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| #2
Chris Borich claims his 2nd Win of the
season & takes control of the points
lead with 101 |
Union, SC (4/4/2009) - Rockstar
Makita Suzuki's Chris Borich became the first
repeat winner of the season as he beat out some
stiff competition at round three of the 2009 Can-Am
Grand National Cross Country Series at the Pirelli
Big Buck GNCC today in Union, South Carolina.
Borich's win puts him at the top of the points
standings, and will make the road to the championship
harder for the rest of the riders.
FRE KTM's Adam McGill took a close second,
as Borich made a pass on him just a few turns
from the finish after two hours of racing. McGill
was the first to congratulate Borich at the
finish. The defending GNCC Champion, Yamaha's
Bill Ballance, was back on the podium again,
taking third for the second round in a row.
"I finally got a good start," Borich
said. "The bike is working awesome. We
were in a train there for awhile, it was a good
time, pretty much like trail riding. It was
a good battle."
Ballance started in the lead, taking the $250
MotorcycleUsa.com holeshot award, with McGill
and Borich trailing. Yamaha's Taylor Kiser and
Houser Racing's Bryan Cook were also close behind
and that pack led the rest of the field throughout
the race, battling it out wheel-to-wheel.
As the pack decided to pit on the second lap,
Borich and McGill decided to power through and
took the lead. The two stayed close on each
other's heels as they took on creek jumps, steep
hills and the red clay of the South Carolina
track. McGill clipped a tree and fell back and
Borich was able to put pressure on him. The
duo continued to battle until Borich was able
to make a good pass on McGill about 100 yards
from the checkered flag- about three turns before
an exciting finish.
"The track was tight," Borich said.
"It was hard to pass in the woods."
Ballance, who struggled for weeks after having
injured ribs surgically removed, is improving.
He had problems with lappers on the track but
stayed near the front of the pack throughout
the race.
"I'm getting stronger everyone week,"
Ballance said. "We just need to move up
a few spots on the podium."
Bryan Cook, who won the previous round of the
2009 GNCC series ,came in fourth, just seconds
behind Ballance. Kiser, who led the GNCC standings
coming into the race, took fifth ahead of teammates
Brandon Sommers and Jarrod McClure. Honda's
Duane Johnson came in 8th and Yamaha's Donald
Ockerman and Johnny Gallagher came in 9th and
10th respectively.
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Pro XC1 ATV Podium (left to right)
Adam McGill, Chris Borich, Bill Ballance |
Pro-Am
XC2 ATV Podium (left to right)
Josh Kirkland, Brian Wolf, Eric Hoyland |
The XC2 class saw all returning winners on
the podium. Brian Wolf took his second win of
the year while Josh Kirkland came in second
and Eric Hoyland took third. Wolf is now in
the points lead.
"It's pretty awesome," Wolf said,
as Miss Union and Miss Teen Union presented
him with his trophy. "I got around Kirkland
after a little stunt trick he pulled with that
tree and got around Parker and never looked
back."
The XC2 race started when Brian Parker grabbed
the $100 Rekluse holeshot award. Kirkland was
second going into the woods but Wolf was able
to get ahead when Kirkland clipped a tree and
fell back into sixth. Kirkland worked his way
back up to the front and was able to come in
right behind Wolf at the finish. Hoyland started
out in fifth on the first lap but worked his
way up to the leaders. His brakes went out after
hitting a tree, but he hung on to come in third.
Honda's Gabe Phillips came in fourth, ahead
of Polaris's Kevin Yoho in fifth and Jeremy
Rice in sixth. Kawasaki's Scottie Rich took
seventh and Suzuki's Blake Kramer took eighth.
Kawasaki's Dustin Canipe finished ninth and
Honda's Rob Hertz claimed tenth.
The ladies took the podium again in the morning
race. FRE KTM's Angel Atwell won her fourth
round in a row, collecting the $100 GT Thunder
Overall Morning Racing Winner Award, followed
by Lexie Coulter and Defending Women's GNCC
Champion Traci Cecco.
"It's the bike," Atwell said. "The
bike is awesome and my crew is great. I tried
to keep my own pace. A few years ago I won four
rounds in a row and that was crazy, and it's
crazy now."
Cecco misjudged a pass around Atwell and ended
up clipping a tree and bending her axle. Her
wheel was almost off her quad when she pulled
up to the finish.
"I'm happy to have third," Cecco
said. "I could have had a DNF."
In the UTV race, National Guard Polaris rider
William Yokley took a decisive overall win.
In second was Justin Fleming and in third, Scott
Goodwin.
| XC1 Pro Class |
|
XC2
Pro-am Class |
1.Chris Borich (SUZ)
2. Adam McGill (KTM)
3. Bill Ballance (YAM)
4. Bryan Cook (Houser Racing)
5. Taylor Kiser (YAM)
6. Brandon Sommers (YAM)
7. Jarrod McClure (YAM)
8. Duane Johnson (HON)
9. Donald Ockerman
10. Johnny Gallagher
|
|
1. Brian Wolf (YAM)
2. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
3. Eric Hoyland (HON)
4. Gabe Phillips (HON)
5. Kevin Yoho (POL)
6. Jeremy Rice (POL)
7. Scottie Rich (KAW)
8. Blake Kramer (SUZ)
9. Dustin Canipe (KAW)
10. Rob Hertz (HON)
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