Bill Ballance's
Quest for 10th-Straight & Final Title Begins
this Weekend
2009 GNCC ATV Racing - Round 1
- River Ranch GNCC - March 1st
Morgantown, WV (2/25/2009)
- The words came as a shock to most.
At the 2008 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series banquet, Team Yamaha's Bill Ballance announced
that he would retire from full-time competition
at the end of the 2009 season. The nine-time GNCC
Champion from Kentucky hopes to retire on top
by concluding a decade of domination, but he also
wants his competition to know he's leaving, so
they will be ready to get one last shot at him.
Ballance's charge for a final GNCC crown begins
this weekend at the 2009 GNCC season opener, the
Part Unlimited River Ranch GNCC in Lake Wales,
Florida. ATV riders will practice on Saturday,
February 28, and race on Sunday, March 1.
"I'm letting everyone know right now so
they can come at me hard for next season,"
said Ballance at the banquet in November. "I'm
32 years old, and I'm going to try to go out on
top with ten-straight. I still have the fire in
my gut, and I'm still going to push it as hard
as I ever have. But mark it down, this will be
my last run as far as I can tell, so I want everyone
to get one last shot at me and give it 100 percent."
Of course, Ballance reserves the right to change
his mind and go for ten again in 2010 if he fails
this season. And a host of riders would like to
create that scenario. At the head of that pack
comes Rockstar/Yoshimura Suzuki's Chris Borich,
who won last year's Florida race and took second
in the 2008 standings-his fourth-straight season
as the GNCC runner-up. Borich may hail from Pennsylvania,
but he possesses impressive sand skills since
he spends his winters in Florida.
KTM's Adam McGill broke out last year when he
won three-straight races early in the season and
looked like a championship lock. Bad luck eventually
derailed his title bid, but McGill expects more
consistency in his second season with KTM. Last
year's outstanding rookie, Yamaha rider Brandon
Sommers, carded fourth in the final standings
and showed a combination of focus and consistency
rare for a rider with so little experience. Expect
a big jump in speed from Sommers this season.
Bryan Cook will fly the DeRisi racing privateer
flag again in 2009. Cook won a race last season
and stood closest to Ballance in the standings
at mid-season. Cook's strong run last year gives
him plenty of confidence for 2009. Local favorite
Taylor Kiser, who hails from Alvord, Florida,
switches back to Yamaha equipment after a solid
year on the KTM team where he finished sixth in
the standings.
The entire top ten of the final 2008 GNCC standings
featured riders capable of winning races this
season. GT Thunder Yamaha's XC2 Champion Don Ockerman
will graduate full-time to the XC1 class, and
Ockerman already served notice of his abilities
by landing podium finishes in both of his XC1
races last year. Popular veteran William Yokley
picks up a factory Polaris ride this year, and
the National Guard-backed rider expects to run
up front on his new machine. Veteran Matt Smiley
and sophomore Jarrod McClure can't be counted
out of the running, either. And the Warnert Can-Am
Team sends Chris Bithell back into battle this
season. The 2007 series number three suffered
from plenty of bad luck last year, but also won
a race at Unadilla. Like McGill, Bithell hopes
a year of testing on his new machine will result
in more consistent finishes.
Ballance serves as the target. As a young racer
coming through the ranks, Ballance chased seven-time
GNCC ATV Champion Barry Hawk. After Hawk landed
the 1999 title, he announced he would leave ATV
racing to pursue the bike championship. "If
I have one regret, it's that I wish I knew that
was my last chance to beat Barry Hawk," said
Ballance at the banquet. "Maybe I would have
changed some things up instead of trying to develop
a new bike that year. I want everyone to know
this will be their last chance."
The top pro riders will race as part of a full
four-day GNCC weekend, which also includes amateur,
Youth and ATV classes, all of which practice on
Saturday and race on Sunday. In the amateur ranks,
Yamaha's Traci Cecco will begin her quest for
an eighth GNCC Women's crown, with competition
from KTM's Angel Atwell expected. GNCC Racing
also offers four Utility and 4x4 classes as well.
A full slate of bike classes will compete at
the race, too. Bike riders will practice on Monday
and race on Tuesday. Pro races begin at 1 p.m.
Two-day passes, which included full pit access,
cost $15, and tickets are available at the gate.
For more information on the event, go to www.gnccracing.com
About
GNCC Racing:
The Can-Am Grand National Cross
Country series is America's premier off-road racing
series. Founded in 1973, the 13-round championship
is produced exclusively by Racer Productions.
Cross country racing is one of the most physically
demanding sports in the world. The grueling three-hour
GNCC races lead as many as 1,800 riders through
tracks ranging in length from eight to 12 miles,
competing for more than $3 million in prizes.
With varied terrain, including hills, woods, mud,
dirt, rocks and motocross sections, GNCC events
are tests of both survival and speed. GNCC Racing
is televised on the Versus Network. For more information,
please visit
www.gnccracing.com .
www.gnccracing.com
122 Vista Del Rio Drive,
Morgantown, WV 26508
304-284-0084
|