Posts
949
Joined
12/25/2016
Location
Piedmont, SC
US
Edited Date/Time
1/30/2020 5:23am
To start it off I’m a mid pack c rider in both moto and off-road, I’ve only been racing for about a year and a few months, and prior to that I was on and off the dirt bikes around the house but mainly rode bmx and dirt jumpers.
Last fall I had the great idea to do the first five gnccs. Being a late bloomer I really wanted to get as much racing and gnarly conditions in as possible. The local only getting 8 laps of racing in per race weekend wasn’t cutting it. Knowing I wanted to get in as much seat time as possible I knew I wanted a 450 for the simple fact of realiability and ease of maintenance. Thankfully I was able to convince my parents to upgrade me to a 19 Kx450 from my old Honda 2 strokes. This was late November.
Fast forward a couple weeks and I’m doing my first hare scramble, the SETRA little brown jug hare scramble. Had a blast wrecked about 4 times including first turn pile up, coming from the two stroke and being scared to stall the four stroke I ride 1st gear way more than I should have and needless to say it wore me out. To top it all off I missed the 2 hour cutoff my about 2 minutes and had to take another lap. Rode for 2 hours and 25 minutes for my first hare scramble. I got 93/157 open c (I rode on my moto suspension and gearing bit fun!).
Now I knew I needed an easier to ride bike. Put a motion pro throttle kit on, went up a tooth on the rear, softer springs in the front, and all the way out on the compression in the back. I thought it was good enough. Knowing I really needed some sand experience if wanted to race wild boar GNCC I decided to go and race the SETRA Burt gin hare scramble, which I believe is the same site they do the Sumter national enduro. Rode much better using the clutch and lugging 2nd and 3rd gear. I actually really enjoying trying to rhythm my way through the sand whoops until I got tired. I ended up getting really exhausted and have to regain myself in the middle of the 3rd lap and get back up to speed. This is the race where I really learned to find likes that take the least amount of energy. I felt 10 times better this race but the result was worse at a 99/150. Also bummed I got passed by the Baylor brothers twice! Which was bout the scariest part of the whole deal.
What I’ve learned from the first 2 races is there is a reason there are 3x as many people racing off-road vs moto here in South Carolina, it is cheaper, shorter days, and more seat time.
(These question apply to the first five gnccs wild boar, big buck, camp Coker, the general, and Steele creek)
One thing I haven’t learned how to do yet is pass. I don’t know if it it a local race thing or a hare scramble thing but there is an art to finding lines and passing in the woods. The way I’ve been currently doing it is getting behind someone and yelling at them until they give me enough room to pass. Is it easier to pass someone at a GNCC?
The gncc website said they had tech inspection. Do they really tech everyone’s bike or just pm bikes?
What’s the camping situation like at the gnccs, is it worth it to reserve a spot? Or is it just fine to park somewhere in the pits.
How tight are the trails? I don’t run bark busters and refuse to. There where about 2-3 sections on the course where I have to check up a bit at the burnt gin hs and no places where I had to check up at little brown jug.
Also and useful info regarding general parking, signup, racing, etc would be helpful.
Thanks!
Last fall I had the great idea to do the first five gnccs. Being a late bloomer I really wanted to get as much racing and gnarly conditions in as possible. The local only getting 8 laps of racing in per race weekend wasn’t cutting it. Knowing I wanted to get in as much seat time as possible I knew I wanted a 450 for the simple fact of realiability and ease of maintenance. Thankfully I was able to convince my parents to upgrade me to a 19 Kx450 from my old Honda 2 strokes. This was late November.
Fast forward a couple weeks and I’m doing my first hare scramble, the SETRA little brown jug hare scramble. Had a blast wrecked about 4 times including first turn pile up, coming from the two stroke and being scared to stall the four stroke I ride 1st gear way more than I should have and needless to say it wore me out. To top it all off I missed the 2 hour cutoff my about 2 minutes and had to take another lap. Rode for 2 hours and 25 minutes for my first hare scramble. I got 93/157 open c (I rode on my moto suspension and gearing bit fun!).
Now I knew I needed an easier to ride bike. Put a motion pro throttle kit on, went up a tooth on the rear, softer springs in the front, and all the way out on the compression in the back. I thought it was good enough. Knowing I really needed some sand experience if wanted to race wild boar GNCC I decided to go and race the SETRA Burt gin hare scramble, which I believe is the same site they do the Sumter national enduro. Rode much better using the clutch and lugging 2nd and 3rd gear. I actually really enjoying trying to rhythm my way through the sand whoops until I got tired. I ended up getting really exhausted and have to regain myself in the middle of the 3rd lap and get back up to speed. This is the race where I really learned to find likes that take the least amount of energy. I felt 10 times better this race but the result was worse at a 99/150. Also bummed I got passed by the Baylor brothers twice! Which was bout the scariest part of the whole deal.
What I’ve learned from the first 2 races is there is a reason there are 3x as many people racing off-road vs moto here in South Carolina, it is cheaper, shorter days, and more seat time.
