2007 SORCS Round 10

Bryan Cook overalls Aonia

In what turned out to be yet another hot ultra-dusty race event, Bryan Cook along with a GNCC Freight train, saw the checker flag first. I don't think Aonia has seen any rain since before the General this year. When the ATV's lined up for the start of the race, it was hot, without a cloud in the sky. Ahead of the competitors was 8.5 miles of dusty dry trails.

When the ATV Pro class took the green flag, It was Zach Lovell getting the holeshot, getting to the first turn ahead of the other riders and the dust. Brian Toney was second and David Crane was third. Scott Rogers went into the first turn in fourth place in a billowing cloud of red Georgia clay. Bryan Cook and Kaleb Nichulson came off the line in last place. At one point in the race Scott climbed as high as second, finally settling into 3rd. Throughout the race, it was the GNCC crew fighting for the lead. All the while, Bryan Cook was methodically working his way to the front. As the laps wound down, it was Bryan Cook in the lead, Brian Toney in second and Scott was in third. Somewhere on the dusty course, Scott overshot a turn and got stuck in the brush. It was at this point that Kaleb passed Scott for the third position. On the last lap, it was Bryan Cook, Brian Toney, Kaleb Nichulson, Scott Rogers, Zach Lovell, and David Crane. These guys were setting some fast lap times and put on a good show. Bryan rode a fast, smart race and took the overall and the ATV Pro win. Scott came home with a comfortable 4th place win. We discovered after the race that Scott was running with a slow leak in a front tire. He said that he thought he felt something funny on the bike, but it stayed up enough to get him to the finish without any problems.

In the ATV A Class, Cam came from a very bad start to finish a solid fourth. Cam was coming down with a summer cold before the race and the dusty conditions did not help. Lining up with Cam Was GNCC regular, Jennifer Albright. Austin Allen hit the first turn with the lead, Jennifer was a close second. With seven people signed up in the A class, the competition was tight and fierce. When Austin entered the first turn, he was flanked by Yamaha riders Chuck Norris and Jennifer Albright on either side. Into the first turn, the riders were so tight, you could have thrown a blanket over them! As the A class settled down, Jennifer was setting a blistering pace until electrical problems took her out of the race. Cam worked his way up to a solid fourth place while Austin charged for second. Chuck Norris finished 3rd, Will Cashron finished 5th, and Michael Pryor took 6th. Oh, Cam might not have won the race, but he had the prettiest Umbrella ladies ever! We would like to thank the Tatum Crew for keeping Cam and Scott cool and shady on the line.

The B Class winner was Brad Thompson, followed by Justin Seabolt and Bill Graham. In the Quad Beginner class, it was Jacob Coffey taking another win. Jacob was setting some solid laps and looked really smooth throughout the race. Behind Jacob was; Ben Jenkins, Cody Taylor, Hunter Renfroe, Zach Tidwell, Joe Vanacore, and Brandon Nichols.

The Quad C class winner was Danny Mcelwaney followed by Lucas Walker and Joe Goodman. The Quad Utility class finish was; Martin Laurich, Victor Garcia, Mark Coffey, and Jeff Edge. John Pilkey was the lone entry in the Quad Senior class.

The Quad Vet class was won by Billy Payne, followed by; Heath Warlock, Brian Schrantz, Kenny Payne, Jason Turley, and Phil Albright. Phil was setting a great pace and pulled out when Jennifer developed problems.

One of the best races of the day was in the Women's class. Laura Strother jumped out to an early lead with Kristy Fortenberry in a close second. At some point early in the race, Laura attempting to make a pass, encountered a tree stump. The stump won! She was pitched off the quad onto the dusty course. Showing the spirit of a true competitor, she got back on the quad and charged toward the front. Kristy was in the lead with Kelly and Kristen Deloach in tow. Kristy and Laura were setting a good pace, little did we know that Laura was riding in pain. On the last lap, in the last section, Laura caught Kristy. Going into the big sweeper at the top of the hill, Laura moved inside Kristy. They were side-by-side when they came by our pits. Laura would inch forward and then Kristy would pull a few feet. Finally going into the last turn before the finish, Laura took the lead. It was an exciting battle and we enjoyed every minute of it! The finish order was Laura Strother, Kristy Fortenberry, Kelly Deloach, and Kristen Deloach.

Our good friend Bill Bryant got a solid fourth place finish in the Master C bike class. With one race to go, we should certainly see Bill on the podium in October.

Although the race was hot and dusty, there was a breeze blowing for most of the race. This did make it bearable. Brenda was able to get some great pics. Check 'em out on the web site.

One more race to go! In three short weeks, we will be converging on Broad River for the final round of the SORCS series. God willing, we will see everyone there. We hope to see all our friends at the final round.

