JASON THOMAS BEGINS DEFENSE OF HIS GNCC PRO XC2 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A SOLID 2ND PLACE FINISH AT RD.1
13th Mar 2013
Amsoil Grand National Cross-Country Championships - Round 1 - River Ranch,Florida.
DirtWise Schools/KTM-Parts.com/Maxxis
team racer Jason Thomas rode to a magnificent second place finish in
the XC2 Pro class at Round 1 of the GNCC series, held in perfect
conditions at River Ranch (Lake Wales, FL) on Tuesday, March 12.
Early
morning rains settled the abundant dust, but didn't stop the formation
of a multitude of nasty whoops in the sandy soil, plus exposing a
plethora of palmetto roots around the demanding 13 mile course. Thomas
was able to make a great jump off the line at the start of the 3 hour
long race that put him near the front of the pack where he was content
to just follow along behind World MX and AMA Supercross frontrunner,
Zach Osborne. Just before the mid point of the race Jason's main
competitor for this year's title chase, Andrew Delong, joined the mix
and began to start pushing the pace which ultimately took Delong to
victory, with Thomas finishing one minute behind for a solid runner up
position.
Jason
Thomas was very pleased with this opening round result and went on to
say, "I had such fun time out there today and was stoked to finally get
the season started. I was riding pretty steady until Andrew upped the
pace. Unfortunately I lost touch with both of them when I witnessed Mike
Lafferty have a huge crash and I stopped to see if he was okay. From
there I just rode a solid race to the finish, making a nice pass on Zach
during the last lap. My endurance was excellent, and my Enduro Spec
tuned suspension was flawless so I was ready at the end to go for
another 3 hours, however though I will admit my sprint speed was off
just a tad due to the limited preparation time I've had coming into this
race. I'm excited to build upon this with another strong result at the
next race and go for the victory at the following races once I get a bit
more time on the bike to fine tune my conditioning."
Team
principal, and former GNCC Overall Champion, Shane Watts was estatic
with Jason's performance. "Jason really proved himself as a title
contender today! The determination and desire to win that he exhibits is
extraordinary. Combining that with his maturity and years of experience
is going to bode well for him to repeat as the GNCC series Champion
again this year, although we will be expecting stiff competition from
Andrew at each race, and also from some of the other younger riders as
the season progresses."
Round 2 of the GNCC series will be conduct near Athens, GA this Sunday, March 17.
Jason Thomas is supported by DirtWise Riding schools and Instructional DVDs, KTM-Parts.com and www.AOMC.mx,
Maxxis tires, KLiM Technical Riding gear, Smith goggles, Lazydays RV,
Stuk Graphics, Enduro Spec suspension tuning, DirtTricks sprockets and
brake rotors, Flexx Handlebars, G2 handguards and throttle tubes, Rescue
Pegs, BatteryStuff.com,
Motorex Lubricants, IMS fuel tanks and footpegs, FMF exhausts, TCX
boots, Asterisk knee braces, DP brake pads and clutch plates, TM
Designworks chain guides, and KTMTalk.com