There’s a new face in the GNCC XC2 Pro Lites Class, former National Enduro contender, Pennsylvania native, and soon-to-be High School graduate, Shane Hufford has scored two top-5 finishes so far this year and sits 4th in points. If you don’t follow the NEPG Series you may have never heard of Shane so get to know him a bit better in this interview!

1. Last playlist played on iPod: Anything but Taylor Swift.
2. Last person to text you: Eric Waltz
3. Favorite restaurant: Olive Garden
4. Are you a coffee drinker? Nope
5. Favorite place to ride: My home track at my house.
6. Hobby other than racing: Mounting Biking
7. Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
8. Idol? Scott Summers
9. First thing you do in the morning? Shower
10. What type of conditions do you race best in? Dry & fast
11. Last movie you watched? Social Network
12. Boxers or briefs? Boxers
13. What bend of handle bars do you run? Renthal 999
14. In your opinion, who is the greatest rider of all time? Malcolm Smith
15. How old are you? 18
16. iPhone or android? Android
17. Any pre-race superstitions? Checking my petcock and choke over a few dozen times
18. Favorite dessert? Strawberry Shortcake
19. Ford or Chevy? Chevy
20. Blondes or brunets? Gingers only.
21. Favorite breakfast food? Bakes blueberry oatmeal
22. Guilty pleasure? A nice cold Coke after a race
23. Interstate or backroads? Interstate
24. Number one thing on bucket list? Ride Erzberg someday

You have put in some solids rides to start the year off! The XC2 class is overflowing with talent. Are you planning on racing every GNCC this year?
Yes, my plans are to attend every GNCC this year. After three full seasons of National Enduros, the GNCCs are a new challenge and a nice change. I really want to show I am a versatile rider, tight or fast and put it on the podium a few times before the season is out.

I see that you only did two of the GNCCs last year. Was there a reason for that?
No other reason than it wasn’t in the overall budget, and my previous sponsor wanted to focus on the NEPG series. I did break my wrist prior to the PA NEPG round, but I was able to heal up from that by the end of the season. Any privateer off-road racer will tell you, the travel expenses alone can add up pretty fast.

Name one thing you would change about the industry.
Well I haven’t been in the industry long enough to be jaded yet. Overall I’m pretty pleased so far, but if I had to point out one thing I would change it would be the purse money and contingency. It can get there though, the off-road TV and media coverage can only lead to better things. Also, bring back a weekly motorcycle magazine, I like my Racer X and Trials & Enduro News, but I miss my hardcopy Cycle News!

Traveling is a huge part of racing. Some racers travel over ten hours to race. What would you say your average drive time is?
Our average drive time is around 9 hours. Not too bad really compared to some other racers I know.

What is your first childhood memory that involves racing?
Racing a clapped out JR50 when I was 5! [Laughs]

What do you do to help stay in shape for the brutal 3 hours?
Mountain biking and gym training throughout the week. Other than that, I ride when I can.

Who has been your biggest motivator so far in life?
My current mechanic, Evan Yarnall, has been a great recent motivator at this level. He’s showed me that there is a lot to bike setup and mental toughness to run up front. Growing up my parents helped me a lot as well.

How many years have you been racing the XC2 class?
If you count last year, this is my second year in the XC2 class.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What is your plan to get there?
I would love to be a podium contender in the XC1 class. I know every racer says that, but if I can show I have the speed and consistency in the XC2 class, I hope I can continue to keep and find good sponsors that are willing to help me along the way. I graduate High school in a few weeks, and I’ll be able to really train and ride a lot more than I am now. If I can stay healthy and progress my riding, anything is possible.

Which rider would you like to have the style of, the heart of, and the fitness of?
Russell Bobbitt

If you could have any outside sponsor you wanted, who would it be?
Walmart.

If you could race against any past champion who would it be?
Randy Hawkins

Who would you like to thank for helping you chase your dream?
I would like to thank my parents, friends and for helping me at the races, plus my mechanic Evan Yarnall for building me an unbelievable bike. It’s a big time commitment on everyone’s part and it really means a lot to me. Also, I couldn’t race at this level without the great bike and parts support from Bromley’s KTM, KTM USA and our local KTM rep Brooks Hamilton. The KTM’s are so good I’m blown away each year I ride a new model. All of my great sponsors as well: Moose Racing, Enduro Engineering, Silkolene, Arai, Powersport Grafx, SIDI, Dunlop, Dirt Tricks, Galfer USA, Bicycle Therapy, Bullet Proof Designs, Pirie Performance Products, Clockwork KTM, Scott Goggles, and USWE. I’m working hard to get these guys on the podium here shortly, thanks a lot to everyone, I couldn’t do it

DirtWise Riding Schools and Instructional DVDs are the leading Offroad skills learning institution in the US, featuring highly acclaimed two-day schools across the nation and a full complement of the best skills improvement DVDs available. Visit www.shanewatts.com for more details.

