Cypress, CA (5/3/2009)
- Yamaha ATV racers scored another impressive
hat trick by sweeping all three premier classes
in the sixth round of the 2009 Grand National
Cross Country ATV series in Lafayette, Tenn. on
Saturday, May 2. Taylor Kiser picked up his second
win of the season in the XC1 Pro class to vault
him to the top of the points chase, while Brian
Wolf scored his fourth win in the hotly contested
XC2 Pro Am class to likewise take the championship
lead - while also beating numerous XC1 Pros in
the process. And seven-time GNCC champion Traci
Cecco grabbed her second win of the year in the
Women's class. Like Wolf, she now also leads her
division as the 13-race series nears the halfway
point.
Known as "The Titan" for good reason,
the endurance event featured a grueling off-road
course with every imaginable obstacle for ATVs
to conquer - including plenty of deep mud. In
winning the morning Women's race on her YFZ450R,
Cecco led three of four laps in an event dominated
by blue-and-white machines as Jennifer Albright,
Kristen Atwell and Jesi Stracham followed Traci
to the checkered flag to make it 1-2-3-4 for
Yamaha. After dropping to second behind rival
Angel Atwell at the three-quarters mark, Cecco
asserted her authority and broke free to win
by more than a minute over Albright. "It
was going to come down to who picks the smartest
line and who doesn't get stuck," a race-savvy
Cecco noted.
The gloves really came off in the afternoon
race, which pitted 10 classes together including
XC1 Pro, XC2 Pro Am, and a host of hungry amateurs.
Kiser worked hard for his XC1 Pro win, running
only seventh in the first of four laps, moving
into fourth at the halfway point, and then leading
the two final laps, with perennial rival Chris
Borich narrowly behind in second, Yamaha's Brandon
Sommers and Donnie Ockerman in third and fourth,
respectively, and Bill Ballance in eighth. Wolf
was similarly impressive in XC2 Pro Am, putting
his YFZ450 into first early and then stretching
out an advantage of nearly five minutes at the
flag. So fast was Wolf on his Yamaha, that only
six XC1 Pro riders were able to stay ahead of
him - despite having a head start. "I just
kept telling myself to keep steady and not make
any mistakes," said Kiser later. "I
pushed as hard as I could push - I'm so happy
it's unbelievable!"
About Yamaha:
Yamaha ATVs and SxS vehicles are designed, engineered
and built tough! Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.
headquarters are located in Cypress, California.
For more information on Yamaha, visit yamaha-motor.com.
