Crawfordsville, IN - The 2006 Grand
National Cross Country Series concluded this weekend
with the Ironman GNCC in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The
season finale is always an important event for the racers,
as we want to end the year on a high note with the hopes
of carrying the momentum through to next year. Some
classes have heated points battles going on that come
down to the last race, and many final rankings are decided
at the Ironman- a true GNCC track that tests rider and
machine. One racer who would unfortunately be competing
in his last GNCC would be Chad Duvall, who announced
his retirement. Chad is a long-time competitor who I
have looked up to over the years, and who helped progress
this sport to where it is today. He will be missed by
all, but his presence will be felt as his son Thad continues
to tear up the competition in the Sunday bike races;
finishing a phenomenal 12th overall at the season finale.
One rider who arrived in Indiana with no worries
was newly-recrowned GNCC champ Bill Ballance. Bill
had silenced the doubters by coming back from a mid-season
broken leg to wrap up his 6th straight championship
with one race to go. He had won the Ironman race in
2003 and wanted to stand on top of the podium again.
Chris Borich had won the previous round of the series
in the Ohio mud two weeks ago, and wanted to finish
off his second runner-up season with a couple of wins.
William Yokely is the master of the Ironman. Something
about the track and William seems to click, as he
has won this race more times than any other rider.
Matt Smiley was hoping to get his Predator onto the
podium for the fifth time this season, a remarkable
feat considering this was his first year on the new
machine. Chris Jenks was looking to regain the magic
from Yadkinsville and top off his best season ever
with another win. Brandon Ballance had come so close
to the overall win a few times this year, but he was
hungry to get onto the top step of the podium. Bryan
Cook had been on a roll the last few rounds, and his
win at Unadilla could only be outdone by winning the
Ironman.
The MX contingent at the GNCC's seems to be growing,
as last round's crossover rider John Natalie had some
company this weekend in the form of Yamaha's Pat Brown.
Pat has been on a busy post-GNC schedule including
the Pont de Vaux 12 hour in France, the Paris supercross,
and now the Ironman. He is no stranger to woods racing
as he recorded the fastest lap at the 12 Hours of
ATV America in Iowa last year.
With rain falling on the track up until raceday,
the stage was set for a great race. The track in Indiana
is a mixture of hills and fields that tests a racer's
diversity in all types of terrain. The multiple stream
crossings and power-robbing corn field drag strips
test just how reliable your quad is against the elements.
Spectators lined the start area, and filled the tops
of the hillclimbs and banks of the water holes. The
rows lined up on the start and it was all about who
could put it all together one last time and come out
on top of a stacked field.
Bill Ballance took yet ANOTHER holeshot, but was
kept honest by Santo DeRisi. Borich, Yokely and Natalie
were in hot pursuit. I started near the back and had
alot of riders to pass to get to the front. The woods
were so slick that it was hard not to go into sections
too hot for the amount of available traction. In the
first few miles, Mike Houston and Brandon Ballance
both nailed trees violently to the point where I had
to slow down and make sure they were alright. When
I saw Brandon hit a tree, the top of the tree shook
leaves off, and there was a chunk of bark missing
where the bumper hit!
Natalie followed Bill Ballance through the barrels
at the end of lap one, followed by Chris Borich and
William Yokely. The track was laid out very good,
with the streams and hillclimbs dispersed evenly through
the loop. It seemed as though we were staying grouped
together for the most part, and it was tough to build
a gap on the rider behind. The open sections made
for plenty of passing opportunities, and having a
strong motor definitely helped because the corn fields
were quite soft and put a hard load on the motor.
Yokely managed to lead the race at the end of lap
two just in front of Natalie and Bill Ballance. Chris
Borich and Matt Smiley were trying to close the gap
on the leaders. My second lap got interesting when
I was slowed at the top of one of the big hillclimbs
by a lapper, and had to get off and keep by quad from
rolling down the hill. There were what seemed like
fifty people at the top of the hill and they started
grabbing onto my quad and trying to pull it up the
rest of the hill. I heard people shouting my name
and somebody looped a tow strap around my bumper and
pulled the quad right up still in gear! The spectators
were really good about pointing out good lines and
not hesitating to get into the mud and helping out.
This is the kind of stuff that makes GNCC racing like
nothing else out there.
Yokely had Bill on his tail for the next two laps,
with Chris taking over third on lap 4 just in front
of Matt. John Natalie had shown that he was figuring
the woods racing out quickly, running at the front
the first half and settling into a top ten position.
As the leaders kept their pace the last few laps,
Chris Bithell was increasing his. He would mount a
late charge that would get him into third overall
on the last lap, behind Yokely and Ballance. Then
William had a getoff right before the finish and it
was unsure how close Bithell would get to the lead
on adjusted time.
At the finish, William Yokely took another Ironman
overall just 16 seconds in front of the 17-year-old
Pro-Am rider Chris Bithell, who edged out Bill Ballance
at the line by 2 seconds! Chris Borich and Matt Smiley
rounded out the top five. The track held up well after
5 laps of racing, and there were no bottlenecks to
speak of. The Indiana terrain is ideal for GNCC racing
and the perfect weather on raceday made it a memorable
finale for all in attendance. With the end of the
season you would think we would take a little time
off, but I guarantee that when everyone was driving
home from Indiana the only thing on their minds was
how to go faster and ride better next year! See you
in Florida!
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
ATVriders.com
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