March 1-4, 2008 - Parts Unlimited Triton - Melbourne, FL
Another season of racing kicked off on Sunday March 2nd at the Parts Unlimited Triton GNCC in Melbourne, FL. For the first time since revamping the team with exciting additions to the '08 squad, the TDI Racing/GEICO Off-Road motorcycle team was finally all together in the same place at the same time. The team would also like to send out props to the GNCC Crew for hooking us up with a great location for our new pit spot/home for the season - right in front of the finish line, where everyone ends up at some point or another throughout the weekend. The track was a little more technical this year than in the past years with a few extra roots, palmettos, and mud bogs. The area had seen some rain leading up to the race, leaving conditions perfect for racing - low dust and some mud. Add over 1200 riders to the mix and you've got yourself quite a racetrack.
GEICO female quad rider Jennifer Albright scored big for her debut on the team. With Jennifer being a local favorite, she had a lot of buzz around her all weekend not only at the track, but around town as well; being featured in several stories in the local paper. Jennifer had a great race from start to finish, staying strong all day and coming out with a solid 3rd place finish and a 9th overall out of almost 200 riders.
Josh McLevy, our XC1 rider had a positive day, finishing on the lead lap which was the goal for the race considering Josh missed most of the 2007 season due to a shoulder injury. Josh had a midpack start (lining up next to superstar Travis Pastrana) coming out of the first lap in 21st place. McLevy forged through the day strong and made up 5 spots to finish 17th in the class.JT Bennett came across a little misfortune in the XC2 class, running out of gas on the third lap about a mile away from his pits. Thanks to some great fans that jumped in when seeing him push, and his pit crew running across the field with gas, JT was off again - unfortunately he had a lot of catching up to do. After the race, JT said he felt great and was counting down the days until the next round in Washington, GA for a little redemption.
The team would like to extend a special thanks to all of their sponsors: GEICO, MSR, MAXXIS, Lojak Yamaha, Rekluse, Gaerne, Factory Connection, SCOTT USA, Acerbis, HMF, Bel-Ray, and EBC Brakes.
We also want to thank everyone for tuning into our website for updates and all the support we receive throughout the year!!
The GNCC series will continue on March 8 & 9 for the MAXXIS General GNCC. The Parts Unlimited GNCC will air on the VS network on August 2nd at 3:00PM (ATV) and August 9th at 3:00PM (Bikes).
March 9, 2008 - Maxxis General - Washington, GA
Just 4 days after Round 1 of the Can Am GNCC series opener in Melbourne, FL, the team traveled north to Washington, GA for the Maxxis General GNCC. The team faced weather on Saturday for the quad race that was much different than that of the FL round - experiencing snow flurries and during the morning race. Rain on Friday set the technical track up with muddy conditions.
Jennifer Albright got off to a mid-pack start on her GEICO Lojak Yamaha YFZ450 and by the end of the first lap was up to 6th place. Jennifer had battled her way up to the 3rd - 5th pack when she ran into clutch problems. After being towed in on the final lap, Jennifer finished 9th in the Women's A class for the day.
Sunday brought with it more promising weather with bountiful sunshine and wind. These weather conditions helped tack up the muddy track for perfect racing conditions.
GEICO support riders Ryan Kaintz and Dan Nudi did the team proud earning a 5th and 17th place finish respectively. The boys felt as though they were getting dizzy as they completed 7 - 15 minute laps in a 2 hour period. Rumors have it that a banner was forgotten after the mini race and these guys had to run the same course. None the less they did great!
Josh McLevy lead the way in the afternoon for the GEICO team, climbing from a 17th place start. McLevy finished the 7 lap race in just over 3 hours, bettering his results from the FL round to a 14th place finish in the XC1 Pro class and 25th overall. After 2 rounds, Josh sits in 16th place - just 11 points out of the Top 10.
XC2 Pro Lites rider JT Bennett was unable to race this round due to illness. JT is feeling better and out riding and getting ready for the next round in Morganton, NC.
The team would like to extend a special thanks to all of their sponsors: GEICO, MSR, MAXXIS, Lojak Yamaha, Rekluse, Gaerne, Factory Connection, SCOTT USA, Acerbis, HMF, Bel-Ray, and EBC Brakes. And of course a huge thank you to our fans.
The GNCC series will continue on March 29 & 30 for the FMF Steele Creek GNCC. The Maxxis General GNCC will air on the VS network on August 16th at 3:00PM (ATV) and August 23rd at 3:00PM (Bikes).