Rick Cecco GNCC 4×4 Pro Race Reports Rounds 1 and 2
- Updated: March 22, 2015
After several months’ break, the start of another GNCC season has finally arrived. This year, the opening race is at a new location that promises a fast ride with wide open field sections, but also tight wooded areas. The Palatka track, named ‘The Wild Boar’, is just the beginning of yet another incredibly competitive battle among the 4X4 Pro riders. With no changes to the 4×4 line-up, fans are guaranteed another season full of nail biting action!
This year, Rick Cecco, who has chosen to ride with Can-Am, heads into the woods towards the back of the pack. Knowing Cecco’s racing style, this is not unusual as he likes to sit back a bit in the beginning, learn the track, pick lines and simply keep the leaders within view. At the finish of lap one, Cecco checked in as the 8th 4×4 Pro rider, but was within six seconds of the class leader. By lap two, Cecco was able to move up into the 7th place position and continue gaining ground on his competition. Laps three and four saw much of the same as Cecco was able to keep his lap times the same, but did not allow him to gain on the leaders. With the finish of round one, Rick Cecco secured 7th place. Though he did not feel this position was ideal, he certainly was not upset, saying, “It’s round one, we have a lot of racing to go and I’m on a new machine. I learned a lot today about its setup and what changes I need to make for the next round.”
Round two offers up something different than all over stops on the GNCC schedule: only one week’s prep time vs, the normal two. This shortened time-span requires riders to clean, fix and get a few test rides into a handful of days. In addition, the weather for The General this year looks to be yet another complication for riders. With rain promising to dump on the local area through-out Friday and Saturday, the track becomes a muddy, slippery mess. Regardless, the 4×4 riders line-up and promise another incredible battle.
Off the line, Rick Cecco is already off to a better start than round one and heads into the woods in fifth place. With all the mud, Cecco decided to hang back a bit in effort to save his goggles. With the first check-in of round two, Cecco secured the eighth place position. Through laps three and four, Cecco started his attack. Lap three saw Cecco check-in with the second position, bars-to-bars with the leader. Through the twenty-six minutes of lap four, Cecco not only continued to the pressure, but managed to take the class leader position, checking in as first. With one lap to go, Cecco still had another twenty-six minutes to guard his position. Unfortunately, even though the Cecco’s pace did not slow the track obstacles and amount of stuck riders to work thru was more intense and 2nd & 3rd 4×4 Pro riders were able to gain on Cecco. At the finish of the race, Cecco won a third place podium finish with a mere twelve seconds between himself and first place. Again, Cecco was not disappointed, saying, “These are tough riders I’m up against. I’m just happy to be up on the podium beside them.”
You won’t being seeing Cecco at the next few rounds of GNCC because he’ll be preparing for an EPIC race that most others won’t even attempt – “Hunt the Wolf” in Romania! Find more information and show your support on this insane battle at: www.hunt-the-wolf.com
Cecco Racing is sponsored by Coldcock Whiskey, DWT Wheels and Tires, Big Gun, Super ATV, All Balls, Gates G Force, BNR Motorsports, Custom Axis, Powermadd, Rox Speedfx, Fasstco, DP Brakes, Spider, Riccochet, KN Engineering, Bike Trikes and Quads, STM Powersports, Tire Balls, Vanilla Gorrilla, Outerwears, BOM Racing, Big Kevs Performance, Ken Hill Photography, ATVriders.com, Quadzone.com, Spider Graphics
