For a while there, Kurt Caselli just couldn’t lose. The guy cleaned house on the West Coast with a WORCS championship in 2007, had one bad race that foiled a repeat in ‘08, led Team USA at the ISDE for a couple years and seemed to be KTM’s shining star in American off-road racing. He was considered by many, especially on the Pacific side, the best all-around off-roader. The Palmdale, CA resident went seeking a change of scenery this year and headed East to contest the GNCC series; unfortunately he wasn’t able to dominate the way many thought he would. We had a chance to chat with Captain Kurt at the MotorcycleUSA.com Snowshoe GNCC in West Virginia and he claimed that it was a good experience and the new challenges of different racers and terrain. But he also confided that it was harder than he expected – especially the part that none of us see like uprooting your entire program and moving across the country. Away from familiar surroundings and hating the distinct lack of SoCal sunshine, Kurt hasn’t set the world on fire by any means. He currently sits in 10th after posting his best result of the season - a third at Unadilla - the first time he’s even cracked the top-five his year. Not only is Caselli a little demoralized, but he’s fell from the media limelight. These days it’s Ricky Dietrich who gets all the attention – the same guy who picked up the slack at ISDE last year when Kurt bonked his head and had to retire while leading.

Caselli must have decided that was about enough of that horse crap so he surprised his left-coast fans with an appearance at Glen Helen for the ninth round of WORCS racing. Not a factor in the season points, Caselli took the victory ahead of teammate Mike Brown. Just for comparison sake, Josh Strang, who is fighting for the GNCC title, also came to visit and posted a 10th place – my, how the tables have turned…

It just goes to show that each form of racing takes a specific type of training, bike prep, etc. It’s good to see Kurt back on the podium’s top rung. Hopefully he’ll take it back to the final three rounds of GNCC and prove that he can be the best over there as well. After his strong finish in New York, this added boost of confidence might be just what he needed.