Enduro News - Paul Whibley

Paul Whibley

GNCC Round 7 , Sparta KY Team: FMF Suzuki Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450 Result: 1st

Paul Whibley now has two-straight GNCC wins.

With the sun beating down and the humidity rising, we sat on the start line baking, trying to keep cool before the wave of the flag. After the national anthem and announcement of the pro line up we were ready to go.

I got a mid pack start but moved into the top ten before we hit the woods. I was riding comfortable and able to follow the riders in front of me easily. Over the course of lap one I moved up to 5th as riders made mistakes or I had opportunities to make a pass.

The track was pretty good in the woods with a lot of fresh trail. There was a fair amount of rocks in the soil, and the many off cambers were really slippery.

By the fuel stop at the end of lap three, I was battling it out with Aussie Glenn Kearney and we both pushed past Nate Kanney and moved on toward the leaders, Josh Strang and David Knight. Josh was leading with David hot on his heels. We saw David make a mistake and go down.

With two laps to go the race was on. Josh, Glenn and I were charging and left the others behind. We swapped positions so many times. Coming through the barrels we got the one lap to go board. So I put the hammer down. I moved past Josh into the lead and began to pull a gap.

I rode hard the last lap, not wanting to surrender first place. I took the win by nearly fifty seconds. I was pretty pumped as this win was hard fought, and it was a great race between Glenn who took second and Josh coming in third to complete an all down under podium.

1st- Paul Whibley 2nd- Glenn Kearney 3rd- Josh Strang 4th- Nate Kanney 5th- David Knight

GNCC Round 6 Ohio Team: FMF Suzuki Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450 Result: 1st

What a race. The conditions were horrible, the mortality rate was extreme and the finishers list was short. One team stood out in the slop. Team FMF Suzuki swept the podium. I took home the win, Josh Strang was second and Jimmy Jarrett completed the yellow domination. Full Report

GNCC Round 5 Loretta Lynns Team: FMF Suzuki Bike: RMZ 450 Rider: Paul Whibley Result: 6th

It was one of those days when things don't go quite to plan. I got severe arm pump for the first 3 laps and had some problems in the pits. I got going mid race and made up some positions, getting into a good battle with Kanney late in the race. 6th position was not what I was hoping for but I am still in 3rd place in the overall points. Full Report

GNCC Round 4 South Carolina Team: FMF, Suzuki Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450 Result: 4th

Off the line my RMZ fired up quickly driving me around the first turn with the leaders. By turn two I had moved to 4th position. The first woods section was tight, slick hard pack and I didn't feel comfortable with these conditions. I tried to ride relaxed and get into a flow but struggled and began to tighten up. I was able to hang with the top three for most of the first lap but as my armpump grew I had to back off to avoid crashing. I fell back and got into a race with Glenn Kearney, Jason Raines and Shane Watts. By the fuel stop I had dropped to 8th with armpump beginning to subside I could start to push hard and began chasing down the leaders. I past Wattsy and moved by Jason after he went down on a slick log. I lined up Glenn on the second to last lap, making a move at the end of a straight sweeping around the outside. By the start of the last lap I had Nate Kanney in my sights and mid lap I had made the pass and moved up to 4th. I continued to push hard, not knowing how close I was to 3rd placed Charlie Mullins. By the chequers I had closed the gap to about eighteen seconds but had to settle for 4th.

1- D. Knight 2- J. Strang 3- C. Mullins 4- P. Whibley 5- N. Kanney

One week earlier I raced Round one of the OMA series. With a good start I was following Jimmy Jarrett on lap one in 2nd position. Jimmy set a good pace and we put a small gap over 3rd. On the trail we encountered a lapped rider stuck blocking the track. Jimmy dismounted and helped push the kids bike over the rooty obstacle while I held Jimmys bike for him. Meanwhile the pack caught us and pushed past, relegating Jimmy and I outside the top five. We got going again and got on a mission. By the third lap Jimmy was up to 2nd behind Charlie Mullins and I was a distant 3rd. I past Jimmy when he crashed over a drop off. I set about reeling in Charlie. He had built about a 40 second lead. I got it down to 5 seconds but ran out of laps so had to take 2nd.

1- C. Mullins 2- P. Whibley 3- J. Jarrett 4- J. Strang 5- B. Garrahan

GNCC Round 3 Steele Creek NC Rider,Paul Whibley Team,FMF Suzuki Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450 Result, 3rd

Overnight rain had the track looking a little on the slick side. The morning race had done their best to spread the slop around and conditions were improving. Off the line the bike fired up quickly but I lost some positions when I spun in some slop on turn one. I made some early passes and moved up to about 10th. I hit a slippery section of the track ended up doing a complete 180, facing the oncoming riders. I spun back around when a gap in the traffic appeared but had lost a lot of the positions I had gained early in the lap. The track was really slick in some spots and other sections, especially along the flats by the creek had massive traction. I battled through early race armpump and tried to stick with some of the top guys. By the time I got signalled to come in for fuel, I was in the thick of a battle with all my team mates. All four of us came into the pits at the same time for gas. The Suzuki crew was onto it and everyone was gassed and sent back out in record time. We continued to swap positions as we raced towards the leaders. As the race progressed I was able to make a break and moved clear of Jimmy and Josh and found myself in 3rd with 2 laps to go. The rain overnight had done the track good and conditions were near perfect on most of the course now, athough some of the down hills were getting some huge braking bumps. Last lap and I was stoked to cross the line with a podium finish and get the new efi 450 up on the box.

