Yamaha's
Bill Ballance Could Win
Record-Breaking 8th Straight
GNCC Pro ATV Title at Series Finale this Weekend
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Yamaha's
Bill Ballance |
Morgantown, WV (10/23/2007)
- Eight years and 105 races. That works
out to about 5000 miles of mud, rocks, hills,
dirt and trail in America's largest off-road series,
the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series,
and one thing remains the same through it all:
Bill Ballance is on the verge of winning the GNCC
Championship. If the factory Yamaha rider from
Kentucky finishes 12th or better at this Saturday's
final round of the '07 season, the Klotz Ironman
GNCC in Indiana, he'll lock up his eighth-straight
number-one plate, breaking the tie on top of the
all-time leader board with seven-time champion
Barry Hawk.
Not surprisingly for a championship won over
rugged terrain, the path to Ballance's eight-straight
crown has been anything but smooth. Long-time
rival Chris Borich has pushed Ballance to the
brink for the last three seasons, and on several
occasions this year it looked like he would finally
knock Ballance off.
"I've been in some pressure situations before
and it always seems like we're able to rise through
them," says Ballance.
At the mid point of the year, Borich launched
a four-race win streak and held a decisive edge
in the series standings. The pressure nearly broke
Ballance. But instead of coming to the track with
the familiar fire in his belly, intent on nothing
but winning, Ballance started to take it all in
stride. "You know, whatever happens this
year, I've got to look back and be proud of what
we've already accomplished," said Ballance
when the series resumed in September after a summer
break.
By keeping cool under fire, Ballance never cracked.
He's finished on the podium in every race this
season, including five wins and six runner-up
placings. Borich has six victories, but bad luck
at two races-brake troubles in Kentucky which
resulted in a six-place finish, and a blown shock
in North Carolina which pushed him back to 17th-will
make it tough to collect the crown now. Borich
must race to win in Indiana and hope for a lucky
break in the form of a Ballance crash or mechanical
failure.
Of course, Ballance hasn't had many of those
in the last eight years, and he doesn't expect
to start now.
With the year coming to a close, expect several
riders to gun for their first victory, including
West Virginia sophomore pro Adam McGill, Pennsylvania
veteran Matt Smiley and popular Kentucky rider
William Yokley. Missouri's Duane "The Rock"
Johnson will be in the hunt, as well as Chris
Bithell, who held Ballance off for a win in North
Carolina a few weeks ago. Also, 2007 XC2 Pro-Am
Champion Brandon Sommers will race the XC1 Pro
class again after finishing fourth in his pro
debut at the previous GNCC in Ohio.
Saturday's action also includes Youth ATV racing
at 8 a.m. and a 10 a.m. morning race featuring
the Women, 4x4 and Sport ATV classes. At 5 p.m.
Side by Side/UTV machines will race for the first
time ever at a GNCC, on a custom-built course.
The Klotz Ironman packs one of the largest crowds
of the season. The Indiana fans are rabid about
ATVs, and the event is named after the only GNCC
Champion to hail from the state, Bob "Ironman"
Sloan. The course features nearly every terrain
imaginable for an ATV to cross, from rocks, mud
and water to Ironman Hill, one of the steepest
climbs on the entire Grand National tour.
A full bike program competes on Sunday, as well,
with the same racing schedule as the ATVs. Tickets
for the event cost $12 for the full weekend. The
track is located south of Crawfordsville off of
Route 47. The address for Tom's Marine is 1317
W Offield Rd. For more information, log on to
www.gnccracing.com
or call 304-284-0084.
About
GNCC Racing:
The
AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Grand National Cross Country
series is America’s premier off-road racing
series. The 13-round series is produced exclusively
by Racer Productions. Cross-country racing is
one of the most physically demanding sports in
the world. The nearly three-hour long GNCC races
lead as many as 1800 riders through tracks ranging
from eight to twelve miles in length. With varied
terrain including hills, woods, mud, dirt, rocks
and motocross sections, GNCC events are tests
of both survival and speed. GNCC Racing airs weekly
television shows on Versus (formerly Outdoor Life
Network) every Saturday at 3 p.m. and Thursday
at 4 p.m. beginning on April 14. GNCC featured
sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis,
Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz,
FMF, ITP and Tire Balls, and riders compete for
over $3 million in series prizes and contingency
money. Associate sponsors include Alpinestars,
Cometic, EK Chain, HiPer Technology, Laegers,
Motion Pro, Moose Utility Division, Powersport
Grafx, Pro Clean, Race Tools, REM, Scott, Thor,
Twin Air, Weekend Warrior, and MotoTee’s.
Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV
Rider, ATV Sport, www.ATVRiders.com,
Dirt Rider and ATV Insider. For more information
log on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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