| GNCC
ATV Racing
Round 6 "Showtime!" |
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Seymour, MO - The Grand National
Cross Country Series took a big step in a westerly
direction this past weekend, with a new round of the
series taking place in Seymour, Missouri. Since the
early 90's, Racer Productions has attempted to make
the GNCC's more of a true "national" series
by expanding the races further from the West Virginia
& Pennsylvania core area. The growing pains are
always present, as they were when the first Florida
round was added in the 90's. Now the annual Bike Week
round is a mainstay opener to most series competitors,
and is a welcome foray from the cold northern climates
in early March. As for the Missouri area, it has a
large ATV population, with even its own well-attended
State Championship Series. Some very fast Pro ATV
racers are from Missouri, such as Bryan Baker, Duane
Johnson, Bryan Hulsey, Rhett Butler, and Michael Burrows.
Also, some may remember fast guy Ricky Matteson from
Ofullon, MO, who gave Bob Sloan and Chuck DeLullo
a run for the GNCC Championship back in the day.
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#15
Duane Johnson hasn't finished a race yet this
year out of the top 10 overall, and he has come
extremely close to a Podium finish the past
three races, which is extremely impressive for
a Pro Rookie |
#7
Bryan Baker has been racing the GNCC Series
for years aboard his trademark green race machines,
and he finally had a chance to race in his homestate
of Missouri |
Going into the race, Chris Borich held the lead in
the overall standings, with Bill Ballance having closed
the gap to within a few points by finishing ahead
of Chris in the last two races. William Yokley held
onto third in the standings, with a hungry Chris Jenks
closing the gap with a podium finish in the previous
round at Loretta Lynn's. Duane Johnson was upholding
homestate pride with a fifth overall ranking, hoping
to get his first career podium on his home turf. Chris
Bithell's consistent season put him near the top five,
and he was looking to regain the form that got him
on the podium in round three at Steele Creek. Big
Buck winner Mike Houston was trying to keep the flow
going through the rest of the season, while Matt Smiley
was starting to get his results back to where they
should be.
While approaching the track, it looked like the course
would be a flatout, high speed run. The gently rolling
hills seen on the way in were in great contrast to
the elevation changes incorporated into the race track.
Multi-line hillclimbs, ravines, creek beds, and shale-infested
monster downhills were scattered throughout the eleven
mile loop. And then it rained. It had rained during
the week enough to make parking a little sketchy,
but on raceday the ominous skies slowly opened up
and started to throw a steady rain on the Missouri
parade. Initial reports from morning class racers
were mixed, but taking into account there were no
signs of a break in the precipitation I mounted up
a set of Holeshot HD's and got some extra gloves and
goggles ready in the pit area. In these type of conditions
I take the cautious approach and run a tall and aggressive
rear tire to help stay on top of the ruts and lessen
the chance of having to get off the quad to lift it
off a high center. Some puddles were forming in the
pro pits as we rode up to the start area and waited
under our umbrellas for the mud bath to begin.
Matt Smiley put his Polaris Predator around turn
one first and grabbed the ITP Holeshot Award. Unfortunately
his lead would not last long, as his quad cut off
just after entering the woods, dropping him back to
nearly last place. Chris Jenks moved past early leaders
Adam McGill and Bill Ballance and tried to break away.
Meanwhile Chris Borich got off to a slow start and
was working up through the field. At the end of the
first lap Chris Jenks and Adam McGill had opened up
a 30 second lead over Brandon Ballance and Duane Johnson.
Chris Borich had moved up to 11th place. Bill Ballance
had a twisted steering stem drop him back to eighth
and Chris Bithell was having some problems back in
22nd.
