GNCC Bike Series - Round 11 New Berlin, NY Red Bull KTM's David Knight was crowned the GNCC XC-1 Champion at the 11th round of the series held at Unadilla Valley Raceway.
Heading to Unadilla, Knight, who has won six of the first ten rounds, held a slight point lead over the second place ride of Paul Whibley. Knight was not expected to round up the championship this weekend as Whibley would have had to finish fifth or worse against Knight's win for the championship to be secured.
However, Knight and his teammate Nate Kanney, both got great starts this weekend. Both riders were within the top three after the first half lap. The course was quite muddy as it had rained three days leading up to the event and started again within ten minutes after the start of the race. Knight, known as a great mud rider, had no problem moving into the lead. Once Knight moved into the lead, he rode a smart race. Knight stopped to pit for clean goggles and new gloves each lap. Kanney stayed close to Knight maintaining third position for the majority of the race. Meanwhile, Whibley was sitting in second when he ran out of gas on the last lap, ending his day and surrendering the championship to Knight. When the checkered flag flew Knight secured the win and the championship while Kanney was bumped up to second place - a great finish on his hometown course.
Red Bull KTM Factory rider, Kurt Caselli, was also in attendance. He garnered a mid-pack start and was forced to fight visibility issues due to the amount of mud and water being flung upon him as he fought his way through the pack. By the end of the race, he had worked up to 7th overall.
Red Bull KTM rider Justin Williamson had a great start in the XC-2 class pulling the holeshot and continuing on to lead the first lap. Unfortunately, water got into his motor on the second lap of the race and he was forced to DNF.
Results | POS. | | RIDER | MANUFACT |
| | | | |
| 1. | 1
| David Knight | KTM |
| 2. | 116 | Nathan Kanney | KTM |
| 3. | 4 | Jim Jarrett | Suzuki |
| 4. | 8 | Joshua Strang | Suzuki |
| 5. | 3 | Charles Mullins | Suzuki
|
Standings Results XC-2 Class 1. Thaddeus Duvall
2. Cory Buttrick - KTM
3. Jason Thomas
4. Scott Watkins
5. Jake Korn - KTM
6. Kailub Russell - KTM
7. Eric Bailey - KTM
8. Andrew Matusek
9. Dustin Gibson
10. John Day - KTM
Standings XC-2 Class 1. Thaddeus Duvall - 289
2. Dustin Gibson - 214
3. Kailub Russell - 186
4. Justin Williamson - 142
5. Josh Weisenfels - 138
Next Race: Round 12 - St. Clairsville, OH - Power Line Park - October 11-12, 2008
David Knight: “It’s a great feeling to have won my second US GNCC title. I have to thank my mechanic Scotty, all my sponsors, and the entire KTM Off Road Team for their support and hard work this year. We’ve had some great races, some disappointing races, but to finally win the title is amazing. I feel bad for Paul Whibley though. He’s ridden really well all year so to see him run out of fuel here, which handed me the championship, isn’t how I hoped things would end. I’ve also had some disappointing races this year, but despite the horrible conditions here everything went really well.
“The conditions really were bad. It was so wet and muddy that following another rider was almost impossible. I really wanted to win the race and I pushed hard to work my way to the front. I had a few riders to pass and managed to get into the lead just before the end of the lap. I had to pit to change my gloves so I had to re-pass Nate. Once I got out front I just tried to enjoy myself and not make too many mistakes. I was pulling away little by little, but when Whibs ran out of fuel I guess I had a comfortable lead.
“I knew that I could win the championship here, but I wasn’t expecting to. This makes all the hard work during the summer break worthwhile. I can relax a little bit now and enjoy the last few rounds of the series.”
GNCC ATV Series - Round 11 New Berlin, NY FRE/KTMs Taylor Kiser finished 2nd overall at the eleventh round of the ATV GNCC Series at the Unadilla Valley Raceway over the weekend.
The rain in the days leading up to the race and the steady rainfall on race day made for quite a few muddy sections on the race course. However, Kiser explained the course in a different manner, "The course was strange. It was muddy in sections because of the rain, but because that was the first rainfall in quite some time, there were other sections of the track that were dry and dusty. The variation in the track conditions made the track very rough and challenging - just how I like it!"
Kiser's teammate, Adam McGill, was out front early with a great start, while Kiser described his start in one word, "Horrible!" Kiser had been pushed back toward the end of the pack and then spun out and crashed together with competitor Chris Borich in the third turn. Fortunately, the two quickly recovered and began their charge forward.
