Madison, IN (9/28/2017)
- Yokley Racing/Polaris RZR Factory Racing
driver John Barnes scored a fourth-place finish,
handing Polaris’ S1000 its best finish this
year in XC1 pro UTV, during the GNCC Mountaineer
Run at Marvin’s Mountain Top in Masontown,
WV.
Barnes, fresh off finishing second in an
IXCR race last weekend, charged out of the
start hard. Heading into a high-speed turn,
he hit a rut. Showing great driving skill,
he drove out of the bobble, recovered, fought
through the dust and finished fourth, marking
his best effort thus far this season. He was
just one minute behind the leader at the finish.
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STI's
John Barnes grabbed the Pro Holeshot
in his Polaris RZR S 1000 |
“If it wasn’t for the dust, we would have
definitely had a shot at the win,” said Barnes.
“We had the lead in the third turn, but we
caught a rut, fell back and fought dust from
there. We were on Trantham on the first lap,
but I couldn’t see anything because of the
dust and decided to play it safe. When I came
up on someone, I tried to get by them immediately
because of the dust.”
The rock sections were especially difficult
this round. With more and more boulders becoming
exposed as the race went on, Barnes had to
preserve his car to the finish.
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Polaris
RZR Factory Racing's John Barnes finished
a sesason best 4th Place at the Mountaineer
Run GNCC |
“The rocks wore out the car pretty well,”
said Barnes. “I started losing the brakes
when the wheel bearings got a lot of play
in them. I knew by the end of the last lap,
the wheel bearings would be close to breaking.
So I tried to be smoother in the rocks and
go fast when I could. We were really close
to losing a wheel at the end.”
Barnes’ fourth-place finish allowed him to
crack the top 10 in points going into the
next race. Always a competitor, Barnes’ finish
was a feat many don’t accomplish in the tough
sport of cross country racing.
“A top-five finish in a GNCC is a very good
achievement,” said Barnes. “A lot of people
never get there. It was a good weekend for
me our Polaris team.”
The changes he made to the car during the
summer break definitely paid off. Along with
a lot of testing, Barnes addressed nearly
every component on the car--including shocks,
new heads from Millennium Technologies, and
a new rear end--to make it more competitive.
“We tested a lot and I think we’re getting
faster each time,” said Barnes. “The car handles
really well. I can push the car into the turns
a lot harder than I thought I could, so testing
helped me get used the car. I just had to
get to that point to riding perfectly on the
edge.”
As the series heads to Ohio, Barnes will
tear down and completely prepare the car for
Powerline Park. While he is fast in the woods,
Barnes wants to improve his driving in the
high-speed sections.
“We’re going to do some shock changes, we’ll
do all new wheel bearings, new brakes, and
change anything that’s showing wear,” said
Barnes. “My goal is to work more on the high-speed
stuff. We’re fast in the woods, but we want
to get faster in the open.”
Barnes will be looking for his first GNCC
podium of the season as the series heads to
Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, OH October
7-8.
A big thanks
goes out to the sponsors for the 2017 season:
Polaris RZR Factory Racing, Yokley Racing,
STI Tire & Wheel/Roctane HD tires, America's
Motorsports, Elka Suspension, Super ATV, CP
Carrillo, Millennium Technologies, Hot Cams,
IMS, Ballistic Battery, Dynojet, MTNTK Performance,
OMF, Trinity Racing Exhaust, Team RZR, RZR
Extreme, Shock Therapy, Alba Racing, Alpinestars,
Maxwell Industries, Monster Army, VP Racing
Fuels, Hess Motorsports, Dragon Alliance,
One Stop Design and Machine, and Slick Products.