Rookie GNCC Pro XC2 racer Layne Michael, gives us the inside scoop throughout the year on the trials and tribulations its going to take for him to transition from an aspiring, talented amateur rider to hopefully a future Pro champion.

Well, here we are for the next installment of my blog. I left off last time with a disappointing race and was really fired up about it. Every time I throw my leg over the bike I can only think about how badly I want to finish on the podium. I feel like I got over the disappointing ride pretty quickly though and I was feeling good on the bike again so I decided to race the High Point woods race that next weekend.

Most of the GNCC workers (like Barry Hawk and those guys) put it on so I knew it would be a fun race! I had the bike all ready to go the day before and was ready to go racing! I woke up morning of the race ready to go and all excited but then I realized that it was raining like crazy and didn’t look like it was going to let up. Definitely wasn’t pumped about that but I still just wanted to rip up the moto track! There ended up being a ton of GNCC racers there, which was awesome – AJ Stewart, Mark Heresco and Michael Mcginnis, to name a few. I had an awful jump after the first couple corners but I took advantage of the moto track and made my way into the lead before we got off the moto track and back into the woods. I soon began to push and get a little gap but it was hard because of the track being so slick.

I came around the first lap with about a 10 second lead and then I really began to push. On the second lap I had pretty close to a 30 second lead then I went into the woods things got pretty wild. There was a little bottleneck so I was working my way through and some guy slid down into me so I hopped off my bike and pushed it up the hill. But through all the chaos, I’m guessing his foot peg caught my rear brake line and ripped it off, which left me with no rear brakes. I was only halfway through that lap so I had to ride another 4 miles to get back to where my pit was located on the track. It was a pretty scary lap! There were a few big downhills at the end of the lap and I got going so fast down them I had to force myself to wreck, which doesn’t sound right at all! The guys I had a lead on eventually caught me. I held the guy off in second as long as I could but one of the wrecks led him to get around me. Then Mark Heresco was in third and he caught me before the finish and he passed me on a downhill as well, but I was still in third! I finally made it back to the pits and I told them what happened but they weren’t going to change it. I was already a muddy mess so I told them to fix it. By the time we ran back to the trailer changed it and bled the brakes I lost almost 10 minutes and we were only doing 11 and a half minute lap times! I was close to getting lapped but I started pushing and rode as hard as I could and by the end of the race I made it back to fourth on the last lap. Once again just disappointing races where bad luck has struck me. I kept my head up because I knew this would just motivate me once more.

That week I was looking for a new place to ride and I got a call from Darryn Durham to come up and ride some moto for a couple days. I was pumped! So I loaded everything up and went to ride! I showed up and he told me that Alex Martin and Brady Kiesel were also coming to ride and I soon wondered what I had gotten myself into. But I suited up and was going to show them how a woods guy did it! It was a pretty sick day of riding, even though Darryn and Alex were a lot faster than me but I held my own against the rest.

That night we went to dinner and then headed back to the Durham estate to get some sleep. The next day I had another sick day of riding and was pumped the Darryn gave me the invite to come up. I headed home that evening to prepare for the Kentucky GNCC with even more fire than I had before. I was ready to get after it, but not so much when I arrived. It had been raining non-stop and was not looking so well. I looked at a little bit of the track but knew it was a waste because they would change it so much. Woke up morning of the race and was actually pumped to go race in the slop! The Youth race looked rough on those kids but I was ready to go! They soon announced that the 10am and 1pm races were going to be combined, which meant second lap there would be bottle necks everywhere and boy were there ever. I had a pretty good start; I think I made it up to fifth after the field before heading into the woods. I struggled on the first lap with getting comfortable and lost a couple spots but then I started to find my rhythm. Made a couple spots back up and started catching back up. We came to a bottleneck and I was seeing the front-runners and even XC1 guys so I knew I just had to pick some good lines and I would be good but that wasn’t the case. I tried to make a line just underneath the bottleneck and buried it. Done.

