St. Clairsville, OH - The penultimate round
of the 2005 GNCC Series was settled in the slippery
hills and soggy bottoms of St. Clairsville, Ohio. All
the riders who rode through the dusty conditions at
the Yadkinsville and Unadilla GNCC's and wished for
less dust at the St. Clairsville round definitely got
what they wanted as the rain started falling mid-week
and never let up. I arrived Friday under threatening
skies and the rain continued through the night. One
of the unique challenges of this series is the need
to be ready for any weather and track conditions, and
this race would be a test of adaptation and preparation.
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#6
Bryan Cook's good luck charm (Bonnie Hamrick)
was home this weekend with him finishing 18th |
The GNCC Overall Championship was all but wrapped
up for Bill Ballance. In typical comeback-against-all-odds
style, Bill had silenced all those who thought his
midsummer injury would end his title run by limping
to his quad at Unadilla and gutting out a remarkable
2nd overall while closest rival Chris Borich fell
victim to mechanical gremlins. A mere 2 points was
all Bill needed to end the championship race. Chris
is always in win mode and always in the hunt for the
overall regardless of the conditions. Living in Pennsylvania
you have to be accustomed to riding in the wet because
that's all you have from November to April, and Chris
rides ALL winter. William Yokely is an established
mud master; winning the water-soaked Loretta Lynn's
GNCC earlier this year. Chris Jenks has been on fire
since his first overall win in Yadkinsville, and led
the last round at Unadilla until a last lap mudhole
mishap ended his two-in-a-row attempt. Matt Smiley
was healing up after reportedly attempting the first
backflip during GNCC competition in New York two weeks
ago. Bryan Cook won Unadilla convincingly and looked
to have his equipment ready and his confidence at
an all-time high. ProAm class champion Adam McGill
was making his Pro debut, and was ready to mix it
up with the big boys after coming so close to an overall
win at the equally mud-encrusted Penton GNCC eariler
this year. Last but not least, in an effort to ready
himself for the 2005 12 Hours of ATV America; none
other than 2005 GNC MX champ John Natalie signed up
to race one of Chris Borich's Hondas. This is the
equivalent of Ricky Carmicheal entering the bike GNCC!
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| Pro
Row of umbrellas with with John Natalie Jr ready
for some GNCC racing |
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#1
Bill Ballance powers his Yamaha YFZ450 to yet
another Holeshot |
The rain showed no signs of letting up as the Pro
riders lined up for the start. Elephant-ear handguards,
Holeshot HD's, Maxxis iRazr's, duct-taped boots, tear-offs
on top of roll-offs, and of course the "black
foam taped to the helmet visor thing" were all
signs that this would be a sloppy one. The start saw
Bill Ballance with yet another holeshot, and Chris
Borich right on him in second. Yokely, Smiley and
Jenks got off behind them and the race was on. I was
fortunate to get a good start and ran with McGill
and Gallagher midpack. The mud was flying and coating
my goggles and helmet constantly. I made sure my first
lap went without any hang-ups, and managed to stay
out of trouble. The track was amazingly good, and
although it was very slippery there were good berms
and plenty of passing opportunities. Borich got out
front and led the first lap in front of Bill Ballance
and Chris Jenks. Yokely and Smiley came through fourth
and fifth.
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| #2
William Yokley was back on the Podium for the
sixth time this season |
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#7
Chris Jenks pits for a clean pair of goggles
to complete the race |
The second lap had Smiley jumping up into second
behind Borich and Yokely grabbing third. The
top ten were separated by less than a minute.
McGill was up to fifth behind Bill. I passed
up a first lap pit and got up to eighth behind
Jenks and Gallagher. The highlight of this part
of the race for me was dicing with John Natalie.
We rode together for the first three laps, and
passed each other quite a few times (I passed
him twice in the pits). Knowing what an accomplished
rider he is really motivated me to stay with
him and dig deep. He showed a great deal of
skill in conditions very foreign to MX racing,
and deserves credit for his good results.
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| #3
Chris Borich takes the win with his 450R leaving
a trail of steam |
The track was holding up good, and I did not hit
one bottleneck the whole race. Spectators were at
the big "puddle" crossing and other key
obstacles helping to keep the riders flowing through.
Borich held onto a 40 second lead at the end of lap
three, and Yokely and Smiley ran two and three. Jenks,
Ballance and Gallagher ran close together. Bryan Baker
moved up into the top ten and was challenging McGill
for seventh. I was in tenth, chewing on a steady supply
of Natalie's roost. This is about when I noticed that
there was actually a spot on the track that was dry!
It was an uphill off camber section that had a little
bit of dust coming off of it. It was about 50 feet
long. Did anyone else see this?
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| Six
Time GNCC ATV Champion
#1 Bill Ballance |
Chris Borich held onto the lead and came across the
line 30 seconds in front of William Yokely. Bill Ballance
finished a remarkable third and clinched the 2006
Championship. Smiley just missed the podium in fourth
with Jenks, Gallagher and Baker behind him. John Natalie
rode consistently to a great eighth overall with Jeremy
Rice and Chad Duvall rounding out the top ten. You
have got to give it to the Racer Productions crew
for putting together a great event in the conditions,
and providing an excellent track despite the rainfall.
Bill Ballance proved once again why he is the man
to beat, adapting to the conditions and preparing
his machine flawlessly to wrap up his 6th consecutive
GNCC championship.
The stage is set for the Ironman finale in Indiana.
Bill Ballance is always ready, Borich will be hot
for another win, Yokely is ready to win the Ironman
again, and Smiley has one more chance to put the Polaris
on top in its rookie year. Don't use the price of
gas as an excuse- see you in Indiana!
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| When
it rains on race day, expect to see Johnny Gallagher
in the Top 10 Overall |
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Motorhomes
are a great way to get to the races, unless
it rains. |
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
ATVriders.com
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