Team Faith Wins Second Grand National Cross Country UTV Lites Championship
- Dec 6, 2011
Team Faith's Chuck Lemaster along with co-pilot O'Rourke were crowned the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country UTV Lites Champions last week. The team's third place finish in the round five event at St. Clairesville, Ohio, was enough to secure their second UTV Championship. Founded in 1979, the GNCC series continues to be considered America's premier off-road racing series. Cross-country racing is arguably one of the most physically demanding of all motorsports, and the grueling three-hour GNCC races support that claim. This year alone, some events have featured as many as 1,500 riders, navigating through tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles, with varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections. It has been said that GNCC events are tests of both survival and speed. After locking up the 2011GNCC title O'Rourke told K&N News, "We have officially retired our Yamaha Rhino and have not raced it since we won the Championship. Instead our efforts have been focused on our current National Arenacross team with Kelly Smith and Kevin Johnson." It appears the second UTV Lites title will be the last for the championship winning Rhino as O'Rourke has put it up for sale. "All year long at each event, I know we were looking ahead and dreaming a little about trying to race in the Premier Open Class in 2012," said O'Rourke. "That's where the machines really perform. Besides the economic issues, I think that is why the attendance in our class was a little low as well. Everyone wants to race the premier class to see just how good they really are. So, although a second Lites title is great, we think it's time we compete in the open class." "Driving-wise, I believe Chuck Lemaster is completely competent and more than ready to race in the open class! Like I said earlier, all this season we've both been drooling over what the open machines can do out on the track. The big challenge is the cost," adds O'Rourke. "We are working on a deal that we hope will get us the machine we need to compete, and if sponsors like FLY Racing, K&N and Trinity Racing help us build our race package, there's really no reason that we couldn't transfer the last three seasons of experience racing Lites UTV's on the GNCC series into a winning open class program as well." "Chuck Lemaster and I want to say thank you to K&N for all your support! We appreciate you guys working so hard to find solutions to our performance needs. Congratulations to you as well for another UTV Lites Championship. We look forward to continuing to grow this race program into hopefully a Premier Open Class contender." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