I did everything I could to try and get the bike out but it just wasn’t happening. I looked up and saw Grant Baylor was stuck so I ran up and pulled him out so he could continue racing. I went back to my bike and finally I was able to get it out but I had already lost a lot of time. I came around that lap in fifteenth but I started the charge back, stopping every lap to put anti freeze in my bike because it was just boiling over. By the time I got to the last lap I know I worked my way back up to sixth and I was pretty excited about it to be honest. I made it through all the bad spots on the track and had two miles left then I noticed the bike was really starting to struggle and then all of the sudden it just died. I knew the motor had let go because there was no compression, so I just waited. There was so many people broken down that I didn’t get pulled out of the woods until 6 that evening! It was frustrating but I knew that it wasn’t anyone’s fault because it was just a gnarly race. The GNCC crew did awesome by getting us all out of the woods and back to the pits!

But that left for a long late night drive and it was. We arrived at the house at 3 a.m. and finally got some shuteye but my poor dad had to be up and at work in a couple hours. He only had a couple hour nap before heading out. Love that man to death! All the stuff he does for me is unreal and I wouldn’t be able to do any of it without him. But that leads up to today, in which I will be cleaning mud for days to come!

Layne Michael is supported by DirtWise Academy of Offroad Riding schools and Instructional DVDs, Morgantown Powersports, KTM Hard Parts, Fly Racing, Clockwork fuel tanks, EBC Brakes, Asterisk knee braces, G2 Ergo throttle tubes and handguards, Scott goggles, PR2 suspension,Powersport Grafx, FMF exhausts, Renthal bars, Maxima oils, UFO plastics, Bullet Proof Designs, Kenda tires, USWE, motorrad, and most importantly by his family.

“WE BRING TOGETHER WHAT BELONGS TOGETHER”

HUSQVARNA STARTS A NEW ERA OF GREAT SUCCESS
Following the acquisition of Husqvarna by Pierer Industries AG and after careful analysis and evaluation of all aspects, it was decided to reunite what came out of shared roots 25 years ago. In other words, Husqvarna will enter a positive new era by combining its own rich heritage with Husaberg’s state-of-the-art technology.

NEW HUSQVARNA MODEL LINEUP TO BE PRESENTED IN OCTOBER
The new generation of Husqvarna models is already in progress: a new line-up, with brand new exclusive design and the latest technology is being developed and will be offered in the segments Enduro, Motocross and Sportminicycles. There will also be exciting, newly developed products in the Supermoto segment – one in which Husqvarna has enjoyed a lot of success in recent years.

DON´T MISS THE PRESENTATION OF THE NEW HUSQVARNA OFFROAD LINEUP IN SWEDEN; PLANNED FOR EARLY OCTOBER 2013. The new line-up will be presented to the big fan community at the international EICMA show in Milan in early November.

HUSQVARNA SPORTMOTORCYCLE GMBH, OPERATIONAL AS OF OCTOBER 2013
As of October 2013, the new group company “Husqvarna Sportmotorcyle GmbH” based in Mattighofen, Austria, will be fully operational in the production and sale of the new model range to the Husqvarna network of dealers and distributors. Parts supply and Customer Service for all Husqvarna models up to and including Model Year 2013 are guaranteed for the years to come and will remain at the current business location in Biandronno (VA), Italy.

####

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. (May 15, 2013) - Following an unpredictable weekend of weather and track conditions at Round 5 of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series, the chase for the 2013 championship has become a little bit tighter. While Charlie Mullins continues to lead the way in the overall standings, a tough weekend for the Factory FMF/KTM team last round allowed the rest of the field to garner much needed points in the championship chase. As the series makes its way into Round 6 this weekend, several riders will carry the momentum needed to inch another step closer towards the number one spot.

Shenandoah Honda/USWE-Sports.com’s Thad DuVall is the first non-KTM rider to claim an overall victory in 2013, giving the West Virginia native confidence heading into this weekend’s Dunlop Limestone 100 GNCC. DuVall currently sits one point below Carolina KTM/RidePG.com’s Chris Bach in the overall standings after experiencing a crash and failing to score championship points at Round 3. With the exception of the points leader Mullins, Bach is the only other XC1 rider to have successfully scored championship points at all five rounds thus far. Consistency has paid off for the Indiana native as he looks to score his third podium finish in his home state this weekend.

Strang is coming off a season-best second place finishPhoto: Ken Hill

There’s no denying the dominance of the FMF/KTM duo of Mullins and Kailub Russell but as many riders have already proven, it’s a 13-race championship and every lap counts. Russell was plagued with mechanical issues in the muddy confines of Round 5, where he lost valuable points on his teammate Mullins. However, Russell is able to maintain a comfortable lead over the third place of Bach heading into this weekend’s race.

