| GNCC
ATV Racing
Round 8 "The Spartan" |
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Sparta, KY - After a one-year hiatus,
the Sparta Kentucky round of the Grand National Cross
Country Series returned to the schedule. The points
race was heating up, and Bill Ballance had moved back
up to the top of the charts after a very dominating
performance by Chris Borich in the early rounds of
the 2006 series. Chris Jenks was on fire after winning
the last two rounds in Missouri and Ohio with commanding
rides. He was now sitting in third place in the standings
and within striking range of Borich and Ballance.
Kentucky natives Brandon Ballance and William Yokley
were hoping to use the home field advantage to get
on the podium. Duane Johnson was fresh off of his
first career podium finish and was looking to go one
or two positions better. The 2006 series has seen
great racing action, with a handful of riders vying
for the win on any given race day.
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| The
Spartan GNCC was in Ballance & Yokley's
Homestate of Kentucky |
The 2004 GNCC round held at the Sparta location was
a muddy affair, as rain turned the track into a mud
bog. This year's event was spared by Mother Nature,
and the track had almost no dust, no ruts, and no
bottlenecks. The hilly and densely wooded terrain
produced a textbook cross country course. The morning
race served to work in the track just enough to make
it easily negotiable, but many alternate lines stayed
covered and rewarded the riders who could look far
ahead with good passing opportunities. The multiple
creek crossings had rock bottoms and would not rut
out or deteriorate.
The 22 rider Pro Class field was once again holeshoted
by none other than Bill Ballance, and he claimed the
$100 ITP Holeshot award. Duane Johnson and Chris Bithell
followed behind Bill with Chris Borich in fourth.
At the end of the first lap, Bill held the lead with
Bithell, Johnson, and Borich close behind. Chris Jenks
was in fifth followed by Bryan Cook, who was back
up to speed. After the scoring tent, the course ducked
into some virgin woods that were so fresh you had
to use the arrows to direct you because there no tire
tracks to speak of. The tight sections made for close
racing, and the top riders stayed close to one another.
The woods were not rutted or bermed, which made going
fast through the trees a test of pin-point accuracy
and precise throttle control. Any unnecessary throttle
would send you careening through the sticks like a
human pinball machine. Adam McGill's tie rods came
loose from the beating. While trying to catch up after
a slow first lap, I was hammering the woods with a
total disregard for my equipment and personal safety.
I finished the race with bent tie rods and bark jammed
all up in my Douglas beadlock rings. I would venture
to say that there were only a handful of riders that
didn't debark a tree during the course of the day.
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Chris
Bithell shadowed Bill Ballance for most of the
race |
One rider who was not having any tree altercations
was Bill Ballance. He stayed ahead of Bithell during
the second lap, and Chris Borich moved into third.
Rounding out the leading pack were Johnson, Jenks
and Cook. The top six came through the barrels one
after another, in two groups separated by seconds.
William Yokley was almost a minute back in seventh,
and was fighting to get up with the lead group after
his LTR450 had starting issues.
Just into the third lap, the lead riders all came
into pit for fuel except for Chris Jenks. He shot
into the lead with the hopes of putting enough time
on the rest of the pack during the third lap that
he could pit during the last lap without getting passed.
The track was holding up well, and the riders were
putting in faster laps each time around. The field
sections were fast and wide, but they lacked the tight
turns and switchbacks that make for passing opportunities
and increase position changes. There was a barn(!)
on the course that we went through the middle of,
but each lap the turns before the barn run would straighten
out a little bit more and the speed we could carry
though the barn started getting a little out of hand.
Chris Jenks was blazing on the third lap, but couldn't
put any distance on Ballance and the rest of the lead
pack. When Chris came into pit on the start of the
fourth lap, Bill went into the lead and held off the
hard-charging rookie Bithell to win his home-state
race. Bithell put in his best ride ever and showed
that he has what it takes to win an overall. Chris
Borich held onto finish third, with Bryan Cook running
his best race of the year and finishing in fourth.
Chris Jenks had to settle for fifth place, but his
race strategy almost netted him the win and really
illustrated how close the racing is for the win. William
Yokley came through in sixth place with quick starter
Johnson right behind him in seventh. Brent Sturdivant
put in another consistent finish with eighth. Pro
Am class winner Tyler Lenig was ninth with Mike Houston
rounding out the top ten.
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Bill
Ballance was able to hold off the hard charging
Chris Bithell to claim his third win of the
season and gain sole control of the pro points
lead over Borich |
Chris
Borich claimed the final Podium spot over Byran
Cook with Chris Jenks dropping back to 5th place
after making a few mistakes in the final lap. |
The series now heads to the Wisp ski resort in Western
Maryland, for the ever popular race on the grassy
slopes. This will be the last round before the summer
break, and everyone will be looking to get a good
finish to go into the break. See you at the Wisp!
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Top Three Overall
(left to Right)
Chris Borich, Bill Ballance, Chris Bithell
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| GNCC
ATV Top 10 Overall in Point Standings |
| Position |
Rider Name |
Machine |
Total
Points |
| 1. |
Bill Ballance |
Yamaha |
196 |
| 2. |
Chris Borich |
Honda |
185 |
| 3. |
Chris Jenks |
Honda |
166 |
| 4. |
Duane Johnson |
Honda |
126 |
| 5. |
William Yokley |
Suzuki |
125 |
| 6. |
Chris Bithell |
Honda |
102 |
| 7. |
Michael Houston |
Honda |
79 |
| 8. |
Adam McGill |
Honda |
67 |
| 9. |
Bryan Baker |
Honda |
65 |
| 10. |
Andy Lagzdins |
Honda |
64 |
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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