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| #1
Bill Ballance headed into the Pits after the
first lap to check out a problem with his front
end, which was a bent steering stem. Missouri's
Michael Burrows made the pass only to run into
his own problems |
#2
Chris Borich started near the back of the pack,
which left him covered in mud, so he pitted
for fresh gloves and goggles and took off in
11th only to slice his way up to 2nd place by
the end of lap two |
The track had held up fairly well after the morning
race, with a good rock base under the top layer of
muck. Some of the hills had a loose gravel base, and
this helped the traction issue considerably, but at
the cost of tire wear. Every tire I looked at after
the race was well shredded. During the first lap I
came upon other pro riders that had gambled on the
hillclimbs to try and make up time, only to be held
up trying to restle their quads around on the faces
of the shale-filled hills. This race would prove to
be a test of patience and good split-second decision
making, with so many changing line choices and alternate
paths. Chris Jenks was making all the right decisions,
and by the end of lap 2 he had put over 2 minutes
on second place, which was none other than a hard-charging
Chris Borich. Adam McGill was on a roll and was half
a minute ahead of first-time pro rider Brent Sturdivant,
who had moved from ProAm after a phenomenal fourth
overall finish at Loretta Lynn's. Bill Ballance was
now back in tenth and it looked like Chris Borich
could put some serious distance between them in the
points.
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#4 Chris Jenks was on a mission this weekend
after leading several races this year and just
falling short at the checkered |
Jenks extended his lead to two and a half minutes
by the end of the third lap, with Chris Borich and
now Brent Sturdivant rounding out the top three. McGill
held onto fourth, even though he experienced several
get offs near the end of the race. Duane Johnson and
William Yokley were staying close to McGill in fifth
and sixth. The rain was coming down steadily throughout
the race, and the ruts started to get dug in on the
open field sections. Some of the hills were impassable,
and coming up to the hillclimbs I could see numerous
riders on the face of the hills in every stage of
the climb. There would be two or three guys waiting
at the bottom for a run at it, there would be one
or two riders stuck on the hill with their wheels
spinning furiously, another quad would be off to the
side of the hill in the weeds where the rider slid
off or looped it, and last but not least the quad
with the front wheels over the very top of the hill
and the rider pushing next to it as a few spectators
tried to pull it over from the front.
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#9 Adam McGill was on cloud nine all weekend
and throughly enjoying the GNCC experience,
and his relaxed attitude helped him earn his
first Podium Appearance this year |
The track held together for a fourth and final lap,
with Chris Jenks taking the win, the second of his
career and the first of 2006. Chris Borich had the
comeback ride of the day to finish second, getting
a little more breathing room in the series standings
as Bill Ballance would finish fourth on the day. Adam
McGill made a few crucial last lap passes and finished
on the podium in third, his second career podium and
the first for 2006. Brent Sturdivant put together
his second top five finish in a row, and his first
from the front row. William Yokley took sixth ahead
of a healed-up Bryan Cook, who finished his first
race of the series after breaking his collarbone at
the first round in Florida and suffering a derailed
chain in the previous round. Josh Ribley, Duane Johnson
and Bryan Baker rounded out the top ten.
The Missouri GNCC turned out to be a great event
considering the weather, and it is obvious that under
normal conditions the track would have been on of
the best in the series. Hopefully next year will bring
better weather and we will get to race the course
in the dry. The large home state rider attendance
should keep the race growing, just as the series itself
has grown into the pinnacle of offroad racing in America.
Next up is the John Penton GNCC in Millfield, Ohio.
This historic and classic event has had extreme weather
of some sort the last few years, so you might want
to pack the same gear you used in the Missouri Mudbath!
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Top Three Overall
(left to Right)
Adam McGill, Chris Jenks, Chris Borich
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| GNCC
ATV Top 10 Overall in Point Standings |
| Position |
Rider Name |
Machine |
Total
Points |
| 1. |
Chris Borich |
Honda |
153 |
| 2. |
Bill Ballance |
Yamaha |
141 |
| 3. |
Chris Jenks |
Honda |
120 |
| 4. |
William Yokley |
Suzuki |
110 |
| 5. |
Duane Johnson |
Honda |
91 |
| 6. |
Chris Bithell |
Honda |
77 |
| 7. |
Michael Houston |
Honda |
68 |
| 8. |
Adam McGill |
Honda |
67 |
| 9. |
Brandon Ballance |
Yamaha |
54 |
| 10. |
Bryan Baker |
Honda |
50 |
GNCC
ATV Race Video Clips & Interviews |
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| Videos
By: Harlen Foley |
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
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