ATV Racing Links |
|
|
|
|
|
|
#8
Andy Lagzdins |
Morganton, NC - There's nothing like
a little snow on the start of a GNCC race to keep the
dust down. The threats by the forecasters were that
the weather would once again wreak havoc on the Steele
Creek GNCC in Morganton, North Carolina; but the heavy
rain/snow held off long enough to set the stage for
one of the closest ATV races of all time. I was waiting
to wake up in my motel room to the sound of rain on
the roof, but no rain came. The temperature stayed chilly
though, with an 8am temp of 32 degrees! One thing that
became hotter during the course of the day was the rivalry
for the top spot on the podium, as points leader Chris
Borich and 6-time champ Bill Ballance came to round
3 ready to battle, having each won a round in the first
pair of races. William Yokley and Chris Jenks had both
come close to wins, and were ready and able to take
an overall victory. Round 1 podium finisher Brandon
Ballance was looking to snap back from a disappointing
race in Georgia, and hoped to again run at the front
and challenge for the win.
The ten mile course would twist and turn through
the Steele Creek campground; crossing streams, bridges,
fields, hillsides, and the occasional blacktop section.
The course contains everything from deep, loamy whoop
sections to rocky stream beds to first-gear zig-zag
off-camber slot car trails with root systems coming
through the surface that would rival the haunted forest
in the Wizard of Oz. The area lends itself well to
GNCC racing, as there are plenty of RV hookups and
camping spots, lots of spectators from the local communities,
and many places where the track is easily accessed
by the fans.
|
#1
Bill Ballance launches his Yamaha YFZ450 out
front for the Holeshot with William Yokley keeping
a close eye on Bill through turn one. By turn
three, Chris Borich had taken over the lead. |
Nineteen pro riders lined up for the start, heading
up nearly 300 total racers in the main event. Did
I mention it was snowing on the starting line? The
wind was blowing the snow almost horizontal! Bill
Ballance pulled a great start and won the ITP Holeshot
award, rounding the first turn with Chris Jenks and
Chris Borich eagerly trying to chase him down. Duane
Johnson, William Yokley and I followed the lead trio
into the woods. The first lap seemed to be a sighting
lap, with the leaders eyeing up opportunities for
passing and trying to stay out of trouble until the
riders started to space out. As we came down into
the stream crossing at roughly the halfway mark of
the first lap, everyone was still rather close together.
Borich had taken the lead with Jenks right behind.
Bill was in third with Johnson and Yokley following.
At the barrels the leaders were the same with only
10 seconds separating the top five! I was in sixth
ten seconds back with rookie pro Chris Bithell hot
on my heels. Chris passed me shortly after and looked
to be headed to the front.
Lap two was a ditto of the first as the top five
remained the same, still battling only seconds apart.
Bithell was in sixth and had caught the pack at the
front. Local hero Mike Houston, who lives in the nearby
town of Hickory, was putting in a great ride and moved
up to 7th. I was running alone in 8th with Adam McGill
closing in. Matt Smiley, who was back on the solid
rear axle Predator for this race, rounded out the
top ten.
|
|
#14
Chris Bithell is riding well beyond his years
and at the young age of 18 he has already been
on the Podium twice in his short career, which
is only a dream for many long term racers nearly
twice his age |
#4 Chris Jenks was running
in the runnerup spot till the third lap when
a few mistakes in line choices through lapped
traffic dropped him back to a 6th place finish
behind Johnson and Yokley in 4th |
As the laps wound down, the course became rutted,
multi-lined and occasionally clogged with traffic.
In this type of race it is vital to be aware of optional
lines, make quick passes, and avoid bottlenecks by
looking as far ahead as possible. Chris Borich was
doing all of these things, and had the lead going
into the last lap. Bill Ballance had worked his way
into second with Yokley up to third on the LTZ400.
Bithell was ahead of Johnson now, with Jenks dropping
to sixth after running more than half the race in
second place. Jenks was far from out of it though,
as the top six riders were still within seconds of
each other!
|
Chris Borich extends his points lead with the
win in North Carolina, and he wasn't shy about
holding his pointer finger high in the air while
he lite up his Maxxis Tires on the Podium |
Borich and Ballance were evenly matched this day,
and it would all come down to who wanted it the most.
They pushed each other, and opened a gap on the rest
of the field. They rounded the last lap looking for
a chance to cement the win, and Chris found it in
the last woods section before the checkered flag.
He used a line he had tried earlier in the race to
pass Bill one last time just before the finish, taking
his second overall win of the season and extending
his points lead. Chris Bithell put in an inspiring
ride to claim with his second podium finish and first
of his pro career, just ahead of the ever-improving
Duane Johnson. William Yokley dropped to fifth at
the finish, a brilliant ride on the now-antiquated
Z400. Hopefully William's LTR450 will be ready for
the next round so he can be on a level playing field
with the competition. Chris Jenks came out on the
downside of the battle after running so well for the
majority of the event, ending up in 6th place. Mike
Houston and Adam McGill put in their best rides of
the season, finishing 8th and 9th respectively. I
was able to hold off Brandon Ballance for 9th, while
Johnny Gallagher showed a new level of consistency
with a smooth ride to 11th overall.
The Big Buck GNCC is next in Union, South Carolina,
and look for the heat of the championship battle to
escalate. We all know that Bill Ballance responds
to narrow defeats by working that much harder for
the next race, so look forward to an all-out brawl
to the finish. William Yokley could prove to be a
spoiler, especially if his pulls a race-ready LTR450
out of his trailer. Can Chris Bithell ride the wave
of momentum all the way to the overall? Find out at
the next round of the greatest offroad racing series
in the world!
GNCC
ATV Top 10 Overall in Point Standings |
Position |
Rider Name |
Machine |
Total
Points |
1. |
Chris Borich |
Honda |
85 |
2. |
Bill Ballance |
Yamaha |
68 |
3. |
William Yokley |
Suzuki |
59 |
4. |
Chris Jenks |
Honda |
54 |
5. |
Chris Bithell |
Honda |
52 |
6. |
Duane Johnson |
Honda |
47 |
7. |
Andy Lagzdins |
Honda |
34 |
8. |
Brandon Ballance |
Yamaha |
32 |
9. |
Sean Neidlinger (ProAm) |
Honda |
29 |
10. |
Michael Houston |
Honda |
28 |
GNCC
Afternoon ATV Race - Video Clip |
|
|
Videos
By: Ron Dernoski |
The
AMA-sanctioned Suzuki Grand National Cross Country
series is America's premier off-road racing series.
The 13-round series is produced exclusively by Racer
Productions. Cross-country racing is one of the most
physically demanding sports in the world. The nearly
three-hour long GNCC races lead as many as 1800 riders
through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles
in length. With varied terrain including hills, trees,
mud, dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events
are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured
sponsors include Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis, Pirelli,
Wiseco, Klotz, FMF and ITP, and riders compete for
over $2.8 million in series prizes and contingency
money. Associate sponsors include Moose Utility Division,
Scott, Acerbis, Alpinestars, Cometic, Outerwears,
Twin Air, Polisport Plastics, Thor, Motion Pro, Hyper
Wheels, Elka Suspension, MotoTee's, Weekend Warrior,
Owens Motorsports, Tom's Marina Polaris, EK Chain
and Laeger's. Media Sponsors include Dirt Rider Magazine,
ATV Sport Magazine, www.ATVRiders.com
and Racer X Illustrated. For more information log
on to www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
ATVriders.com
Forum Discussion