Rocky Mountain ATV, Polaris
Industries, ITP Tires, Elka Suspension, Roll
Design, HMF Exhaust Systems, IMS/Roll, Tire
Balls, Andrews Cycle, Douglas Wheel Technology,
Baldwin Motorsports, CGR, O’Neal Clothing,
Panolin Lubricants, IMS, Hinson, 317 Graphics,
Intense Fabrication & Design, Tsubaki Chains,
Hardkor, Shoei Helmets, Axcalibar Axles,
Streamline, Powermadd, KG Clutch Factory, Moto
Pro Training and ATVRiders.com.
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