Meanwhile, out front, McGill and the rest of the top five took a wrong turn a couple miles into the course which caused them to back track about one mile, allowing many riders to get by. "The front pack taking a wrong turn and my advantage of walking the first mile and a half of the course earlier in the day helped me to pass quite a few riders on the first lap," commented Kiser who came around in 3rd place after lap one. McGill would check in at 19th on lap one after struggling to make up time from his earlier detour.
Kiser continued to ride a strong and smooth race through to the finish. He was holding on to 3rd on the last lap when Bill Ballance wrecked in front of him while trying to pass for the lead. Kiser capitalized on his mistake and finished in second position just 25 seconds back from the winner Chris Bithell. McGill, who rode a great race, despite his first lap bad luck, would catch back up to 11th before the checkered flag flew.
On the podium, Kiser mentioned, "I am so happy with my performance today. My bike ran great and I had a mistake free race. I hope to finish in the same way the last two rounds."
Results | POS. | | RIDER | MANUFACT. | |
| | | | | |
| 1. | 479 | Chris Bithell | Can Am | |
| 2. | 7 | Taylor Kiser | KTM | |
| 3. | 8 | Bryan Cook | Honda | |
| 4. | 2 | Chris Borich | Suzuki | |
| 5. | 526 | Bill Ballance | Yamaha | |
| 11. | 5 | Adam McGill | KTM | |
Standings | POS. | | RIDER | MANUFACT. | POINTS |
| | | | | |
| 1. | 526 | Bill Ballance | Yamaha | 232 |
| 3. | 5 | Adam McGill
| KTM | 200 |
| 4. | 8 | Bryan Cook | Honda | 195 |
| 5. | 2 | Chris Borich | Suzuki | 191 |
| 5. | 449 | Brandon Sommers | Yamaha | 190 |
| 6. | 7 | Taylor Kiser | KTM | 164 |
Next Event: Round 12 - St. Clairsville, OH - October 11-12, 2008
Red Bull KTMs Taddy Blazusiak Earns 3rd at Denver EnduroCross Red Bull KTMs Taddy Blazusiak earned 3rd overall at the fourth round of the AMA EnduroCross Series held in Denver's National Western Complex.
Round four marked the first race back for Blazusiak since a major injury just one and a half months ago. Blazusiak started the evening well taking a win in his heat, thus, earning a great gate pick for the main event.
In the main event, he was running in 2nd position behind leader Damon Huffman. Blazusiak held this position for a few laps before suffering a big crash and handing the position to fellow KTM rider Geoff Aaron. Blazusiak recovered quickly to secure 3rd overall when the checkered flag appeared. Huffman took the win and Aaron earned second.
Overall Results 1. Damon Huffman
2. Geoff Aaron - KTM
3. Taddy Blazusiak - KTM 4. Ricky Dietrich
5. Colton Haaker - KTM Next Event: Round 5 - Columbus, OH - October 4, 2008
Taddy Blazusiak: “After everything that I’ve been through since my accident I’m pleased with my result. It’s just great to be able to put my injury behind me, I can now focus on improving my fitness and improving my results. Everything went well for me in Denver, but I suffered with my lack of fitness, which I was expecting. I got the fastest lap during the hot lap session, I was more than one second ahead of Damon Huffman and Ricky Dietrich.
“I knew from the moment I won my heat race that I was going to find the final tough. In the main event I made an ok start, I was mid-pack going into the first turn, but I managed to work my way to third in the first few corners. I was having a good battle with Ricky Dietrich until he made a mistake and I moved into second. I didn’t try to catch Huffman who was leading because I knew if I pushed too hard I would suffer in the last laps.
“With two laps to go I crashed and went over the bars. I was up quickly but I dropped to third behind Geoff Aaron. I was really tired by that point so I didn’t try and pass him. I’m just pleased to be back on the podium.”
Mercado wins Laguna Seca,
Solis wins Championship
Leandro Mercado of Argentina won the thrilling Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, winning a shootout with Jake Gagne of Ramona, Calif.
In a race filled with passing and drama throughout the field, 13-year-old Benny Solis of North Hollywood, Calif., wrapped up the inaugural Red Bull AMA U.S.
Rookies Cup championship with his fifth place finish, even though title rival Hayden Gillim made a brilliant move going into the last turn to take third place in the race.
