Beta USA's Jordan Ashburn finished in ninth place at round 1 of the GNCC series held in Union, South Carolina this past weekend. The Tennessee racer continues to push himself to reach the top step of the podium aboard his Beta 430 RR. Ashburn's teammate Nick Davis hit a tree after running fifth in the XC2 class ending his race with a dislocated hip.

"Round one of the GNCC didn't go as well as I expected. I took the lead on the first lap and was able to come around in the front. I started to struggle with my bike setup on the track and I wasn't feeling comfortable as the race pace stepped up. I am going to try and make some slight changes on my setup this week to be dialed in for this weekend's round 2." explains Ashburn.

Nick Davis describes his race weekend, "My Beta 250 RR had me off to a great start sending me to the top 10 out of 40 racers on Sunday. It was very hard with the dust to get ahead, but we managed pretty well and was able to get all the way up to top 5 on the second lap. I was heading up to pass for 4th (Ty Tremaine) when everything fell apart, I hit a hole which kicked me up into a section of trees. I ended up needing a life flight out of there. I dislocated my hip and I have a fractured T1 in my back. It will take a few weeks to heal up but I hope to return for round 3 in Georgia. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers."

Next on the Factory Team's schedule is round two of the GNCC series this weekend, known as the Moose Racing Wild Boar held in Palatka, Florida. In the West, Factory rider Justin Wallis will be racing at rounds 4 and 5 of the WORCS series in Lake Havasu, Arizona, a race which he won last year.

Photo by Ken Hill