Results. 1st, Knight 2nd, Hawke 3rd, Whibley 4th, Strang 5th, Jarrett

Race Report, Mid South XC Rnd 2 Rider, Paul Whibley Team, FMF Suzuki Bike, Suzuki RMZ 450 Result, 2nd

I got a really good start considering the length of the start straight. Charlie Mullins, my team mate this year holeshot and led the way. The track had a very hardpack base and was slippery after the previous days rain. I did my best to stick with Charlie but he put the hammer down on lap one. Lap 2 was much better as the leaves had cleared off the track and I was more confident with the conditions and set about chasing Charlie. I was feeling good on the bike and put in some good times. The fuel stop was a bit drawn out as I am still running the standard fuel tank on my practice bike, as we are waiting the arrival of the big tanks, so the absence of an IMS drybreak system cost me some time. Jesse Robinson was running in third and as I left the pits he latched onto my back wheel. I picked up the pace and pulled some time on Jesse. By the time the chequers was out I was about 25 seconds behind Charlie. I'm really enjoying riding the new 450 and feel my speed is getting better every time I race.

Results: Charlie Mullins Paul Whibley Jesse Robinson Kalib Russell Glen Kearney

Race Report. Rnd 1 and 2 GNCC series. Rider. Paul Whibley Team. FMF Suzuki Bike. RMZ 450 Result. Rnd 1, 5th. Rnd 2, 4th.

The first GNCC was held in the sandy conditions of Florida. The track this year had alot of woods sections and alot of pametto roots. I got a great start on the new efi RMZ and was running in the top 5 for the first couple of laps. The suspension was working good and I felt confident on the bike. Entering the pits before the gas stop I got a banner caught in my back wheel bringing me to an abrupt stop. I lost a lot of positions getting untanggled. I got going again and pushed hard, moving up through the feild. I caught up to Garrett Edmisten who was running in 4th but I hit the wall. The hot conditions and rough track combined with the mid race push burned me out. I couldnt move any further up the field and finished the race in 5th place. I was really happy with my first GNCC on the RMZ. The bike handled great and ran perfect.

Four days later we were on the line again for Rnd 2 in Georgia. A lot of rain and a serious drop in temperature brought about some different conditions. The bike started quickly again but got blocked out in the first corner. I was running near the back of the pro field and the muddy, rutted track was making passing difficult as the roost was flying. I felt good on the bike and I began to make my way forward through the field . By the fuel stop I was inside the top 10 and making time on the leaders. My lines were coming together and I got into a good flow. With two laps to go I got pit signals that I was making time on Knight in 3rd. I closed the gap some but ran out of laps and finished 4th. I am really happy with the start to the season and have a good platform of points to build from.

Thanks to my sponsors. Suzuki, FMF, Moose, Sidi, Shoei, RG3, Dunlop, Renthal, Smith, Driven, Jamis, Motion Pro, Maxima, Acerbis

Race Report: River Race - Woodville MX Rider: Paul Whibley Team: Tony Jury MC, Stringfellows, MotoSR Bike: Suzuki RMZ 450 Result: 1st

With a hectic schedule before I fly back to the States, I decided I could squeeze the Woodville River Race in before I flew back. The river was perfect depth this year, with the added features of a drop off into the river and a ski jump as we plough our way upstream. From the shot gun start Cam Negus grabbed the holeshot but I was hot on his heals and almost made a pass stick as we slithered our way out of the river on the first lap. On lap two I made another move and made it stick this time. With calm water in front I was able to sail clear and pull a lead. Race two saw Greg Ngneru get the holeshot but I had taken the lead before we jumped into the river. I had a blast with the RMZ performing flawlessly in the water and took the second race win and the overall.

A big thanks to Suzuki for supplying the bikes while I was home. Thanks to Richy from Moto SR for all his help. Thank you to all my other sponsors for their continued support while I'm home: Suzuki NZ, Tony Jury MC, MotoSR, Stringfellows, Spectro, Sidi, HJC, WER, IMS, DID, JT, CTi, Moose, Pirelli, Smith, Acerbis, RG3, Vesrah

Race Report. Riverhead 100. Rider. Paul Whibley Team. Tony Jury MC, Stringfellows, MotoSR Bike. Suzuki RMZ 450 Result. 2nd

Myself and Cam Smith headed north to Riverhead forest, North of Auckland. To compete in a new event, The Riverhead 100. We were fairly uncertain as to what to expect as this event had been advertised as an extreme event. We knew this was Chris Birch territory and if some of the events that he has been attending lately were to have any influence on the day we were in for a tough one.

The start was fairly unconventional, lining up in rows of 8 and all let go at the same time. I was on row three and nearly ran up the back of a Husky that didn't start in front of me. I was inside the top 10 as we hit the trees. The track was slippery with plenty of tree roots covering the surface, and surprisingly wet. I made my way forward passing were I could, eventually catching Cam Smith who got off to a sweet start. I followed Cam for a while and was pretty sure he was leading as I couldn't see any dust ahead of us on the gravel roads. Although this was a big mistake on my behalf as Chris Birch had got a great start and put his local knowledge to good use and just gapped us. I soon learned at the end of that lap the Chris had checked out and I had a lot of work to do. I put my head down and tried to learn the track quickly and make up some time. As the race progressed I began to close the gap and by the finish had reduced his lead to about 40 seconds. I was obviously disappointed not to win but I was happy with the way I rode and was impressed by Chris's speed and his new found desire to challenge the worlds extreme events.

I was also impressed how my RMZ 450 handled this event. Many people regard this bike as a MX only bike but Cam Smith (who placed 4th)and myself proved it is more than capable of achieving top results in even the most extreme enduro conditions. Also top marks to the club for putting on a good demanding race, something that we need more of.

Thanks to my sponsors. Suzuki NZ, Tony Jury MC, MotoSR, Stringfellows, Spectro, Sidi, HJC, WER, IMS, DID, JT, CTi, Moose, Pirelli, Smith, Acerbis, RG3, Vesrah

For More Search