Unadilla Race Recap

Round #10 of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series stopped in upstate New York at the world famous Unadilla Valley Sports Center. The all natural motocross track that lays in the foothills of scenic mountain backdrops is known to be one of the most rugged tracks in the country. 1600 plus riders, who raced this past weekend, not only tried their fate on such a track but also accepted the challenge to concur whatever nasty terrain laid in the dark neighboring woods. Mother-nature played a tease with down pours Friday night and hints of bright sunshine throughout the day on Saturday. For the first time in the three years since GNCC has been held at Unadilla, it seemed as if we were looking at perfect race conditions.
Jason Weigandt, who is the mastermind behind the GNCC website and plays host on the GNCC Racer Productions Television show, made a comment about how the weekends forecast looked great and how he foresaw no reason for it to be a washout like the years previous. Having known what it was like to race in such conditions at Unadilla in 2006, I found that his “jinx” made me feel a little aggravated. I made it a conscious effort to be on the lookout for Mr. Weigandt over the weekend just to say, “thanks a lot Weigandt, you almost jinxed us!” DHaggs Sr. raced in the morning and his class (Senior C 45+) was the last on the starting line. I was looking around at the first couple of turns to see if I could give him some advice as to what line to take and wouldn’t you believe that their stood Jason Weigandt about 10 feet behind me. I then simply said thanks for almost jinxing us like I planned and continued to tell him that he is a good writer and I check up on all of his work daily. He mentioned that there are a few Weigandt fans out there and how he couldn’t race in the morning race because of a bummed shoulder. It’s a weird feeling when you get to know someone just from reading their work and then you talk to them like you’re a complete stranger. Bottom line is Weigandts a cool guy, a good writer, and a first-class host and he’s just lucky that it wasn’t raining out when I saw him.
After my Dad and 600+ other riders rutted out the course in the morning amateur race, the starting lines began to fill again for the afternoons pro race. DHaggs Sr. ran a really good race finishing just over two hours. His results got a bit confusing because he was listed in the wrong class. His bar code was for the Senior C 40+ but he had a color sticker that lined him in the 45+ line so he was far behind on the start. I took his lap times and he would have placed 19th in the right class, which is impressive for his first showing at Unadilla. He gave me a little heads-up on the track when he came back to the pits and then I was off to the stating line for the three hour pro race.
There were about 45 guys in my line (250 B) and I got an okay start. On the second turn there was a pile-up so I was able to sneak around and make up some time on the first straight-away. I was probably about 7th or so heading into the woods behind my fellow District 6 racer, Jarod Kulp. The first lap was awesome, I don’t know what it was but I picked awesome lines as if I knew that everyone was the quickest. The track was laid out with a little bit of everything and there were a lot more rocks then I remembered from last year. One hill climb especially because they weren’t boulders like here in the state of PA. These rocks were loose and round like river rock and they were really slick. I had some trouble with two of these hill climbs because riders were getting stuck and although I was in a different line they seemed to find a way to fall in front of me. Finally the motocross track was chargeable and boy was that something that I have been waiting for. As tired as I was towards the end of the race I still found some energy to pin it all the way around the world-famous track. I was feeling a lot better then the previous weekends race where I was struggling with endurance due to my lingering lyme disease. I felt great and I was pushing hard through the first couple of laps. I got hung up here and there but overall I was making up time and I felt as if I was almost back into race shape. Problem is I would have been fine if it was a two hour race but in GNCC’s it’s the real deal and the checkered flag drops at 3 hours. After I made my pit stop, the lap that followed was when I began to feel fatigued. The course was getting really difficult because the hill-climbs where so rutted-out and the down-hills had tons of spider-web roots exposed. I came back around and pitted again to get some water and think about continuing the race. My pit-man DHaggs Sr. (Jimmy B was on medical leave) was yelling at me to just go out and finish and as out of breath as I was I still managed to get out how awesome David Knight is and how fast he passed me. It was Unadilla and that was all I had to think about so I was done with my water and headed out back into the woods. I made one more lap, I could barely hang on to my bike when I finished but seeing that checkered flag made it all worth while. I got my one point by finishing in 20th place. Not bad considering 250 B at a National level is no joke, and I was severely sick just about 3 weeks prior.
Overall it was a great weekend; I guess it just wouldn’t be a Unadilla GNCC without some rain. Racing resumes this weekend at Rausch Creek for round #14 of the PA State Series. We have one more GNCC on the schedule for the year in Ohio. Stay posted for results and pictures.
I would like to thank my sponsers: DHaggs Harescramble Racing, MSR, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Scott Powersports, Kenda Tires, Twin Air and Pivot Works!