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JG Off Road / GEICO Powersports Race Report -
Unadilla
September 12, 2009 – GEICO EnduroCross –
Florence, SC - The JG Off Road / GEICO
Powersports team was split in two by the
EnduroCross and GNCC series this weekend.
The GNCC gang headed north to the Unadilla
Valley for round number 10, where newly crowned
(2 time) 2009 OMA Champion, Paul Whibley will
set out with hopes to extend his 14 point lead.
Jimmy Jarrett will be racing once again this
weekend, freshly back from a wrist injury
sustained earlier this summer, and Scott Watkins
looks for another XC2 win. Jennifer
Albright raced this morning, and ran into some
unfortunate bad luck and faced some mechanical
issues, forcing her to DNF. Stay posted
for Jennifer’s take on the first race back after
the summer break.
The EnduroCross boys lead the way to an
exciting evening in Florence, SC for the 3rd
round of the GEICO EnduroCross series.
With all three riders in the evening show, the
team got the break they’ve been looking for and
saw their fair share of podiums. Leading
the way for the team, the Rodgers brothers shot
out of the gate for the Open Amateur Main Event,
grabbing a double hole shot. They kept the
momentum going throughout the race, taking a 1 –
2 finish with Eric on top of the podium.
Qualifying heats for the Expert Main Event
were soon to follow. Eric took a 3rd place
finish in his heat, placing him one position out
of qualifying and sending him onto the
Semi-finals, where he took a first place finish,
placing him into the Expert Main Event.
Ryan took a 5th place finish, also having to go
onto the Semi’s where he placed 2nd.
Unfortunately, only the top rider in the semi’s
went on to the Main, so Ryan was forced to move
on in the Last Chance Qualifier. Wally had
a few mechanical issues during his qualifier,
taking a DNF but finished a strong 2nd place in
the Semi’s. He also went on to the LCQ.
Ryan and Eric were both qualified to run the
Dash for Cash. During the LCQ, Ryan busted
up his water pump cover and had to pull a quick
fix in the pits with just minutes between the
semi heat and the Dash for Cash, making it to
the line right before the gates dropped.
Eric got off to a strong start and held the lead
until the last lap. Being pushed for most
of the race by older brother Ryan, Eric smashed
his rear break caliper leaving him to finish the
lap and race with locked up rear brakes.
Ryan took the win and the $500, but Eric was
still able to hold on to a second place finish
and also take home some cash.
Now it was Eric’s turn to make a quick fix –
he had about 3 minutes to make it back to the
pits after the Dash for Cash, change his rear
brake caliper, and get back to the line in time
for the Main Event. With the quick work of
his pit crew – his dad Keith and team manager JT
Bennett, Eric was back to the track in record
time. Eric put in a great ride, but took
an 11th place finish. Taddy Blazuiak once
again took top honors, followed by Geoff Aaron
and Cory Graffunder.
Ryan and Eric headed out right after the race
to head to and ECEA race in NJ – going for the
Ironman. Good luck guys.
The team would like to extend a special
thanks to all of their sponsors: GEICO, Lojaks
Yamaha, B&B Yamaha, MSR, Pirelli, Rekluse,
Tsubaki, IMS, Works Connection, EBC Brakes,
Silkolene, Renthal, Pro Moto Billet, Enduro
Engineer, PowersportGrafx, and Acerbis.
And of course a huge thank you to our fans.
The EnduroCross series will continue on
October 3 for in Columbus, OH..
The GNCC team will conclude the weekend
racing, Sunday at 1 pm. Keep an eye out
for their take on the race later in the week.
http://www.jgoffroad.com
http://www.geicogarage.com
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