Millfield, OH - Bill Ballance
worked his yamaha through 6 laps of thick and
slick Ohio mud at the John Penton round of the
Can Am GNCC Series to claim his second straight
win and tighten up the points chase on KTM’s
Adam McGill. Heavy rains saturated the region,
turning this race into another full blown fight
as racers battled each other and the conditions
over the 8 mile course. The race would also see
many victims of the conditions forced out of the
event setting up another twist in this turbulent
season as we reach the half way point as veterans
and rookies alike were sidelined.
|
|
|
Yamaha's
#784 Brandon Ballance was once again
able to edge out #1 Bill Ballance to
the ITP Pro ATV Holeshot Award
|
Bill Ballance proved he isn’t going to
let the #1 plate go without a fight regardless
if he already has the record as his win backs
up his round 5 Loretta Lynn’s victory.
It was a classic Ballance attack as he worked
his YFZ450 through miles of forbidding terrain
that was filled with slick and deep mud. The
8-mile course claimed its share of victims,
however Ballance was able to work his way to
the front and after swapping lead changes with
Adam McGill, took control of the race and never
looked back. Riding smart and picking the right
lines allowed Ballance to open up the smallest
of gaps, which carried him to victory. This
win sets Ballance 2nd in points as we head into
the second half of the season as he narrows
the gap to only 12 points.
|
|
Bill Ballance
& Adam McGill were wheel to wheel
nearly the entire race with Ballance
securing the win by just a few seconds
over McGill
|
#8 Bryan
Cook started at the back of the pack,
and he was only able to work his way
up to a 10th place finish, but remains
3rd in points behind McGill & Ballance
|
For Adam McGill, this race would be a heart
breaker after a last lap charge had him crossing
the finish line just 3 seconds behind Ballance,.
Bottlenecks allowed McGill to close a 25-second
window that Ballance had opened but could not
close the ground in time to pressure for the
win. McGill still holds the points lead and
will have his work cut out for him, as Ballance
seems to have found his groove, which is a bad
thing for anyone hoping to run away with the
season.
|
|
|
KTM's
Adam McGill points lead has shrunk to
9 points with Bill Ballance winning
his 2nd straight race
|
KTM's Taylor
Kiser scored his second podium finish
of the year with a 3rd Ovearll, which
boosted him to 6th in points
|
Taylor Kiser once again found the podium after
a solid race, which placed his Team FRE along
side his teammate McGill on the podium. Kiser
has been putting in many laps in this type of
terrain hoping to hone his skills and his 3rd
place finish proves his work is paying off.
Never far off the leaders pace, Kiser was riding
strong and worked his way to 2nd and never fell
below 4th during the 6 lap event. If Kiser can
keep his solid finishes in the coming rounds,
we could easily see two KTM’s inside the
top 5 which would be huge for the team.
