Grand National Cross Country returns to Aonia Pass

Dirt bike and ATV cross-country riders from all over the country have already begun to arrive at Aonia Pass Motocross Park for the season's first race weekend as bigtime off-road racing comes to back to town

Aonia is hosting the second stop on CanAm Grand National Cross Country Series, the largest off-road racing series in the nation, says Racer Productions spokesman Jason Weigant. Riders compete for over $2.8 million in series prizes and contingency money in the 13-round series.

The nearly three-hour long GNCC races lead sometimes more than 1,700 dirt bike and ATV racers through Aonia's 11-mile track strewn with trees, hills, mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections. GNCC races are tests of both survival and speed.

With help from ATV maker CanAm, the GNCC Series will return to television in April on Versus, formerly the Outdoor Life Network, which is found on Comcast Cable channel 61 in Washington.

The GNCC series was the brainchild of the late Dave Coombs, whose Racer Productions, of Morgantown, West Virginia, now produces the national racing series under the leadership of his widow Rita Coombs and her staff.

This year, the camping and motor home area of Aonia Pass opened Monday, and some racers began to arrive Tuesday from the series' first stop in Vero Beach, Fl. By Friday, the fields around the track will be filled with a sea of motorhomes, trucks, and trailers. This is the fifth annual Maxxis General GNCC, and previous races have drawn the largest number of racers in the history of the series, with nearly 1,700 riders competing.

Tourism Director Ashley Barnett said that she and Chamber officers would be visiting the track to encourage racers and their families to visit Wilkes County businesses and attractions throughout the week.

Races in previous years have brought a solid boost in sales for most local restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and other retailers, Barnett said, "and we really want to show these folks that we'd love to have more of them come to Washington."

Motels and bed-and-breakfast inns feel the impact, too.

"We've had racer families come stay with us for years now," said Barbara Chase of Washington Plantation Bed and Breakfast. "Why stay at a dusty old track when you can be really comfortable?"

This year, the Wilkes County Young Farmer Truck and Tractor Pull will be held Saturday night at their new facility which is adjacent to cross-country race course. "We're hoping that a lot of the racers and their friends will walk over to our event," said Eric Holton. "We'll have antique trucks and tractors in the afternoon and the modern trucks and tractors in the evening."

Spectators can check out the Aonia Pass action from dozens of vantage points ranging from trails snaking through deep woods to water crossings that become mud-baths. Spectator passes run $12 for the entire weekend, with access to the pro pit area included. Children six and under are admitted free.

On both days, youth riders race at 8 a.m., beginner riders race at 10 a.m., and the top amateurs and the pros race at 1 p.m.

Sunday's motorcycle pro race will last a full three hours, which will make physical conditioning and fitness a major factor as the riders bounce over rough terrain at high speed for the duration of the event.

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