There has been a lot of hype surrounding the return of the GT amateur BMX team and all of the talk was backed up with some astounding performances at the USABMX Silver Dollar Nationals season opener in Reno Nevada this weekend.
The team rolled up to the track and the first things that people were saying was how great the new 2012 GT/Alpine Stars race kits looked! Topped off with the new Troy Lee Designs D3 Zap helmet it really complimented the eye-catching uniforms that stood out on the track leaving no question who the GT racers were.
Having all this attention off the track meant the team better be looking on the track. The entire team put on incredible performances. Two of the most talked about racers over the weekend were Sean Gaian and Sophia Foresta. Sean laid to waste both the heavily stacked Junior Development and 15 Expert Boys classes on his Speed Series Pro XL by not just winning every lap but by huge margins… complete domination for the young man from Santee California.
In the Girls division the standout was GT's newest little lady Sophia Foresta. The 12-year-old phenom from Utah is only into her second year on the national circuit and put on a clinic for all the seasoned competitors with wins both days in 12 Girls and Cruiser classes.
Along with Sean and Sophia the rest of the team scored some great results. Newly turned 9 year old Expert Jack Kelly took the class win on Sunday along with a 2nd place on Saturday and a pair of seconds in the 9-10 Open Class.
The veterans on the team had a tough act to follow with the solid finishes from the youngsters. Jonas Harmon had some tough battles in the 26-30 cruiser and 28-35 Expert classes. Overcoming near crashes he came away with three 3rds and a 4th place. The grand-old man of the bunch, Eric "Big Daddy" Rupe has been ruling the 46-50 cruiser class but an unexpected hitchhiker in the form of a fellow rider falling onto his back wheel out of the gate kept the legend from his usual win. He did put in a hard fought effort against the younger racers in the 41 & over Expert class and came away with two 2nd place finishes.
At the end of the weekend everyone had a great time and were great representatives for the GT brand. 2012 looks to be the start of a great season the GT Factory race team.
