| GNCC
ATV Racing
Summer Break Overview |
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Baltimore, MD - So here we are in the
summer break and eight races into the 2007 GNCC Series,
and so far it is arguably the closest and most dramatic
championship battle ever for the Pro ATV Championship.
The tracks have varied so far this year from dry to
wet, fast to tight, and the competition has increased,
making for a championship that will truly decide who
is the most well-rounded ATV racer on the planet. The
perennial favorites, Bill Ballance and Chris Borich,
have once again distanced themselves from the rest of
the field while battling each other for GNCC supremacy.
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#1 Bill Ballance |
#2
Chris Borich |
The pressure that goes along with the opportunity
for Bill to become the undisputed king of GNCC ATV
racing by winning his eighth consecutive title seemingly
has had no effect on his ability to win races, and
he has managed to take four wins and the hold the
points lead going into the final stretch. Chris put
together a string of four consecutive wins to put
fear in the hearts of Ballance fans everywhere, and
this had Bill obviously concerned during the very
dominating performance that started to look like a
possible Borich runaway.
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Ballance & Borich
have shadowed each other all season long with
each claiming four wins in the first half of
the season, and Borich was on a four race win
streak till brake issues at Sparta sent him
back to a 6th place finish, which boosted Ballance
into the points lead. Borich's bad luck continued
into Showshoe when he expected a 5 lap race,
and it was shortened to 4 laps, which blew his
pit strategy and allowed Ballance to runaway
with the win and a big smile heading into the
summer break as Ballance extended his points
lead to a mere 6 points over Borich
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The tension between the two teams has become visible,
with incidents between the two involving brake checking,
hand gestures, protests and shouting matches taking
place quite often. Ballance’s creative manipulation
of the production rules to make changes to his quad’s
frame had many competitors calling foul, and showed
just how determined Bill was to use every possible
avenue to arrive at the championship.
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#6
Chris Bithell
3rd Overall - 141 Points
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#17
Taylor Kiser
4th Overall - 121 Points |
#19
Matt Smiley
5th Overall - 117 Points |
The closest challengers to the title contenders have
turned out to be sophomore XC1 Pro Chris Bithell,
rookie sensation Taylor Kiser, and the rejuvenated
veteran Matt Smiley. Bithell has put together a super-consistent
season and his three podiums have helped him assume
a solid third place position in the points standings.
Taylor Kiser came out of nowhere to podium the first
race of the year in his home state of Florida. He
dispelled the home-field advantage myth by putting
in one solid finish after another to establish himself
as a possible race winner and future title contender.
Mighty Matt Smiley came back from the downward spiral
that was his Polaris ride to rebuild his program under
the watchful eye of omnipotent ATV guru Jay Gobel.
Matt’s two podium appearances were a refreshing
sight and his solid finishes have put him well on
his way to regaining his title of Mr. Consistency.
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GT Thunder's Taylor Kiser made a dramatic Pro
Class debut with a season opening Podium finish,
and until Showshoe, Kiser hadn't finished outside
the top 10 Overall in an impressive first year
in the Pro Class |
East
Coast ATV's Matt Smiley has quickly adapted
to his new ride for 2007, and he has earned
two podium finishes in the past four races as
he becomes more comfortable on the Honda. It
may be only a matter of time before Smiley earns
his first win in years |
