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#1 Bill
Ballance Claims the Loretta Lynn's GNC
Pro Win
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Cypress, CA (4/20/2009)
- Bill Ballance, Tracy Cecco, Brian Wolf and Walker
Fowler all scored wins for Yamaha in a perfect
sweep of their classes at the fifth round of the
2009 GNCC ATV series at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch
in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. on Saturday, April 18.
Ballance and Cecco each scored their first wins
of the season, as well as the first wins for the
new YFZ450R in GNCC competition, in their respective
XC1 Pro and Women’s divisions. Ballance’s
victory over teammate Brandon Sommers in XC1 Pro
was especially sweet as the nine-time champion
continues his recovery from a preseason injury.
Cecco, likewise a multi-time GNCC champion, closed
in on the Women’s points lead with her win.
Meanwhile Wolf continued the winning legacy of
the YFZ450 by grabbing his third XC2 Pro Am victory
of the season to likewise move closer to the points
lead, with Fowler taking his fourth win of the
season in the College A class.
As one of the top events of the GNCC ATV season,
the event at Loretta Lynn’s spectacular
facility saw strong spectator attendance and terrific
competition. In the morning Women’s race
around the long, hilly off-road course, Cecco
resumed her normal place – at the front
of the pack – by not only taking the Women’s
victory, but finishing third overall against 16
other classes as well. Cecco trailed rival Angel
Atwell by scarcely a second at the end of the
first lap, then took over the lead and immediately
stretched out a 43-second gap by the end of lap
two, and maintained more than a half-minute advantage
over runner-up Lexie Coulter at the end of four
laps. Kristen Atwell, Jennifer Albright and Jesi
Stracham finished fourth, fifth and sixth aboard
YFZ450s to make it four Yamahas in the Women’s
top six.
Fierce competition early in the combined afternoon
XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am event eventually saw
Ballance and Sommers establish themselves among
the front-runners by the halfway point of the
race, battling with points leader Adam McGill,
Yamaha’s Taylor Kiser, Chris Borich and
Bryan Cook. But on the lap that counted –
the last one – the Yamaha duo of Ballance
and Sommers took over the 1-2 positions for
good. "I'm getting better and stronger,"
Ballance grinned after the race. "Oh man,
it puts me back in the hunt!" A bit further
back in the field, Wolf once again had the measure
of his XC2 Pro Am rivals by leading three of
the four laps, while teenager Fowler added Top
Amateur honors for the weekend to his College
A win. “It’s nice to get back to
our winning ways in all three premiere GNCC
classes and see the riders and crew be rewarded
for all of the hard work that they’ve
put into the season so far,” commented
Donnie Luce, Yamaha’s ATV/Off Road Coordinator.
| Pos. |
2009 GNCC XC1 Pro Points |
4/18/09 |
| 1 |
Adam McGill |
113 |
| 2 |
Taylor Kiser - Yamaha |
105 |
| 3 |
Chris Borich |
102 |
| 4 |
Bryan Cook |
86 |
| 5 |
Bill Ballance – Yamaha |
82 |
| Pos. |
2009 GNCC Women Points |
4/18/09 |
| 1 |
Angel Atwell |
98 |
| 2 |
Traci Cecco – Yamaha |
92 |
| 3 |
Kristen Atwell – Yamaha |
81 |
| 4 |
Lexie Coulter
|
79 |
| 5 |
Jennifer Albright – Yamaha |
78 |
| Pos. |
2009 GNCC XC2 Pro Am Points |
4/18/09 |
| 1 |
Joshua Kirkland |
135 |
| 2 |
Brian Wolf – Yamaha |
131 |
| 3 |
Eric Hoyland |
102 |
| 4 |
Scottie Rich |
77 |
| 5 |
Dustin Canipe |
62 |
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