“Well, yeah, they have factory rides. If I had a factory bike, I’d be faster too.” We’ve all heard—or said—that one before. Our own Mitch Kendra raced a GNCC on a fully prepped factory bike to see what kind of difference it really makes

WORDS: MITCH KENDRA
PHOTOS: Caity BROOKS & KEN HILL

“Did you see the bike yet?” asked Jason Jones, the father of AmPro Yamaha amateur racer Cooper Jones. He seemed pretty excited to show me a stock bike. We rounded the back of the team truck, and there sat several race bikes belonging to factory team riders Mike Witkowski, Layne Michael, Rachael Archer, and Jones himself. “There she is!” Jones said, pointing out a #310 that coordinated with all the other bikes in the lineup. I gasped. No chance this was actually the bike for me. But there it was, my number, with Racer X graphics and everything.