DuVall secured his first win of the season last roundPhoto: Ken HIll

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC’s Josh Strang put in a breakthrough ride at the last round, finishing a season-best second overall to DuVall. Strang is among several XC1 riders to run into struggles along the way but after proving to himself that he could lead his competitors in the previous round, Strang will be looking to secure his first win on Sunday afternoon. Defending champ Paul Whibley has yet to finish on the podium this season after recovering from a wrist injury earlier this year. The two-time champ has shown the speed and consistency needed to win races and will continue striving to be a front-runner.

In the XC2 Pro Lites division, F.A.R Husky’s Andrew DeLong tops the class by a mere two points after falling victim to the muddy conditions at the last round. With three race wins this season, DeLong has been the most dominant rider in the XC2 division. However, after securing another podium finish, defending champ Jason Thomas now sits only two points below DeLong for the championship. The DirtWise Schools/ KTM-Parts.com/ Maxxis rider gained valuable points over KTM Support Rider Grant Baylor who sits third in the class during his rookie season. Shane Hufford Jr. and AJ Stewart round out the top ten.

Thomas closed the XC2 points gap to just two points behind DeLong  Photo: Ken Hill

Four-wheeled ATVs will compete throughout the day on Saturday, May 18 and dirt bikes will race on Sunday, May 19. Local riders are invited to race the event as well, as GNCC racing offers classes for riders of all skill and experience levels. The amateur racer entry fee is $40 and riders can sign up at the track.

Spectator passes run $15 for the full weekend, with pro pit access and pro autographs at no additional charge. On both Saturday and Sunday, youth riders race at 8 a.m., amateurs race at 10 a.m., and top amateurs and pros race at 1 p.m. Round 4 of the 50cc Micro Series will take place Saturday at 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the official series website at www.GNCCRacing.com.

Due to conflicting events this weekend, the GNCC LIVE show will not be broadcast from the Dunlop Limestone 100. The regularly scheduled show will be back on RacerTV.com June 1 and 2 for the Wiseco John Penton GNCC.

Stay up-to-date with exclusive content from the 2013 AMSOIL GNCC Series by following the series Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About GNCC Racing

The AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country series is America’s premier off-road racing series. Founded in 1975, the 13-round championship is produced exclusively by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour GNCC races lead as many as 1,500 riders through tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles. With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. The series draws talent from all over the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. GNCC Racing is televised weekly on NBC Sports and RacerTVonline.com. For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.

Taft has to be one of the more unpredictable stops on the WORCS tour. The terrain is comprised mostly of hard pack roads, but the twist is that as the surface breaks down, seemingly bottomless silt arises, which conceals any square edges and holes and makes it a veritable guessing game as to what your hitting. Adding any water to the track, obviously a necessity to suppress the dust and prevent the silt, only fuels the unpredictability as it brings the traction level on par with an ice skating rink, making the terms speed and control slightly mutually exclusive. On top of it all, the weather report was calling for triple digit highs so there was no denying it was going to be one tough, physically demanding weekend of racing.

As I lined up for the start of the pro race I had a goal in mind: no matter how my race was going, I wanted to test myself in the heat; I was focused on maintaining my lap times for the entire two hours, basically testing my preparation. In the past I’ve been pretty susceptible to heat exhaustion so this was a perfect opportunity to test my limits. It was a pretty ambitious goal.

Lately I’ve become quite the master of the two-kick start and as the green flag flew, I didn’t disappoint. I was instantly deflated as I wanted to be up front quickly, but as my bike fired to life, I realized the only bikes thundering down the start straight ahead of me were the three (electric start) KTMs of Eric Yorba, Starr Savage and Ty Tremaine, and the Kawasaki of Justin Seeds; apparently everyone else was struggling to get their bikes fired and the fact that I wasn’t going to be mired in the back of the pack filled me with glee.

Photo By: Harlen Foley

I wanted to get to the lead in a hurry, set my own pace, and I was able to make a pretty quick pass on Tremaine. Next in my sights was Justin Seeds and we accelerated down a choppy straightaway nearly side-by-side. As we approached the following corner, Justin was stuck in the main line, hitting the biggest bumps, and I was out on the far edge of the track, allowing me to brake later and sweep by just before we reached the turn. Upon exiting the corner I caught the tail end of a pretty exciting crash as Starr fell victim to some freshly laid water. He lost traction, sliding the bike sideways and once his bike caught, he was high-sided into the air and up the following hill while his bike actually low-sided to a sliding stop, leaving him looking back at a thundering pack of 450s heading straight for him, all struggling for traction just as he had done (I’m pretty sure everyone avoided him). His crash definitely exemplified how unpredictable the track conditions can be and it also gifted me second position, leaving just Eric Yorba ahead of me.