Mercado took the lead in both ends of the red-flagged race, and in each leg Gagne chased the Rookie that beat him in the Elkhart Lake race earlier this year. Mercado took a solid lead of more than two seconds but the slow-starting Gagne began to run down the Rookie from Argentina. Gagne set the fastest lap of the race at 1:33.894 on lap 13, but Mercado responded with a 1:34.047 on the same lap. Gagne, in his first year of roadracing, lowered the gap to just over a half second in the closing laps, but Mercado responded and won the race by 1.192 seconds.
"I worked through the whole week to have a good weekend," said Mercado, who finished third in the championship. "Everything went as planned. I got a good time in qualifying and won the pole, and then I got a really good start. After the red flag, I wanted to get another good start and I did. It was an awesome race and I'm really, really happy."
After the race started, I really didn't get a good start but I tried to catch up," said Gagne. "I tried to come through the pack as good as I could and I pushed as hard as I could. It wasn't quite enough but I was able to get some good laps in."
The battle for third place had an impact on the championship as well. With a bold move, Gillim, a 13-year-old from Owensboro, Ky., went from fifth place to third in the last corner, then held off Austin DeHaven of Los Angeles, Calif., and Solis for the final podium position.
"With 'Tati' winning, I knew I had to get third place in the race to keep second place in the championship," said Gillim, who won two races this season.
For Solis, his championship season saw him win four races and develop a large points lead. The second-generation racer rode aggressively throughout the season and proved his skills in the ten race series as he won the title by 11 points. Solis was surprised with a KTM 125 motocross bike, presented by 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup champion JD Beach.
"Last year when we went to the Selection Event, it was like a dream come true to make it to the second day," said Solis. "I was aiming for the top ten in the Championship but then after getting pole at [the first race at] Barber, I thought maybe I had a chance at this. Ever since then, my confidence has been boosted up and I've been trying to do my best all year. I ended up with four wins and a couple of podiums. I am really happy with how things have gone and it's been a fantastic year."
Tomas Puerta of Colombia took sixth place as he crossed the line right on the tail of Benny's KTM RC 125 and Jesse Stevens of Lawrenceville, Ga., earned his best result of the year with his seventh place finish.
Despite an ailing hand from his Indianapolis crash, Joey Pascarella of Vacaville, Calif., took ninth place ahead of fellow Californian Bryce Prince of Bakersfield.
Austin Medrano of Mustang, Okla., was a contender early on. He highsided while contesting for the podium just before the halfway point of the race, bringing out the red flag. Austin was unhurt and wanted to continue, but his bike was too badly damaged to go on.
Huntley Nash wrapped up the tenth and final spot for the Red Bull Riders Cup. Nash earned one point with a 15th place finish, the margin he had in the final standings over Corey Rech of Ellijay, Georgia.
The Red Bull Riders Cup race will be held at the MotoGP season finale in Valencia, Spain on October 25, with the top-ten Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies taking on the top-ten Red Bull MotoGP Rookies in the second leg of the Transatlantic match race series. The Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies will attempt to bring home the Cup after the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies won it at Indianapolis.
Results Final Standings
KTM Junior Supercross Challenge Winners Ready for US Open
The most anticipated Supercross half-time show is coming to Las Vegas in two weeks! The KTM Junior Supercross Challenge Final will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as part of the two-day twelfth annual US Open event on October 10-11, 2008.
Each KJSC rider is a winner, literally, as each participant at the US Open has won an AMA Supercross event during the 2008 season! Sixteen riders, fifteen U.S. and one Canadian, will battle head to head for two nights with the winner determined based on a two-moto format of the combined results from Friday and Saturday nights racing.
All rider's will race aboard a 2008 50 SX and will receive a free set of KTM Hard Equipment Racing apparel and other surprise gifts from this year's sponsors.
This year's participants include: Marcus Nesby (Anaheim 1), Gavin Tomberlin (Phoenix), Miles McDonald (Anaheim 2), Goodman Bare (San Francisco), Derrick Crider (Anaheim 3), Cody Harrison (San Diego), Chase Sipes (Houston), Joshua Williams (Atalnta), Brandon Moore (Indianapolis), Bryson Gardener (Minnesota), Christopher DaSilva (Toronto), Dawson Evitts (Dallas), Jase Burke (Detroit), Dante Oliveira (St. Louis), Collin Blakita (Seattle) and Derek Drake (Las Vegas).
Please come out and cheer on these young riders, for it won't be long before they hit the big time!
The KTM Junior Supercross Challenge is sponsored by: KTM Hard Equipment, Motorex, Thor, Michelin, FMF, Scott, OGIO, M2R, Leatt Brace and the MSF Dirtbike School.
Photographer: Scearce D., Cheatwood K.,
