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Warnert Racing
Secures Three Wins & Podium Finish at River
Ranch GNCC
Cliff Beasley
Chris Bithell |
River Ranch, FL – “It’s going to be tough to
dethrone those Can-Ams,” is what was overheard
in the pits shortly before the morning classes
were to take to the starting line; and truer
words could not have been spoken. The Can-Am
Warnert Racing team started off the 2009 GNCC
season with a bang, claiming three class wins at
the season opener in River ranch, Florida. With
Michael Swift, Cliff Beasley, and newest Can-Am
Warnert team member, Bryan Buckhannon, all
defending their 2008 championships, the
competition was intense.
Billowing clouds of dust were stirred up by
high winds and dry conditions, making visibility
difficult at times, but that didn’t stop the
team from putting the hammer down and giving it
their all. Two time 4x4 Limited champion Michael
Swift took no prisoners as he grabbed the
holeshot and checked out on the competition.
Swift’s blistering speed not only claimed him
the class win, but his time of 2:06:48 also
earned him third place overall in the A.M.
classes.
“It feels great to start the season off right
like this,” stated Swift, who has every
intension of winning another championship for
the Can-Am Warnert team. “There’s a lot of
competition this year so I started working with
a trainer a little bit because I won’t let go of
the championship!” Swift concluded.
Cliff Beasley, who is also going for his
third consecutive championship in the 4x4Lites
class, also got off to a fantastic start.
Beasley shot off the line in first place and
held his position all the way to the checkered
flag. “There’s a lot of fast riders out there,
but if they start to push me, I’m going to push
even harder to get that win,” said a determined
Beasley whose efforts not only earned him a win,
but also landed him in the top 10 overall with a
7th place time of 2:14:18.
Bryan Buckhannon, who was picked up this year
by the Can-Am Warnert team also, showed he has
what it takes to stay on top. Buckhannon came
off the line in second place, but took the lead
by the fourth turn. Buckhannon began to increase
his lead with every lap and had such a large gap
between him and second place, that he never fell
back even after rolling his quad when he clipped
a tree in the woods section. “I’m really excited
about being a part of the Can-Am Warnert team
this year. It’s really great to have the
support, especially with the competition being
tighter this year,” said Bryan who claimed fifth
overall in the morning classes.
U2 class racer Rick Cecco ran a solid race
for his season opener as well, taking a third
place in his class with a time of 2:23:16.
XC1 Pro class racer Chris Bithell was having
a good day and came on strong. Bithell came off
the line in mid pack and was pushing hard to
make his way to the front. By lap two, Bithell
had made his way up to fourth place and was
holding strong, but a wreck in the fifth lap
sent him back to finish in the top ten in 7th
place with a time of 2:10:22.
With back to back rounds, the Can-Am Warnert
team will be busy getting prepared for The
Maxxis General (round two) which will be held on
March 7-8 in Washington, GA where the team will
be pushing hard to be on top of the podium.
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