Mountain Ridge GNCC

September 2, 2007 - Somerset, Pennsylvania

Finally the long GNCC summer break is over!  This was a new location for the series and all I kept hearing about was how rocky it was going to be.  It certainly lived up to the hype!  The weather couldn't have been much better as everyone started heading to the starting area and I think everyone was excited to finally get back going again.

I got a pretty good jump off the line and after the first few corners found myself in third behind the KTM's of Justin Williamson and Dustin Gibson.  They were riding fast out front and I knew this was good company to be in!  About halfway through the first lap we came to the one section that people had been talking about all weekend: the rock garden.  It was an awkward section of rocks that were spaced out just enough to where you could barely keep up any momentum when trying to ride through it.  It was a fairly wide part of trail but lacked any real "Great line".  No matter where you tried to go you were going to have to navigate some big slick rocks.  Other than that one area the trail was fairly typical of a GNCC and pretty fun.  At the end of the first lap I found myself in 2nd place about 30 seconds behind Williamson.  I didn't want to let him get away so I put my head down and did my best to catch him.  I also had my teammate Scott Watkins and Gibson close behind me so there was no way I could take it easy this early in the race.  By the end of lap two I was able to close up on Justin and take the lead with Scotty and Dustin still looming close behind.  I felt comfortable up front but knew that it would take smart riding, good lines and a little bit of luck through the rock garden to do well today.  I soon found out that I didn't have that combination completely together as I struggled in the rocks on lap two and quickly found myself back in the fourth place position.

Unfortunately the remaining laps were a lot more of the same.  I felt like I was riding pretty good on 95% of the track but just could not get it together in the rocky section.  I really seemed to struggle there every lap and became frustrated with myself for not getting through there cleanly.  The race up front stayed pretty close all day with Dustin Gibson taking the win in front of Justin Williamson and Scotty Watkins.  I know all of those guys rode hard for it and I congratulate them for their podium finishes.  I came through with 4th in the XC2 class and 10th place Overall.  It's a little disappointing for me since I feel like I had it in me to get on the box this weekend but everyone has races where things just don't come together and it was my turn this weekend!

Jason Hooper Photos