Husqvarna Kicks Off GNCC Season on Right Foot

Kearney off to strong start for 2010

March 3, 2010 - Woodcliff Lake, NJ - With
more than 1,200 riders from eight different countries on the starting
line, the Grand National Cross Country
series is arguably the most competitive off-road racing event in the
world. After starting the 2009 season with a badly broken ankle, Team
Husqvarna woods specialist Glenn Kearney was in full health and ready
to kick some tail at the
opening round of the 2010 GNCC series at Westgate River Ranch in Lake
Wales, Florida.


"It was a great day for me... a really fun event," explains the Aussie
import. "We had a bit of rain in the morning which made for ideal track
conditions. Even though it was very sandy and rough, I felt very good
all day.
The best news is that I'm in great condition and my hands aren't
blistered like they normally would be on a rough course like this one."
Remember, the typical GNCC consists of running wide open for three
hours!

A
decent 12th place start had Kearney in the hunt, running inside the top
five for a good portion of the race. "I moved up to 8th by the end of
the first lap and I continued
to ride well and pass for positions, but halfway through the race, I
went over the bars and became stuck under the bike for a time."
Kearney's blow-by blow account continues, "The crash also caused me to
lose my drink system,
which I had to replace at the end of the next lap." Each lap consisted
14 miles worth of tight trail, mud holes and whooped out sand
sections... no place to be without a drink system.


Despite losing time to the crash and swapping out his hydration pack,
Glenn was quickly back up to race pace. "I raced on and got into a good
battle with Jimmy Jarrett for quite a while." He then passed defending
GNCC series
champ Paul Whibley (who had grabbed the holeshot) for 5th place. "But
then I got stuck in the mud! I managed to get free and pushed on for
the finish, but with less than a half-mile from the finish Thad DuVall
snuck past me, so I had
to settle for 6th overall."


Glenn attributes his strong opening round to his 2010 Husqvarna. "My
TXC 250 4-stroke was flawless. It is light weight, it handles great and
I believe it really was the perfect bike for this race." Kearney
concedes conventional
thinking would have called for a bigger bike, but his Husqvarna was up
to the task. "This should have been a hardest track of the year for a
250... if the bike was ever going to have an issue, this would have
been the place. But it is
so light and handles so well that it allowed me to stay on top of the
sand that normally would have sapped the power. I could not be happier
with this motorcycle!"


Speaking of his Ben Kearney-prepped race bike, his mechanic/brother has
his work cut out for him this week! "I'm headed to Daytona Beach for
the Alligator Enduro on Thursday and right after that, it is up to Georgia for the next GNCC
this coming weekend."




Next Race: Alligator Enduro, AMA National Enduro Championship Series

Round #3, Daytona Beach, March 4