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Snowshoe GNCC
Round 9 - ATV Racing Links |
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Snowshoe, WV (6/29/2013) –
Heavy rainfall consumed West Virginia’s Snowshoe
Mountain the week leading up to Round 9 of the
AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series,
but the wet racing conditions only lent a hand
in paying homage to the series’ predecessor—The
Blackwater 100—which offered up some of the
most grueling terrain in cross-country racing.
Walker Fowler conquered Saturday’s rough and
tumble AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC racecourse, besting
points leader Chris Borich and the rest of the
XC1 Pro ATV field by over two minutes.
The Snowshoe GNCC showcased a Blackwater-style
concrete start, sending waves of five riders
per row in increments of 10-15 seconds through
the downtown village of Snowshoe Resort. AmPro
Yamaha’s Walker Fowler jumped out to the front
on the opening lap and the Ohio native didn’t
seem to look back from there. Borich had a
small slip-up on the opening lap but the defending
champion managed to put his Maxxis-backed
Suzuki into the second place position early
on where he set his sights on the leader Fowler
right away.
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GNCC
Racing's #1 Chris Borich lead the early
charge in the Blackwater Style start
on pavement in the front row followed
by #2 Walker Fowler, #521 Adam McGill,
#4 Chris Bithell, and #7 Kevin Yoho
in the Pro ATV Class |
BNR’s Kevin Yoho, who started on the front
row alongside Fowler, Borich, Chris Bithell
and Adam McGill—grabbed the third place position
on the opening lap, where he chased Borich
and Fowler for much of the race. It didn’t
take long for Round 8 winner McGill to inject
his Lonestar Racing/Precision/ITP machine
into the podium battle. McGill eventually
passed Yoho for third but after a quick pit
stop by both riders, Yoho put himself back
into the third place position as the two diced
it out.
Reliable Tool Supply/Maxxis’ Chris Bithell
didn’t get off to the best start, but the
Pennsylvania native eventually caught McGill
and Yoho halfway through the seven-lap race.
From there, the trio went head-to-head for
the final position atop the podium.
“It was survival out there,” Bithell commented.
“I got stuck on the first lap but I found
my second wind in the middle of the race.
I passed McGill for third when he was stuck
in the rocks,” Bithell added.
While Borich was making up lost time on Fowler
toward the end of the two-hour race, it wasn’t
enough to contest the win at Round 9. Fowler
went on to secure his second victory of the
season, giving him a big confidence boost
heading into the summer break.
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| Yamaha's
#2 Walker Fowler claimed his 2nd Win
of the year with the win at Snowshoe |
“I came into this race thinking that I want
to do whatever it takes to win, even if it
meant riding outside of my comfort zone in
these conditions,” Fowler said. “I’m tired
of the bad races and my own excuses. I’ve
been training super hard, putting in more
effort than I ever have and figured I would
make a statement heading into summer break.”
Borich grabbed second overall, finishing
over two minutes behind Fowler. Borich continued
to hold the points lead with a total of six
wins for the season heading into the summer
break.
“I kind of knew it was going to be a terrible
race judging by the typical Snowshoe conditions,”
Borich said. “I was taking it easy and once
it started pouring [rain], I decided to back
it way down and just make it to the finish.
It was a good valuable day of points.”
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GNCC
XC1 Pro ATV Podium (left to right)
Chris Bithell (3rd), Walker Fowler (1st),
Chris Borich (2nd) |
