First up I would like to apologize for my lack of updates and new information on here, I’m currently in the process of updating my site for the new year so stay tuned.

After moving out to California this season I was ready to get back into the racing, I hadn’t raced since my Japan adventure so I was really looking forward to it. 

Leading up to the race I had a pretty gnarly crash while practicing and so I was out for about two weeks trying to get it all sorted, Showing up to Florida with no actual race time, I was a little nervous but felt ready because of the training and riding I had been doing.

After flying in on Friday we headed to croome for a small ride in the sand to get the feel for it, i felt pretty good and was ready for the race.  Tuesday came around quick and I was off to a horrible start, I was one of the last guys off the start line so I had to start from the back which wasnt that great.  By the end of the first lap I had moved up toward the front but started to tighten up a little.

By the half way mark I had moved into the lead and tried to stay solid for the last 3 laps, with two laps to go I was caught by Chrish Bach, we had a good little battle over the last two laps and after I went down on the last lap I had to work hard to catch back up.  I managed to make the pass not far from the finish and take the win.

I was happy with how everything went but I know I can ride better and Im looking forward to Rd2 this weekend.

thanks to everyone who has supported me.

After only three days in Australia I was back on a plane and headed to Japan for the final round of the JNCC series.  After an ok flight we landed and got picked up by our Japanese friend who speaks hardly any English. 

The next morning we woke up to a cold and wet day, when we were picked up the van had been loaded and we drove about an hour out of the city to this little riding area off the side of the road.  I did some photos for Back Off magazine in the not so great conditions but it was ok.

The next day we met up with another friend Wally, he speaks better english so it was easier for us to understand what we were doing.  Over the next two days we went and did some sight seeing and also went to Disney Sea which was pretty fun.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the track which was about 5 hours away, when we arrived it was raining and there was crazy Americans sledding down the muddy hill which was pretty funny.  A break in the weather and I got to go out on a short practice track for a few laps, for how wet it was the track was not that slippery and I enjoyed myself alot.

We stayed at a guest house on saturday night, we slept on traditional japanese mattresses, rooms and that kind of stuff. for towels we got them the size of a face washer so it was hard to take a good one.

Sunday we headed out to the track, there was snow on some of the mountains and when we got to the track the ground was frozen which was pretty cool.  The sun finally came out and warmed up to around 8 degrees celsuis so compared to what it was it was refreshing. 

I got off to a good start and moved into second straight away behind Kailub and we began to pull away straight away.  We went back and fourth for about 4 or 5 laps, he had a big tank so he could go when I had to fuel up, somehow I cracked my front brake line so I had to come in and change the line, I got back out and was about 4 minutes down and stayed there until about the last two or three laps.  After not riding since iron man I started to feel a little fatigued and started getting colder each lap. Kailub rode good and I had a bunch of fun at the race.

I head out tomorrow to fly back to Australia so Im looking forward to go to some warm weather and start some training up again for next season. I would like to thank everyone who helped me get over here and have a race.

Pre race

Hill Climb

After two weeks off I was ready to get back into it and into the last race for the year. 

The weather wasn’t as bad as it has been in the past with less rain and less mud when I turned up at the track on Saturday, after getting all my Smith goggles ready and everything else sorted out I was good to race.

The sun finally came out for our race on Sunday and it warmed up a little more than the day before so it was going to make the racing a little more pleasant. 

I got a decent start and moved into 4th place going into the trees, when we got out into the long field section I made passes and moved to the front and tried to find a good pace, I struggled a little and dropped back to third, at the end of the first lap I clipped a tree and went down pretty hard.  I came through the barrels at the end of the first lap in 4th spot.  I rode ok and managed to get back up to the front and then move into 2nd place behind my team mate Charlie Mullins, I loosened up and we had a good pace going, at gas I got out quicker and moved into the lead.  I started to pull a gap and had about a 30 second lead with two laps to go. 

About half way around the lap I was forced to change lines and got stuck in a bottomless hole, I lost a bunch of time and dropped to second spot. I was down 30 seconds going into the last lap and was feeling pretty good but I again got stuck in a different bog hole, this time I lost second place and was never able to make it back up. I ended up finishing the race in third place.

I was disapointedwith my 3rd place but I felt like I rode pretty good except for the getting stuck part.

I finished the season in 2nd place and one spot better than last year, I feel like I had a good year and made good progress but came up a little short on my main goal.

I would like to thank all the people that support me on and off the track and I look forward to next season.

