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TITAN GNCC.

7th Sep 2010

Monster Energy Andrews Yamaha rider Jason Thomas has scored his 10th top Ten overall finish in the GNCC series, America`s number one Off-Road Championship.

Taking Fred Andrews YZ250F to a great 4th place in the XC2 PRO-LITES Class at Sunday`s Weekend Warrior Titan event, held near Lafayette, Tennessee, Jason also claimed 10th overall in this, his 12th outing at the GNCC`s since June last Year. Thomas actually led the whole field for the first Hour of the race, despite carrying an injury sustained during a mid-week practice session, he commented: `I got a good start, slid out in the mud in the 2nd turn, but got back to the front of my class before we entered the woods. I got some great lines out there & had a clear track in front of me, so I was good to go. My mechanic Joey, boarded me that I was in 1st place overall at the end of the 1st lap, I was just so pumped, I knew I had the speed & I was really happy in the conditions, which were very muddy, just like back home. Near the end of the 2nd lap I was physically up with the leading XC1 Riders, so I knew I was still leading the race overall.I was running behind Kurt Casselli on the track, he hit a wire fence & dragged some of it across the track. I didnt see it but it picked up on my back wheel & tangled around the hub & the chain, throwing me over the bars. It took me a while to get the wire out of everything,& I also banged my left arm, which I`d injured whilst practicing on Tuesday. By the time I got going again I was way down the leader board, but I managed to get back up to 4th in Class & 10th overall by the end of the race, which was cut short because of the bad weather. I`m gutted to have lost so much time, but I`m also delighted to have finally lead a race overall for the 1st time.` By the end of the day the GNCC paddock looked like a First World War battlefield,& the organizers were kept busy all afternoon pulling vehicles out of the sea of mud. For Jason though, the excitement hadn`t ended.

`My Dad, Jezza, had paid me a surprise visit over the weekend & I was really pleased to see him. As usual, he came totally un-prepared for the conditions & was covered in mud by the end of the day. I wanted to ride back up to Fred`s with him, so we headed off in his little rental car. Because we were so muddy & we didn`t want to get the car all dirty, we took our jeans & shoes off & put them in the trunk. Jez had caught a dose of Swine Flu off of somebody on the plane over,& his eyes were like p**s holes in the snow by this time. He decided to pull off the Interstate & find a Motel for the night. He was really in some pain I guess because he was driving with his head out of the window trying to cool his flaming eyes down with the rain. He didn`t realize how fast he was going but a waiting Traffic Cop did & on came the blue light. It was pitch dark by now & still raining heavily. The cop was taking no chances with Jez so on came the spot-light & out came the hand-gun. The Cop comes up to the drivers window real slow & Jez winds it down a little more,& there we are, two guys English guys riding along at 79 Miles per hour in a 55 limit, in a little White Rental car & wearing only their `Y` Fronts. Jez says to the Cop: `Is there a problem Officer?` & the Cop says:` You better believe it. Get out of the vehicle & put your hands on the roof `I thought it was game over. Luckily, the Cop was cool & saw the funny side of the whole thing but it was a close shave for sure. I think the moral of the story is: if you want to drive at 20 Miles per hour above the speed limit here in America & get away with it, do it wearing just your pants!!!!` Stay tuned for more GNCC action from Somerset, Pennsylvania, in two weeks time.