Posted June 26, 2006   Email   Print

Barry Hawk conquers one of the toughest Wisps ever in the rain

By Jason Weigandt

Once again Am Pro Yamaha’s Barry Hawk romped home King of the Mountain at the most prestigious Suzuki Grand National Cross Country event: the Parts Unlimited Wisp GNCC in Deep Creek, Maryland. He earned it the hard way, upending defending GNCC Champion Juha Salminen by coming from behind on a rugged, rocky track in a driving rain. And the fans couldn’t be happier.

“It’s awesome. Everybody out there was cheering,” said Hawk. “After my first lap I thought I was never going to catch those guys. I was way back and I thought it was going to be a long day. I think I was being too conservative. So I really started flooring it, and it seemed like I was a gear higher than everyone.”

Hawk, of nearby Smithfield, Pennsylvania, had to battle past Salminen, the Finnish ten-time World Champion who has dominated the 2006 season. The duo put on a great race, but Salminen came up short on the steep ski slopes of the Wisp.

“It was four places better than last year, and that was my goal,” said Salminen. “It still was not my best, but it’s what we could do. Barry was just fast.”

A surprise podium went to 19-year-old Justin Williamson, who finished third.

“At the beginning of this year I had to learn the determination and the dedication to run with these guys,” said Williamson. “It was raining out there and all I saw was sunshine. The rain and the rocks, it looks like that was a good combination for me.”

AMA Motocross legend John Dowd took a solid fourth in his first-ever GNCC race. Dowd ran as high as third before dropping his pace just a touch late in the race.

“It was good. I put in a couple of good laps and a couple of bad ones,” said Dowd, always smiling. “I had fun though. I’m pretty sure I am going to come back and race the one at Unadilla. It’s still kind of mind boggling to ride for three hours. I did good for four laps, but the last two, it was tough after that.”

It was tough for everyone since the Wisp—already arguably the toughest track on the tour, due to its huge rock section—was hit with rain for the first time ever at a GNCC. Mud and rocks and hills made this one of the all-time toughest.

“This track, I think my riding style works good in the rocks,” said Hawk.” I really look forward to it. Everyone I talked to couldn’t believe it was raining today, but maybe that was the difference. I still wanted it really bad today.”

Salminen battled with Racer X Holeshot award winner Charlie Mullins early. Mullins dropped back with brake problems, but Hawk put on a charge to catch and pass Salminen. The duo went back and forth until mistakes by Salminen on the fourth lap let Hawk get away.

“It just seemed like I was running a gear taller than everyone else,” said Hawk. “So everyone moved over for me, except Juha. We passed each other back and forth a couple of times. It was good, and it was a tough race.”

“It was very tough,” said Salminen. “I was the first guy on the first lap. There was water everywhere. There were a lot of rocks but I couldn’t see them under the water. It was so difficult, there was just mud everywhere! It was hard. I lost my game on the fourth lap. I fell down a couple times. My glove was full of mud. That was my mistake. I should have stopped and changed my gloves. I lost everything in that lap.”

Hawk was able to open up as much as a minute lead, but Juha closed back in before Hawk pushed one more time to the finish. Williamson came from deep in the pack for third. “I was just inside the top ten,” said Williamson. “I started doing my thing, just trying to stay smooth and not make any mistakes. I came up on John Dowd on the second-to-last lap. I passed him in one of those fields and just tried to pull a lead.”

Fifth overall went to 16-year-old Am Pro Yamaha rider Thad DuVall, who won the 250 A class and took top amateur honors. Sixth went to Andrews’ Suzuki privateer Jimmy Jarrett, seventh to FMF Suzuki’s Glenn Kearney. Nate Kanney, Robbie Jenks and Paul Whibley rounded out the top ten.

The lush ski slopes and posh resort surroundings of the Wisp hosted a full weekend of GNCC activity, including golf on Friday, ATV racing on Saturday, and a full assortment of bike action on Sunday. All told, about 1,250 riders braved the rugged terrain and non-stop rain to say they challenged the mountain.

The Parts Unlimited Wisp GNCC was taped for an airing on the Outdoor Life Network. Races air every Saturday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time. For more information, log on to GNCCRacing.com.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association