Ironman

After last weekend I was determined to have a good race this weekend to keep my championship hopes alive. 

I turned up at the track on Friday afternoon to pick up the mechanics, the rain was coming down and it looked like it was going to be a wet one.  Saturday the sun and wind came out and dried the place up pretty good.

Sunday morning I went out and mountain biked a bit of the course, the condition’s were going to be perfect and I was ready to go.  After a decent start I went into the woods in about 8th place, towards the end of the first lap I had moved into the lead. I was feeling pretty good and tried to go straight away.  I felt good and felt like I rode strong all day and going into the last lap had a little over a minute on 2nd place, I took it easy the last lap to make sure I took the win.

By getting the win I was able to keep the championship within my reach for one more race, it is a slim chance but anything can happen and I wont give up until the final flag is waved.  We now go on a 3 week break so I will keep on training and riding .

Thanks again for all the help

The race looked like it was going to be pretty muddy when the skies opened up on Saturday and didn’t stop until late Saturday night, but sun on Sunday morning and with the two morning races all done the track had tacked up pretty good with only the creek bottoms being really muddy and rutted up.

With a good start I entered the woods in 4th place, I quickly moved into 3rd and then follwed the front two for a few miles, I made the pass into the lead just before the creek bottom, the track had changed alot since we walked and I made a stupid mistake went down and dropped back to 5th.

By the second lap I had caught back up to second and made a pass, by the time I came around i was 50 odd seconds back from the leader.  I pushed hard and after gas put my head down and got the gap down to where I could see the leader, I made another stupid mistake and dropped back and the last lap I had used most of my energy trying to catch up and wasnt able to push that last lap.  I ended up 2nd.  Overall I was not happy with my result, I needed to win this weekend and I didnt, I rode good and felt strong but its those little things that cost me the race. Thanks to all the help and support.

Photo: Krista Shaw

After a huge 10 week break in our GNCC series I was excited to get back to racing and back into the swing of things.

After flying up on Friday I felt good and ready to go, this was the fourth year I had been to this race so I felt I knew the track and felt comfortable in the conditions. The track was probably as good as it was going to get come Sunday for our race.

When the flag flew I got into the corner ok but got boxed in pretty good and had no where to go, I was out in about 8th, I quickly moved to the front and got into 2nd and then into the lead for a short time on the first lap, I stayed in the top 4 for the first couple of laps and then the lap of gas I had a small crash. After gas we caught up again and I was feeling pretty good when I clipped a lapper pretty good and lost my gear lever, I rode the rest of the lap with no shifter and pulled in to the pits to get a new one.  The last two laps I put on a charge to try and catch up but couldn’t get close enough.

I ended up 5th which I wasnt to happy about, Im now looking forward to the Worcs race this weekend and then Yadkinville the weekend after.

Thanks for the support.

Krista Shaw

Digitaloffroad.com caught up with Team Suzuki’s GNCC championship contender Josh Strang on the eve of the Unadilla GNCC. Check it out here!

Matt Ware Photo

I turned up at the mountain on Friday morning. It was the first time in the three years that I had been there that the sun was shining enough to wear shirt and shorts. After a little bit Shane (Charlie’s mechanic), Hooper (GNCC video man) and I decided to cycle down to the bottom and cycle back to the top. We took it easy and I felt good and was ready for a good weekend.

Sunday morning came and with the big purse for this race came the hype of how ‘gnarly’ it was going to be. After walking some of the track and hearing some rumors of the conditions, it sounded like it was going to be tough. I was on the front row and after getting pushed wide on the first corner I moved into second spot. The first half a lap I was taking it pretty easy and once the two guys in front got stuck I managed to move into the lead and pull a little gap on them. By the end of the first lap, Knight had caught me. I decided to try and follow Knight for a little bit as I knew he would be fast and could help me gap the rest of the field. The second lap was a newer course and with neither of us knowing where to go I was able to keep up for the whole lap. On the third lap I went around one mud hole and moved back into the lead. I was having a lot of fun racing with him and we were pulling away from the rest of the guys in the process.

On the second to last lap I made a mistake and slid off the bank which allowed him to get away. Going into the last lap I was 40 seconds down on Knight and 4 minutes up on third place so I stayed at a steady pace and tried not to do anything stupid. The next thing I kind of remember is waking up with two other riders talking to me. I’m not sure who they were, but thanks to them they got me back on the bike and going again. I was having trouble riding and a hill that would normally be a piece of cake managed to be harder then what I thought. I was crashed on the hill and the four guys behind me had caught up and then made the pass. I got going and managed to get to the finish in 6^th place.

