|
GNCC
ATV Racing
Round 10 - "Unadilla" |
|
| |
|
New Berlin, NY - huge step toward
securing his first Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country Series Championship by mounting a late-race
charge to win the Can-Am GNCC at the legendary
Unadilla Valley Sports Center in upstate New York.
On the last lap, the Pennsylvanian sprinted away
from Yamaha teammates Brandon Sommers and Bill
Ballance, giving him his seventh XC1 pro class
win of the season.
"I really wanted to win today, I wasn't
just coming here to score points," said
Borich, the GNCC points leader. "I had
a lot of friends and family out here cheering
me on. We were battling hard and everyone was
riding well, but the Suzuki worked awesome.
We kind of lost our way doing some suspension
testing last week, but we kept our heads down,
figured it out, and everything worked awesome
today."
A little rain on Friday left perfect track
conditions on Saturday's ATV race day, which
hosted over 600 different riders.
Sommers led going into the last lap, but Borich
made a move and then pulled away. Nine-time
GNCC Champion Ballance put the pressure on for
second, but Sommers, a second-year pro, held
on to edge Ballance by a wheel length at the
finish.
"I've been wanting to win one of these
since I was racing in the C class," said
Sommers. "I was in the lead, just going
as fast as I could in the open stuff, and then
trying to ride smart in the woods. I was pushing
it, but Chris, he was riding really well and
got away from me there. Bill, he's won nine
championships and he's hard to hold off, but
I managed to do it and get on the podium."
Ballance started the year slowly after recovering
from surgery to remove cancer from his rib.
He returned after the GNCC summer break stronger
and vowed to win. "I'm kind of disappointed
in myself to be honest," said Ballance,
who took the $250 MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot
award. "The fire is still burning and I
want it bad, I just couldn't make the right
moves on the last lap with the lappers. Chris
got a few of them between us and we couldn't
make that time back up. Hat's off to Chris,
he's been riding well."
Taylor Kiser took fourth on his Yamaha, with
Adam McGill in fifth on his FRE KTM. McGill
got into the lead on lap two when he elected
to skip his pit, but he and Kiser both had to
give positions back when they pitted the next
time around. The race was so close that just
15 seconds separated the top seven riders heading
into the final lap.
In XC2 Pro-Am class racing, Yamaha's Brian
Wolf followed his overall win at the previous
race at Snowshoe with a come-from behind class
win here. Kevin Yoho led most of the race, but
Wolf tracked him down. Then FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland
closed in after starting 17th, and the three
battled to the finish. Kirkland took second
and Yoho was third.
"It's no secret, I wasn't able to ride
much during the summer, I had some other priorities,
and I knew these other guys were working hard,"
said Wolf. "To pull this off, it feels
as good as winning the whole thing at Snowshoe."
Walker Fowler won the College A class and took
top amateur honors overall, enough to lock up
his class championship for the season. He will
race XC2 at the next round of the series.
In the GNCC morning race, FRE KTM's Angel Atwell
took a huge step toward her first GNCC Women's
Title by taking the class and overall win. Her
niece Kristen Atwell took second on a Yamaha,
with defending class champion Traci Cecco taking
third in the class. Cecco led early but got
a tree stuck between her exhaust pipe and frame,
losing ground. The Atwell's rode solid all day
to take the top spots. Third place overall went
Glen Pritchard, who topped the Super Senior
50+ class on his Suzuki.
Rick Cecco was the top Utility rider on the
day, taking the U2 class win on his Warnert
Racing Can-Am Renegade. The Open 4x4 class featured
an amazing battle between Can-Am riders Scott
Kilby and Bryan Buckhannon and Rath Racing Polaris
rider Darryl Rath. Kilby came out on top on
his Can-Am Outlander 800R. "That was the
best race I've been in since maybe 1999, when
me, Mike Penland and Rich Travelina were going
for the title at the last race," said Kilby.
"I have the DPS power steering on now and
it made a big difference."
Cliff Beasley topped the 4x4 Lites Class and
Michael Swift won the 4x4 Limited, impressive
since he hit his head on a tree on the opening
lap and injured his neck.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series
continues in two weeks with the Moose Yadkin
Valley Stomp in Yadkinville, NC. The Can-Am
Unadilla ATV GNCC will air on Versus on October
03 at 4:00 p.m. with a re-air October 6 at 2:30
p.m.
Results
Can-Am Unadilla GNCC
New Berlin, NY
September 12, 2009
XC1 Class
1. Chris Borich (Suz)
2. Brandon Sommers (Yam)
3. Bill Ballance (Yam)
4. Taylor Kiser (Yam)
5. Adam McGIll (KTM)
6. Don Ockerman (Yam)
7. Bryan Cook (Hon)
8. Johnny Gallagher (Yam)
9. Jarrod McClure (Yam)
10. Duane Johnson (Hon)
XC2 Class
1. Brian Wolf (Yam)
2. Josh Kirkland (KTM)
3. Kevin Yoho (Yam)
4. Parker Jones (Hon)
5. Gabe Phillips (Yam)
GNCC Point Standings
1. Chris Borich (252/6 wins); 2. Taylor Kiser(199/1
win); 3. Adam McGill (176); 4. Bill Ballance
(175/1 win); 5. Brandon Sommers (172); 6. Bryan
Cook (162); 7. Donnie Ockerman (134); 8. Jarrod
McClure/Duane Johnson (122); 10. Johnny Gallagher
(95).
XC2 Standings
1. Brian Wolf (276); 2. Josh Kirkland (258);
3. Eric Hoyland (168); 4. Parker Jones (142);
5. Rob Hertz (125).
