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Borich Wins Again at Pirelli Big Buck GNCC
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Veteran Matt Smiley is another northerner coming around.
After a few bad years, the former GNCC points leader,
race winner and title contender is beginning to look like
his old self on his East Coast ATV/Elka/Maxxis Honda.
He still slowed just a bit down the stretch, but held
on for his first top five finish since 2005. Rookie XC1
Pro rider Taylor Kiser put in another good run to finish
sixth, with DeRisi Racing/Pirelli rider Bryan Cook in
seventh. Brandon Sommers took his GT Thunder Yamaha to
eighth overall and first in the XC2 Pro Am class—he’s
undefeated in that class after four rounds. How many can
he win? “I’d like to win all of them,”
said Sommers with a laugh. The Ohio rider is billed as
one of the most promising young racers in the game. “I
got a good start, that helps, and just kept on pushing.
If you’re just riding by yourself, you can lose
focus, so I try to push for the overall. I’d like
to get top ten, I don’t think top five every week
is realistic for me right now.”
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| #622
Jeffry Maloney edged out #784 Brandon Sommers
for the ATVriders.com Holeshot Award, |
#29
Kyle Martin rounded out the XC2 Pro Am Top Five
behind #39 Richie Brown |
Ryan Lane finished second behind Sommers for the fourth
time this season. “You can call me the comeback
guy, because I got another horrible start,” said
Lane, who routinely rounds the first turn in the back
of the pack. Dave Crane finished third in the class
for his first career podium.
Ninth overall went to Duane Johnson, with Craig Reed
in tenth. Popular Monster/Kawasaki/National Guard rider
William Yokley ended up eleventh after another bad start
on his KFX450. Yamaha’s Michael Houston, the winner
of last year’s Big Buck race, was 12th.
Chris Jenks scored the ITP Holeshot Award on his Houser/GT
Thunder machine, but he ran into yet more bad luck when
he broke a spindle, knocking him out of the race. Yamaha’s
Brandon Ballance, still suffering from lower-back problems,
was unable to finish as well.
As for the Can-Am GNCC Title Chase, Ballance and Borich
are still battling hard, as they each have two firsts
and two seconds on the year. “If we did 100 laps,
I bet we would still be close by the finish line,”
said Ballance. “Chris is riding awesome and I
know he wants it as bad as I do. It’s a long season
and it will come down to who makes the least mistakes.”
In the morning race at 10 a.m., Yamaha’s Traci
Cecco kept her streak alive with her fourth overall
win of the season. He gap is shrinking, though, as Four-Stroke
Tech’s Michael Benson almost ran her down, riding
in the U2 class on his Kawasaki KFX700. Cecco’s
run was smooth, but she knows the Utility riders are
coming. “I had the lead, then I went up a hill,
and Angel (Atwell) had a great line and go around me,”
said Cecco. “I had to fight to get her back. With
the other guys coming up in the other class, you have
no idea how close they are to you, so you just need
to keep pushing it.”
Benson took third with fellow U2 (Utility Unlimited)
racer Marcus Gonzalez in third overall. Top U2 contender
Brock Parker held an early lead on his Can-Am Renegade
800, but he crashed and broke his arm, which should
knock him from title contention.
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| #422
Marcus Gonzalez secures the final spot on the
Podium after an intense battle with #500 Michael
Benson |
#205
John Gallagher had his hands full with Michael
Ockerman, but was able to hold onto his 2nd Straight
Win |
Scott Kilby took his Can-Am Outlander 800 to the Open
4x4 class win, with his Can-Am teammates Michael Swift
(4x4 Limited) and Cliff Beasley (4x4 Lites) taking the
wins in their classes.
The Can-Am GNCC Series continues in two weeks with
the Acerbis Loretta Lynn’s GNCC in Hurricane Mills,
Tennessee. For more information, check out www.gnccracing.com.
About GNCC Racing:
The AMA/ATVA-sanctioned Can-Am 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 1,800
riders through tracks ranging from eight to twelve miles
(should also mention the kilometers for English Canada)in
length. GNCC Racing airs weekly television shows on
Versus (formerly Outdoor Life Network) every Saturday
at 3 p.m. and Thursday at 4 p.m. beginning on April
14. With varied terrain including hills, woods, mud,
dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events are
tests of both survival and speed. GNCC featured sponsors
include BRP Can-Am, Parts Unlimited, Moose, Maxxis,
Pirelli, Wiseco, Acerbis, Elka, Geico, Klotz, FMF, ITP
and Weekend Warrior, and riders compete for over $3
million in series prizes and contingency money. Associate
sponsors include Alpinestars, Cometic, EK Chain, HiPer
Technology, Laegers, Motion Pro, Moose Utility Division,
Powersport Grafx, Pro Clean, Race Tools, REM, Scott,
Thor, Tire Balls, Twin Air, Weekend Warrior, and MotoTee’s.
Media Sponsors include Racer X Illustrated, ATV Rider,
ATV Sport, ATVRiders.com, Dirt Rider and ATV Insider.
For more information log on to
www.GNCCRacing.com.
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
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