I was super happy with how I was riding and I think the different training and going back to the WORCS race helped me a lot. I’m still not 100% sure what happened on that last lap, but rumors were I had hit a deer that ran across the track and I crashed and got knocked out. My Shoei now needs replacing, but I feel that if I was wearing a cheaper made helmet the results could have been worse so I thank those guys for helping me out. The track was actually pretty fun. This was the race that I was least looking forward to and to be up front until the last lap makes me feel good even though I didn’t get the points I was after.

I’m now on summer break so I’m gearing up to go back to Australia to compete in two of the Aussie MX nationals.

Thanks to the guys that helped me up, the spectators and fans at that race and all my sponsors.

www.fastphotolab.com

With a weekend off from the GNCC Suzuki and I decided I should come out and do a more woodsy Worcs race. I left home at 4am to get to the Charlotte airport on time, I ended up spending almost 12 hours in the one airport and didn’t get in to Washington until late Friday night.

Saturday morning I went to the track to sign up for practice but with the rain coming down I decided to skip it and wait for pro practice, after a walk of the track I decided that a d756 front and rear was going to work best for Sunday’s race. Pro practice got underway and I felt pretty good, I soon found out that the track was almost impossible to pass on so a good start on Sunday was a must.

I felt good in the morning and felt like I could win if it all went good from the start. It didn’t and I got a horrible start, I was in around 20th leaving the first turn. I think I moved up to around 7th or 8th when Destry Abbott went down in front of me, I had no idea where to go and smashed straight into his bike and jacked my hand up a little. After that I tried to make up ground but I would end up getting stuck behind slower guys for almost two laps at a time, with two laps to go I had got up into 4th position, on the last lap I managed to find a little extra speed or hung it out a little more and caught right up to the front three and nearly made a pass but couldn’t.

Overall I was pretty happy with how the final result went, This was my fourth worcs race and I still have trouble adapting to the speed these guys run at the beginning of the race, In a GNCC we would have had an extra hour so I think I tried to conserve to much energy early and ride in a comfort zone. I like coming out and doing these race because it definitely helps me with my speed at the start. Thanks again to everyone that helps out.

With the John Penton been known for either extremely muddy or extremely dusty races this year was looking good to be a perfect track and conditions for the Sunday race. I had a good lead up to the race being out at the Smith’s house for two weeks prior to the race so I was feeling really good and confident that I could get another win.

After walking the track I knew my RG3 setup would work well with the Dunlop 756 tires, I tend to run a little stiffer than the rest of the GNCC’s boys so I was happy to see the track rut and roughen up in the morning races.

I have struggled all year with starts and this race was no different, I was last into the first corner and had to start from the back like I have most of the year. Half way through the first lap I had got up into 4^th or 5^th and then got into the new virgin trail, it was some of the tightest stuff I have raced on in GNCC, it was actually hard to ‘race’ on this stuff because it was impossible to pass. By the time I came out onto the track I was in third and only 12 seconds back from the front two. Charlie Mullins, Barry Hawk and I had a little group going and I thought we were going along pretty good, I got stuck in a little hole and dropped back to 5^th behind those guys. By the end of the 2^nd lap my time was 40seconds slower than the two leaders, I thought I had a pretty good pace going so to find out I was 40seconds off the pace I was really surprised. Lap three I picked up the pace again and was still off, by this time I was a minute down going into gas and after a few words from my team I figured it was time to put my head down and close the gap. My RMZ 450 was running awesome and I was able to push for the whole lap and coming into the finish I figured I had closed the gap back down to under a minute and hopefully close enough to catch them. I was surprised that they again pulled 25 seconds on me. The last two laps after realizing that the gap wasn’t getting any smaller I backed it down a little and Stayed in third until the finish.

After crossing the line in third I was confused at how the day went. I felt like I rode at 100% and rode like I have ridden all year which includes the four wins so far, I put in some hard laps and I have been able to run at the front in lap times all year so to be beaten each lap by 20-30 seconds is a little strange for me to take in.

I’m still in the championship hunt which is what’s important and I’m excited to get to snow shoe to get my Suzuki back up in the winner’s circle.. One again I’d like to thank everyone at my FMF Makita Suzuki team, and the guys at Moose, Smith, Shoei, Sidi, and Foremost Insurance for the awesome help they give me.

photo by Matt Ware