...looks like no one really cares about the GNCC opener....be honest with you,if it wasn't for being a fan of Andrew Delong, it wasn't worth my time or money.The new track sucked,the location sucked and to add to this distraught feeling ,I just can't get excited about the Husqvarna race effort-I can't believe I just said that! Things just aren't right in my world...I know I'm going to get back lash for this and frankly,I don't really care. What I do care about is that feeling when this small group of Husqvarna racers came out to race against all the big rig,big mouth,mightier then thou attitudes of the Big 5 and beat them .It didn't happen a lot but considering the minuscule number that were there and in the hunt,it brought more joy than ever. Husqvarna is now a ktm sibling and is just that,a ktm in disguise and it's all apart of the group in the Big 5 -the band of manufacturers I don't really care about. Cagiva had it's moments but they too were small compared to the field of more dominant bikes.They cared enough to save the "marque", save for the four stroke/frame of Swedishs days,they took and made the 2t's their own,but in a twist that I "doubt" ktm will ever do,they eventually dropped all Cagiva based race bikes in favor of building a Italian Husky...most die-hard Husky owners know the story ,no need to open that can of worms...this is only my opinion and for me, I am still a loyal HUSKY owner ,but I doubt you will "ever" see a ktm badged Husky in my garage.At least I have my son who races a 2013 TC250 to cheer for- best thing for this old ,"set-in -his-ways dad...
It is hard to get excited about gncc racing when you live in the west since there isn't a race within 2000 miles. Heck it might as well be the WEC from our position.
Wow that went sideways in a hurry. From GNCC coverage to I don't like KTMs in about 2 sentences. Yeah, miss cheering for the underdog. Yeah, like Rancher says its an East coast race. Also the coverage is spotty here. I do like seeing it and usually catch it as highlights on a sports show. Still hope the best for DeLong. KTMs are great bikes but this move did take some of the exotic underdog out of it.
The closest equivalent series to GNCC out west here is the AMA West HS series. @3hr, closed course, (12mile this weekend) short loop single track racing. I understand the point of this thread, although I am going WHT Husky I do understand the GusCycle pain. Gus-A few underdog answers are blooming- Beta (not really an underdog at this point!!), Gas-Gas, Sherco, TM......Beta is the "new" competitive Italian on the block!
GNCC may be on the east coast, but damn that's my favorite series. Thank you racer tv for your half hour coverage of a 3 hour race.
Yea Gus, I know what ya mean. Tried to catch DeLong at the Borich compound(about a 1/2 mile from me) but no luck this year. The track was REALLY bad. GNCC had a 2yr contract I believe I heard but will try to go somewhere else next year. They tried to talk our (DDR) race property landowner into using his but we share it with a hunting club so no go. They want to stay close to Daytona. Almost all the guys that came to the Alligator on Monday said they would not go back. I didn't even go watch this year, but I may go to GA & race the General with a few FTR MasterC guys.
The complete live broadcast recording is available on Racertv, the opening 2014 round and all the past races since they started the broadcasts. All the main ATV and bike races are live on the race day. Here's the link to Florida opener 2014, all 3 hours and 37 minutes... http://racertv.com/2014/03/09/gncclive-rd-1-mud-mucker-bike On Racertv's website hit the drop down box next to 'Live Races' and there is a choice under 'Live Archives' of 'GNCC live' to find all the past live broadcasts recordings. But on Gus's original post, the bike thing is some what of a let down, but shall pass. Still love anything with a motor and two wheels. We always 'looked' like the underdog but tried to take it to the front with the 'H' flying. I love to follow along on race day with all the racer we have met over the years. It's certainly a lot more interesting when you know names in both the morning race and afternoon race. And being from PA the Delong boys are representing us well. Both Andrew and Craig had a great ride in Florida, look forward to seeing how they fare at round 2. We will not be hitting the full GNCC circuit this year, but still have both the '12 and '13 TXC250's that will be seeing action on the trails and in local races in the ECEA, NEOC, AMA District 6 and maybe a GNCC or two. Rumor has it one's being set up for yours truly! Of course I get the older one... Take care.
I never have really considered the Florida round to be mean much. More like a bike week side show than part of the series. You never know who's going to show up and give it a try. I think the horror stories of the Mud Mucker place kept a lot of them away. The real racing starts Sunday.
I had always hoped that WORCS would be more single track closed course GNCC series, dont get me wrong Im a fan, but its like a high speed MX/offroad stuff (one of our crew was worcs privateer pro and A class champ early 2000s to mid 2000s). So like I said I think that for out in the western states as far as national class/level series the western HS series is most like GNCC.
Depends which ones, some of them (WORCS) up here are tight and nasty. At least they were back int he day when I paid attention to those races. Did it at Washougal a few times and was fun.
I've been attending the GNCC series here in Florida for over 10 years and although it's always been during bike week it is a far cry from biker related mentality.Florida has had a few (since I've been attending/participating) crappy events due to location but none compare to this last one! Giving most people just think of Florida as being flatland ,it is quite a demanding due to "deep" sugar sand extreme heat,torrential rains that are relentless ,running into palmetto roots that criss cross each other and the soon to be exposed oak and pine roots makes for an interesting race ....but then again I have never been out west so I can't compare their events to this series
Some of the WORCS races in the NW are on trails like this... But Havasu and other areas are much different, more open and faster. Found a vid, Caselli at 1:19 (and a bunch more) he wins
I always thought the Washougal WORCS would be cool. It looks more like a GNCC than the others. Actually, from what I've seen from you guys, any riding in the NW looks like it would be cool.
There is everything here, beach, dunes, woods, more woods, go east and ride dez. Within 2-3 hours from my house you can ride any sort of terrain you choose. Also seems they are actually adding a lot of trail which is a miracle these days. I have extra bikes...
...gotta admit after seeing bunches of pics and vids of the NW area, it dreams up visions of what heaven would be for off roaders!
I'd rather see a outdoors dirt bike race in the woods than a SX indoors race ... Since I never read magazines or was on the web much in any newsgroups or anything while in the states, the GNCC was hidden to me ... Its really cool in GPNF (WA) and maybe ~5 months riding there for a yr... I actually thought about trying to live there but just too much snow ...It was short thought actually. You really need to be part mountain man to ride a winter out up there.
Out west we still have it all any type of racing you want from wide open desert to tight single track Wait we are now talking about the AMA National Hare & Hound races all 10 of them and each one is different We race in So Calif,Idaho,Uhta,and Nev
