JCR/Honda Has Sight Set On GNCC Racing

Kit Palmer | January 14, 2014
  Chris Bach joins JCR Honda for the 2014 GNCC Series. Photography by Ken Hill

Chris Bach will ride a JCR Honda in the 2014 GNCC Series. Photography by Ken Hill

On Monday, January 13, the Johnny Campbell Racing/Honda off-road team made the surprising announcement that it was pulling out of Baja racing in 2014 and would instead concentrate on other forms of off-road competition. We didn’t have to wait long to find out what one of them will be – GNCC racing.

The JCR/Honda team announced today its intention to campaign the 2014 Grand National Cross Country Series with new team member Chris Bach.

“For us, it’s really all about new challenges,” said Honda’s Ray Conway, Motorcycle Race Director. “Honda has dominated the SCORE Series for decades, and has won the Baja 1000 23 times, including the last 17 consecutive events. JCR has spearheaded this effort for years, and Johnny has a long record of victories in Baja, including 11 Baja 1000 wins. Now it’s time for us to look for new challenges, just as Honda has with our recent involvement in the world rally championship, and the GNCC series is one of the most professional and competitive off-road series here in the U.S.”

“I am very excited for the new direction and new challenges,” said Johnny Campbell. “I have always admired the GNCC series, from the professionalism of the series directors, the extraordinary attendance at each round, the high levels of media exposure and the teams and racers. I am also excited to announce that we recently signed top GNCC rider Chris Bach. Chris is a fast, young talent and a very methodical racer who fits our program perfectly. I’m really looking forward to racing in a new atmosphere with new fans at some great venues. I have no doubt that this will be an amazing year.”

Honda once dominated the GNCC scene when Scott Summers was busy ranking up titles (five of them in all) in the 1990s on Honda’s XR machinery.

 

 

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.