(These question apply to the first five gnccs wild boar, big buck, camp Coker, the general, and Steele creek)
One thing I haven’t learned how to do yet is pass. I don’t know if it it a local race thing or a hare scramble thing but there is an art to finding lines and passing in the woods. The way I’ve been currently doing it is getting behind someone and yelling at them until they give me enough room to pass. Is it easier to pass someone at a GNCC?
The gncc website said they had tech inspection. Do they really tech everyone’s bike or just pm bikes?
What’s the camping situation like at the gnccs, is it worth it to reserve a spot? Or is it just fine to park somewhere in the pits.
How tight are the trails? I don’t run bark busters and refuse to. There where about 2-3 sections on the course where I have to check up a bit at the burnt gin hs and no places where I had to check up at little brown jug.
Also and useful info regarding general parking, signup, racing, etc would be helpful.
Thanks!
Throw some Pedialyte in that Camelback. That was always an advantage to me.
For passing, yes, the yelling is what I always did. If you catch someone on a 9 mile lap it’s pretty obvious you’re faster than them and they should move. I’d start with a friendly “yee” then go to a “hey” then I’d go to hitting the back tire all while looking for different lines to get around. Always scan for different lines..I’ve seen countless people get into following the leader and go down the worst line possible.
As far as the other GNCC specific questions I can’t help much.
Have fun man, off road racing is a blast and those pros you mentioned are what it’s all about.
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And far as I know there’s not a dedicated off road racing forum. But that would be cool.
GNCC's are fast. Flag style hand guards will be enough unless you're trying to mow down saplings to make a new line.
I'd probably suggest downgrading from a 450 to a 250 or 350, a lot more manageable during a race that long.
If possible, walk or bicycle the track on Friday or Saturday. It’s surprising how many lines you don’t see at speed. You need to memorize the passing opportunities plus the “optional” lines that develop during the race.
Don't follow a slow guy when the track splits. I know this is obvious but people do it all the time when they are staring at the back wheel of the guy in front of them.
And if you still can’t pass, rev the engine. And yes, the pros do it. But you should be able to hear them coming and hold your line and they will ride right by you. The secret trick is to let them pass easily and follow them through the lappers. Then hang on as long as possible.
Try using the soft map on the kx I have the same bike. You won’t notice much of a difference in the woods except long top gear sections. Remember to have fun and don’t get discouraged the guys that show up to the gnccs are fast no matter what class. Top c guys are like top b guys in the local series in some classes there. Keep riding setra nchsa and Mideast all series has great tracks. Bark busters are a good thing if you go down a lot but it comes down to personal preference.
Just to clarify on one of the earlier comments, we do use Sutter trail dozers to fix trails but we do not cut in the entire course with them. A lot of the tracks have so much existing trail that we use what’s already there and when possible cut in new trail by hand, unless it’s through something incredibly thick, then we’ll usually run the dozer one pass and cut the overhanging stuff by hand. We also stopped racing UTVs (Side by Sides) after the 2018 season.
I grew up in North Carolina racing hare scrambles and enduros, and have rode those events you mentioned. They are tighter than a GNCC course. At GNCC, with the ATVs racing on Saturday they usually blow all the leaves, sticks and other stuff off the trail and help to burn in some lines. A lot of events we’ll throw in some bike only sections as well. They’ll be tighter but usually are never more than a couple of miles long and due to the number of riders we try to keep some passing opportunities in these tight sections as well.
Tech Inspection IS required for all racers. It’s actually pretty simple. Once you’re signed up, on a bike they check to make sure you’ve got your correct number stickers on your helmet as well as the class color sticker, and to make sure your transponder works.
We actually do not reserve camping spots because there’s usually a lot of available parking. If you’re interested in watching the quad race, parking will be a little tight early Saturday but a lot of ATV racers leave Saturday afternoon, so if you come in around 5-7pm on Saturday there will be some really good spots opened up.
I recommend online signup. You get a $20 Rocky Mountain gift card when doing so, and those add up so it’s definitely worth it.
Other than that, just come out and race. Each of the events you’re looking to do are a lot of fun.
Big Buck is a faster course but it flows really well and you never feel like you’re going that fast.
Florida will be tough with the deep sand whoops but it’s also a lot of fun and has a variety of tight and fast trails.
The General has more twisty trail and some single track areas. It gets a little choppy but overall I actually really like riding the track.
Steele Creek will be unique this year. The course will be a little shorter than it has been in the past, but still great. There’s some big hills, both up and down.
Camp Coker is probably my personal favorite of the whole series other than Ironman. It’s a little tighter than the others but also has some big grass track and the old Camp Coker Motocross track, which closed back in 2009.
If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a line at bolton@gnccracing.com and I’ll help you out! Hope to see you at the races!
-Jared Bolton
The way I understand it With full gas you only go through the track 1 time so it does not get as beat up. I went to one and watched a couple of the starts then started following the track into the woods and soon I was alone with no riders. I started walking back lol
GNCC races are HUGE and very well run. The earlier you get there the better your camping spot will be. I was blown away to find You pay $20 to get in and camp all weekend. People start rolling in on Thursday and Friday.
Camp Coker and Florida are ROUGH sand wooped out tracks. FL has some bushes that will kick your ass!
Start practicing on grooved out ruts!
Post a reply to: Looking for some GNCC advice (plus my story of getting into off-road coming from motocross)