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GNCC Racing - Round #13
IronMan
Crawfordsville, IN
October 22,2005

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Crawfordsville, IN - The 2006 Grand National Cross Country Series concluded this weekend with the Ironman GNCC in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The season finale is always an important event for the racers, as we want to end the year on a high note with the hopes of carrying the momentum through to next year. Some classes have heated points battles going on that come down to the last race, and many final rankings are decided at the Ironman- a true GNCC track that tests rider and machine. One racer who would unfortunately be competing in his last GNCC would be Chad Duvall, who announced his retirement. Chad is a long-time competitor who I have looked up to over the years, and who helped progress this sport to where it is today. He will be missed by all, but his presence will be felt as his son Thad continues to tear up the competition in the Sunday bike races; finishing a phenomenal 12th overall at the season finale.

One rider who arrived in Indiana with no worries was newly-recrowned GNCC champ Bill Ballance. Bill had silenced the doubters by coming back from a mid-season broken leg to wrap up his 6th straight championship with one race to go. He had won the Ironman race in 2003 and wanted to stand on top of the podium again. Chris Borich had won the previous round of the series in the Ohio mud two weeks ago, and wanted to finish off his second runner-up season with a couple of wins. William Yokely is the master of the Ironman. Something about the track and William seems to click, as he has won this race more times than any other rider. Matt Smiley was hoping to get his Predator onto the podium for the fifth time this season, a remarkable feat considering this was his first year on the new machine. Chris Jenks was looking to regain the magic from Yadkinsville and top off his best season ever with another win. Brandon Ballance had come so close to the overall win a few times this year, but he was hungry to get onto the top step of the podium. Bryan Cook had been on a roll the last few rounds, and his win at Unadilla could only be outdone by winning the Ironman.

The MX contingent at the GNCC's seems to be growing, as last round's crossover rider John Natalie had some company this weekend in the form of Yamaha's Pat Brown. Pat has been on a busy post-GNC schedule including the Pont de Vaux 12 hour in France, the Paris supercross, and now the Ironman. He is no stranger to woods racing as he recorded the fastest lap at the 12 Hours of ATV America in Iowa last year.

With rain falling on the track up until raceday, the stage was set for a great race. The track in Indiana is a mixture of hills and fields that tests a racer's diversity in all types of terrain. The multiple stream crossings and power-robbing corn field drag strips test just how reliable your quad is against the elements. Spectators lined the start area, and filled the tops of the hillclimbs and banks of the water holes. The rows lined up on the start and it was all about who could put it all together one last time and come out on top of a stacked field.

Bill Ballance took yet ANOTHER holeshot, but was kept honest by Santo DeRisi. Borich, Yokely and Natalie were in hot pursuit. I started near the back and had alot of riders to pass to get to the front. The woods were so slick that it was hard not to go into sections too hot for the amount of available traction. In the first few miles, Mike Houston and Brandon Ballance both nailed trees violently to the point where I had to slow down and make sure they were alright. When I saw Brandon hit a tree, the top of the tree shook leaves off, and there was a chunk of bark missing where the bumper hit!

Natalie followed Bill Ballance through the barrels at the end of lap one, followed by Chris Borich and William Yokely. The track was laid out very good, with the streams and hillclimbs dispersed evenly through the loop. It seemed as though we were staying grouped together for the most part, and it was tough to build a gap on the rider behind. The open sections made for plenty of passing opportunities, and having a strong motor definitely helped because the corn fields were quite soft and put a hard load on the motor.

Yokely managed to lead the race at the end of lap two just in front of Natalie and Bill Ballance. Chris Borich and Matt Smiley were trying to close the gap on the leaders. My second lap got interesting when I was slowed at the top of one of the big hillclimbs by a lapper, and had to get off and keep by quad from rolling down the hill. There were what seemed like fifty people at the top of the hill and they started grabbing onto my quad and trying to pull it up the rest of the hill. I heard people shouting my name and somebody looped a tow strap around my bumper and pulled the quad right up still in gear! The spectators were really good about pointing out good lines and not hesitating to get into the mud and helping out. This is the kind of stuff that makes GNCC racing like nothing else out there.

Yokely had Bill on his tail for the next two laps, with Chris taking over third on lap 4 just in front of Matt. John Natalie had shown that he was figuring the woods racing out quickly, running at the front the first half and settling into a top ten position. As the leaders kept their pace the last few laps, Chris Bithell was increasing his. He would mount a late charge that would get him into third overall on the last lap, behind Yokely and Ballance. Then William had a getoff right before the finish and it was unsure how close Bithell would get to the lead on adjusted time.

At the finish, William Yokely took another Ironman overall just 16 seconds in front of the 17-year-old Pro-Am rider Chris Bithell, who edged out Bill Ballance at the line by 2 seconds! Chris Borich and Matt Smiley rounded out the top five. The track held up well after 5 laps of racing, and there were no bottlenecks to speak of. The Indiana terrain is ideal for GNCC racing and the perfect weather on raceday made it a memorable finale for all in attendance. With the end of the season you would think we would take a little time off, but I guarantee that when everyone was driving home from Indiana the only thing on their minds was how to go faster and ride better next year! See you in Florida!


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