Somerset GNCC Race Recap!

Round #7 of the Grand National Cross Country Series (GNCC) was held this past weekend at the Mountain Ridge Resort in Somerset, PA. Needless to say this location hosts one of the toughest tracks on the national circuit due to the enormous boulders that are scattered throughout the 13 and a half mile loop. I didn’t have such a great result here last year, and I swore that I would never put myself though that punishment again, but somehow on Friday we were heading west on the turnpike towards Somerset. And this year was a little different – we took a trial DHaggs Racing team member AMohar who decided to race his quad. We didn’t have a problem with this because he races a KTM and he’s part of the family. But this just wasn’t any race for him – it was his first race ever! Its one thing to try racing for two hours at a local race but it’s another thing to show up at one of the gnarliest tracks in the country and just try to finish it.
As if there wasn’t enough tension AMohar had to get some new tires mounted before his race on Saturday. We arrived just in time on Friday to learn that the tire rig was closed and wouldn’t be open till 8:00am Saturday – two hours before his race. So he had to register and get his tires mounted before the race – which finally happened thanks to ITP tire crew. Quad ready, gear ready, nerves ready……10 seconds till the flag drops…and then he was off. The morning quad race ran an abbreviated loop of 9 miles which used a lot of the main trails throughout the park. With the exception of some bottle necks on the first lap he was setting a good pace and was pretty consistent with his lap times. His main focus was to go until he couldn’t go any longer and that’s exactly what he did. He took the checkered flag a couple minutes after 2 hours and he made it through his first race and GNCC. He finished in 10th Place in his class and made the team extremely proud for his racing debut.
Just after the top 3 Pros came through the finish line at the conclusion of the 1:00pm Pro Quad race it started to pour. The clouds over the mountains were black as night and it were as if a Tornado was going to hit. It poured rain and the wind was blowing extremely hard making a game of how many tents it could ruin. We were one of the many who lost that battle.
Side by sides raced at 4:30 in the pouring rain and the worst part about it was that it was cold. It wasn’t till about 8:00pm that the rain held up just enough for us to cook our food and get our sleeping arrangements organized before the rain fell some more.
Saturday morning when I opened the van door it was still cloudy and there was still a bitter cold in the air. When 10:00am rolled around DHaggs Sr. was ready to tackle the now muddy GNCC course. The morning loop was about 12 miles long and was going to be pretty challenging after the amount of rainfall the mountains received the night before. DHaggs Sr. got a terrible start, probably his worst ever. After several kicks his bike finally started and he was off on the track. He suffered a pretty bad crash on the first lap so he made a quick pit stop for some new goggles and to take a breather. He ran a helmet camera too which we took off after the first lap. He got back out on the track and took his time trying to find the best lines while he maintained a consistent lap time. He came in for a gas pit on his last lap and then finished up strong.
In the mean time while the morning race was finishing I was getting ready for the 1:00pm race which was taking on a 13 and a half mile loop. Again I found myself in a cool situation sitting just 3 rows behind some of the best riders in the world. I was also pretty excited to try out the new helmet camera. DHaggs Sr. ran it in the morning so when he was done we threw it on my helmet for the first lap. (I’ll try and get some footage on here as soon as I can.)
I got a good start, I was in the mix for the first couple of turns and then just before the big downhill I was in 5th place. The first 4 miles of the track was extremely fast, in fact the whole track was fast except for the woods sections. I enjoyed the open fields but I knew what lay deep in the woods and I was preparing myself for it, physically and mentally. I thought the track was a mix between wide-open motocross in the fields and enduro-x in the woods. The woods were filled with rocks, boulders, mud, roots and thanks to the rain the night before, little streams! I thought that the track organizers did a much better job this year of not trying to kill you with 3 or 4 miles of endless boulders. This year they seemed to run you through the toughest sections but then they gave you a little break in between. I felt awesome throughout the whole race and my main goal was to finish and get the checkered flag. I was mentally prepared this year and I have no doubt practicing at Rausch Creek the weekend before gave me and the team a huge advantage. Not to mention that we were blessed with temperatures in the 50’s!!! I know now for a fact that the heat is the cause of my sickness from previous races. This track was brutal and I pushed pretty hard each lap and I finished 22 minutes over 3 hours and there is no way that I would have been able to do that if it were humid out.
Besides a little mistake on the 2nd lap and getting stuck on the last lap I had a really good ride. I finished 11th Place in my class and did better than half of all competitors overall. I am very happy to have such a good satisfying ride after such a disappointing battle last year.
Overall it was a great weekend of racing but not such a great weekend for weather, the wind and rain made for miserable and uncomfortable camping conditions. The whole DHaggs team did awesome and we all rode well and survived one of the toughest tracks on the GNCC circuit!
I would like to thank my sponsors for all of your support: DHAGGSRacing, MSR Racing, Scott Powersports, Kenda USA, T.M. Designworks, DP Brakes, Scott USA, TAG Metals, Decal Works, Twin Air, IMS Products, Elf Oil, FMF, Cycra Racing, Regina Chains, and MotoSport