shift

With more than 1,200 riders from eight different countries on the starting line, the Grand National Cross Country series is arguably the most competitive off-road racing event in the world. After starting the 2009 season with a badly broken ankle, Team Husqvarna woods specialist Glenn Kearney was in full health and ready to kick some tail at the opening round of the 2010 GNCC series at Westgate River Ranch in Lake Wales, Florida. "It was a great day for me...a really fun event," explains the Aussie import. "We had a bit of rain in the morning which made for ideal track conditions. Even though it was very sandy and rough, I felt very good all day. The best news is that I'm in great condition and my hands aren't blistered like they normally would be on a rough course like this one." Remember, the typical GNCC consists of running wide open for three hours! A decent 12th place start had Kearney in the hunt, running inside the top five for a good portion of the race. "I moved up to 8th by the end of the first lap and I continued to ride well and pass for positions, but halfway through the race, I went over the bars and became stuck under the bike for a time." Kearney's blow-by blow account continues, "The crash also caused me to lose my drink system, which I had to replace at the end of the next lap." Each lap consisted of 14 miles worth of tight trails, mud holes and whooped out sand sections... no place to be without a drink system. Despite losing time to the crash and swapping out his hydration pack, Glenn was quickly back up to race pace. "I raced on and got into a good battle with Jimmy Jarrett for quite a while." He then passed defending GNCC series champ Paul Whibley (who had grabbed the holeshot) for 5th place. "But then I got stuck in the mud! I managed to get free and pushed on for the finish, but with less than a half-mile from the finish Thad DuVall snuck past me, so I had to settle for 6th overall." Glenn attributes his strong opening round to his 2010 Husqvarna. "My TXC 250 4-stroke was flawless. It is light weight, it handles great and I believe it really was the perfect bike for this race." Kearney concedes conventional thinking would have called for a bigger bike, but his Husqvarna was up to the task. "This should have been the hardest track of the year for a 250...if the bike was ever going to have an issue, this would have been the place. But it is so light and handles so well that it allowed me to stay on top of the sand that normally would have sapped the power. I could not be happier with this motorcycle!" Speaking of his Ben Kearney-prepped race bike, his mechanic/brother has his work cut out for him this week! "I'm headed to Daytona Beach for the Alligator Enduro on Thursday and right after that, it is up to Georgia for the next GNCC this coming weekend."