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Can-Am
GNCC ATV Racing
Round 13 "Ironman" |
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Crawfordsville, IN -
The final round of the 2008 GNCC season once again
found a hard charging Chris Borich rising to the
top in the XC1 Pro class, as he took the overall
win. Borich started out this year with a victory
and put the capper on a season that once again
finds him carrying the #2 plate into 2009. Mixed
results early on found young Pennsylvanian and
his crew working to get their program dialed in,
and searching for some luck. After the break,
Borich rode hard and his efforts culminated in
2 back to back podium finishes to complete the
season.
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Suzuki's
Chris Borich was all smiles after earning
his 3rd win of the year, which secured
him the #2 spot for 4th straight year
as he chases after the #1 plate, but
with Borich's success the past two rounds
in the mud, it appears Borich will have
things dialed in for 2009 with a full
year under his belt on the Suzuki LT-R450
Quad Racer
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XC2
Pro-Am ATV Champion, #17 Donald Ockerman's
2nd straight Pro Podium finish in row
catapulted him up to 7th Overall on
the season
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Heavy rain Friday night had the Ironman primed
for one tough race. While the 1pm start time
for the Pro’s approached, track conditions
had improved and would provide one of the largest
crowds of fans ever cheering on the racers.
Indiana's own Donald Ockerman would be receiving
his share of cheers from the fans as he raced
to a solid 2nd place finish, marking his second
podium finish in as many races. Ockerman made
the move to the XC1 class after dominating the
XC2 field and taking the class championship.
His excellent performances these past two rounds
comes as no surprise as he had shown he had
the ability to run at the Pro level all season
long!
Bill Ballance had nothing to prove as we entered
the last round, with his clinching of his 9th
Pro championship at round #12. Anyone thinking
Ballance would slack off would be mistaken as
the champ battled hard the entire race, finishing
in 3rd after an intense battle with Adam McGill.
At the podium celebration, Ballance was awarded
from Yamaha a commemorative helmet for his valiant
efforts this season. Bill Ballance will be back
for his shot at championship #10 as we look
ahead to 2009.
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Yamaha's
Bill Ballance secured his 9th Championship
at Powerline Park, so Yamaha presented
Ballance with a custom painted 9th Championship
helmet, which he wore at the Ironman,
and Bill Ballance secured his 9th Podium
finish of the year. 2009 will most likley
be Bill's last full-time year of GNCC
Racing as he chases after a 10th Championship
before attempting new ATV racing challenges
in 2010
(Bill Ballance Interview)
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KTM's
Adam McGill & Yamaha's Bill Ballance
crossed the finish line tire to tire
with Ballance barely edging out McGill
for the final podium spot
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Adam McGill’s race was not starting out very
well, as the talented West Virginia rider found
himself taking a wrong line which put him on a
portion of the morning race that had been omitted
from the afternoon event. McGill quickly corrected
his error and was back upfront battling hard as
he and Bill Ballance came to the last section
of track before the checkered flag. McGill hammered
his FRE KTM and doubled through the rock section
as he tried everything to get ahead of Ballance
as the pair raced side by side into scoring. The
finish was reviewed on tape and by photographers
captures to see just how close duo were, and it
was only ½ a wheel that gave Ballance his
edge as McGill would have to settle for 4th as
1 second on the final scoring sheet separated
the racers.