Until next time; take care, God Bless, stay safe.....

SORCS Round 9 2007

Richie Brown Steals Paradise

To say Richie Brown won round 9 would be an understatement. Richie "Superman" Brown dominated! In what was the hottest race of the year, Richie took the holeshot and never looked back. The Paradise Raceway course had a good variety of terrain, a little something for everyone; wide open, tight twisty woods sections, and some good jumps and elevation changes. That's the part that everyone enjoyed. It was the blinding dust and extreme heat that had everyone fighting all afternoon.
Richie set a blazing pace all race long, putting several minutes on second place and the entire field. Actually, every time he came by the pits, he was making it look easy. Richie has such a smooth riding style, his speed is deceiving, he really doesn't look as fast as he is going. Even though Richie took the win in convincing fashion, he told Scott after the race that Paradise was one of the hottest races he has run. In fact, almost everyones lap times got slower with each consecutive lap. Both Richie and Scott picked it up on the last lap. Our congratulations go out to Richie, if you gotta get beat, you don't mind seeing someone like Richie out in front!
Placing 2nd in the ATV Pro class was Scott Rogers. Scott got a bad start and had to fight his way through the kaolin dust to fourth place on the first lap. He stated that for the first couple of laps, you were basically riding blind. It was hard catching the rider in front of you with the dust they were putting up. Running 3rd for a couple of laps before finally getting the second spot. Scott pulled out to a comfortable cushion in spite of the extreme heat. Scott was fighting the heat for the entire race, but he hung on for a good finish. His first and last lap were his fastest. During the middle part of the race, he was really fighting to stay in position. His Hydrapak was almost empty and the remaining fluids were too hot to drink by the second lap, and I was pumping fluids in him on the other laps. Congratulations go out to Scott for his finish, and for hanging tough and beating the heat! Trevor Schrantz had a great race finishing 3rd. I don't know how the heat affected him, but he hung in and got a great finish. Congrats Trevor on a great finish. Osborn Morgan and Jason Stovell finished 4th and 5th respectively.

In the Quad A Class, we had GNCC Pro Jennifer Albright. It is always good to see Jennifer and Phil at the races, they are really nice people and great competitors. Jennifer charged hard all day long finishing 2nd. In fact Jennifer and Phil both got a top five overall finish. Phil had a great race, finishing first in the ATV Vet class. Congratulations to the Albright's on their finishes. Austin Allen had a tough race at Paradise, but hung in for a 4th place finish. John Jovanovic had a tough day finishing 5th.

Cam got a bad start, coming off the line dead last. He had to deal with the choking dust to fight his way up through the field. As you can tell from the photos, it was hard to see the course, and hard to
pass. Cam never gave up eventually finishing a solid third. Cam has had a very consistent series this year. He is looking forward to a good overall at the end of the season.

In the Quad B class, it was Dustin Miller taking the win with Brad Thompson finishing 2nd. Jared and Justin Seabolt rounded out the top four. In the Quad C class, it was Danny Mcelwaney taking the win with Michael Tatum charging back from a first lap crash to finish 2nd. Michael came into the pits on the first lap with a bent tie rod, but he hammered it out and kept charging. We saw a lot of busted bikes at this race. Good job Michael! Finishing 3rd was Joe Goodman, and Lucas Walker taking 4th.
The Quad Vet class was won by Phil Albright, with Brian Schrantz having a great day finishing 2nd. 3rd was Kenny Payne, 4th belonged to Heath Warlock. 5th place was Bryon McCalter, and sixth place was Billy Payne. The Quad Senior class winner was Johnny Pilkey, with Al Colter finishing 2nd and David Aman taking 3rd.

The Quad Beginner class saw Cody Taylor taking the win, Ben Jenkins taking 2nd and Jacob Coffey getting 3rd place. For 4th it was Hunter Renfroe, 5th was Tim Johnson and 6th Michael
Gilbert. Seventh place went to Jake Colter.

Kristy Fortenberry captured another win in the Quad Womens class. Finishing second was Kristen Deloach with Kelly Deloach taking 3rd. Kristen showed up at Paradise with a new ride, sporting a new Suzuki. Nice ride Kristen!






Brenda got some really good pics until the heat got to her! Check out the picture gallery for Round 9.

It was good to see all our friends at the race. Zach Lovell and Mark Coffey were working this race and I think Mark fell in love with the deep south weather. In fact, I think he is thinking about moving down here! Sorry we didn't hang around very long after the race, I just had to get out of the heat, and get a good cold glass of sweet tea!

Remember to pray for rain before Aonia. Hopefully it will cool down a little and the heat won't be such a factor.

Until next time, take care, God Bless, later........