Eric was riding really well. We were both feeling out the track conditions slightly, but I wasn’t able to make too much time on him during the first lap. It wasn’t until the second lap that I made a pretty good push and got right up behind him, just in time to get a front row seat to Eric’s wild ride…

As we crested the top of a fifth gear hill, the course turned right, then lazily left and there was a small oil pipe just protruding from the ground on the inside of the left-handed corner. Eric trimmed the corner a little tight, clipped the pipe just wrong and tucked his front end, which sent his back end violently swapping out to the side. The speed of the swap whipped both of his legs high into the air and I thought he was done for, but somehow he managed to muscle the bike straight and get his legs back in their proper places. I think the fact that his entire race flashed before his eyes, along with almost crashing on an asphalt road, lead him to sit up and give me free passage into the lead and I still can’t believe he saved that swap; it was incredibly violent.

Photo By: Harlen Foley

From here I went about pushing the pace and testing my limits, but as I came into the Endurocross section on the second lap, the only limits I was about to test were the limits of tire traction on a wet log. As I rounded a corner and headed towards a small log double (nothing incredibly difficult) I remember thinking that there was a lot of fresh water on the ground, which I knew would make doubling the logs a little tougher, but I was committed. I took to the air and as I approached the second log, I clipped it just slightly with the front tire. I landed in the dirt, front wheel first with my back end teetering on the brink of falling forward. It seemed like it took ages for my bike to decide whether or not to send me over the bars and I remember arguing with myself over the idea that I could save it. Finally my bike came to the decision that there was just enough momentum to tip me forward and I was forced to step through the bars as my bike came to a perfect stop, upside-down, resting on its seat and handlebars. Luckily, it never stalled and I was able to remount and take off without losing the lead.

It took a couple laps to beat the clutch perch back into a comfortable position, but once I did, the rest of the race was smooth sailing. I had pulled a decent lead and was focusing on achieving my goal of keeping my laps consistent, not dropping off the pace, which worked out well for the majority of the race. It wasn’t until the final couple of laps that my times began to drop, and even then it was more due to my hands getting hot spots than my body fatiguing. All in all, I was quite satisfied with how I held up in the heat as I crossed the finish line and took my third win of the series.

It was another great weekend for me, and my team: Precision Concepts, Alamo Alarms Racing. The team made some adjustments after practice to help with the square-edged chop and it made a big difference on race day as my bike handled the challenging conditions very well. The WORCS crew did a stellar job with the facility; especially considering the conditions weren’t ideal for keeping water on the course. Thanks to my personal sponsors: Fox Racing, Alamo Alarms, PODmx knee braces, USWE hydration systems (the hands-free device made such a huge difference on a blisteringly hot weekend), THR Motorsports, Northland Motorsports and Ryan Abbatoye Designs. Congratulations to Ryan Abbatoye for earning his first ever WORCS podium (not bad for sitting at a desk all day). Thanks to my family and friends, my fiancé for everything she does, my mechanic Phil, and Ty and John back at Precision for working their butts off in preparation for the Baja 500.

Photo By: Harlen Foley

Speaking of the Baja 500: it’s always such a fun race and I can’t wait to get down there and start riding. I feel we have a great team. I’m thrilled to again be partnered with David Pearson and Steve Hengeveld, and excited to have Taylor Robert joining us, adding more speed and depth to an already stacked group of talent. After winning last year’s 500, we’re definitely planning on repeating and I’m looking forward to having another close battle with the KTM and Honda boys. See you all down south!

Robby Bell

www.robbybellracing.com

www.facebook.com/rbell32

www.twitter.com/robbybell32

www.youtube.com/robbybell32

Thank you to all the Precision Concepts, Alamo Alarm Kawasaki team sponsors: FMF Exhaust, GPR Stabilizers, IMS Racing, BRP Triple Clamps, AME Grips, Kalgard Oils/Lubricants, Ryan Abbatoye Designs, AP Brakes, LAPC Pistons, Renthal Handlebars/Sprockets, Dunlop Tires, VP Racing Fuels, DT1 Air Filters, K&N Oil Filters, Hinson, Matrix Concepts, RK/Excel, Acerbis, Works Connection, Zip-Ty Racing, SealSavers, Baja Designs.

Pro class:

1. Robby Bell

2. Ryan Abbatoye

3. Justin Jones

4. Justin Seeds

5. Bobby Garrison