River Ranch, FL - FRE/KTM ATV GNCC riders Angel Atwell and Josh Kirkland got off to a great start both landing on the podium at the opening round of the GNCC Series.
Atwell, the defending Women's Pro Champion, hit the course first in the 2-hour morning race. She nailed the holeshot and led the pack around the first two laps. Atwell pit at the tail end of the second lap just a little over an hour into the race. While she pit she was passed by three of the women riders behind her. Now, nearly three-quarters of the way into the race, lappers began to play a roll in the outcome. Atwell managed to pass one of the competitors but was held up by a few lappers and lost precious time to the top two riders. After a tough race through the Florida sand whoops she was happy to finish third for the day.
In the XC-2 Pro Am class Josh Kirkland followed the lead of his teammate, Atwell, and pulled the holeshot and led the first part of the race. Unfortunately, he went too wide on a turn early into the first lap and lost the lead to Brian Wolf. Kirkland remained in 2nd position until the second lap when he got held up by a rider who hit a tree and was passed dropping to 4th. Over the course of the final two laps Kirkland moved back into 2nd where he finished for the day. "I am happy to finish this race on the podium. The first race is always nerve-racking and I am happy to leave with a decent finish," remarked Kirkland.
The third and newest member of the FRE/KTM Racing Team is Bryan Cook who competed on the 450 XC in his first XC1 race aboard a KTM. Cook got off to a decent start running in 5th place. Unfortunately part way into the second lap he encountered a clutch problem which set him back the remainder of the race. He was able to ride through to finish 10th. "It was unfortunate that we had a fluke problem early in the race but the bike ran great despite that problem and I am looking forward to Georgia," remarked Cook.
2010 FRE KTM ATV Team sponsors: KTM, FRE, DWT Tire, FMF, Douglas Wheel, DID, Houser Racing, Baldwin Motorsports, Custom Axis Shocks, PowerMadd, FASST, Rath Racing, Wiseco, Precision Racing Products, IMS, Sidi, Scott Goggles, Quad Tech, JB Racing, PG Graphics, Motorex, Rekluse, KTM Hard Equipment, and Twin Air.
Overall Results XC1-
1) Chris Borich
2) Taylor Kiser
3) Adam McGill
4) Chris Bithell
5) Bill Ballance
6) Jarrod McClure
7) Jeffrey Pickens
8) Johnny Gallagher
9) Donald Ockerman
10) Bryan Cook-KTM
Overall Results XC2-
1) Brian Wolf
2) Josh Kirkland-KTM
3) Kevin Yoho
4) Dustin Canipe
5) Parker Jones
6) Josh Beavers-KTM
7) Gabe Phillips
8) Eric Hoyland
9) Blake Kramer
10) Corbin Knox
Overall Results Women-
1) Lexie Coulter
2) Jennifer Albright
3) Angel Atwell - KTM