 |
|
#201 Traci
Cecco
|
Cypress, CA (4/14/2008) -
Yamaha ATV riders grabbed four wins and several
more podium finishes at the fourth round of
the 2008 Grand National Cross Country season
in Union, SC on Saturday, April 12. Headlining
the list was Traci Cecco with a strong second
in the morning Women’s race, Brandon Sommers
with a fine third in the afternoon XC1 Pro race,
and Donnie Ockerman with a win the afternoon
XC2 Pro Am event. All were aboard YFZ450s. Adding
to the spoils for Yamaha were Jeff Miller and
Justin Petroff, who gave Yamaha a 1-2 sweep
in Pro A, Dave Simmons, who won Senior A, and
Walker Fowler, who took his third Schoolboy
win of the year on the new Yamaha Raptor 250.
The South Carolina GNCC course offered a bit
of everything, from slick mud to tight woods,
hill climbs and wide-open grassland. In the
four-lap Women’s event, Cecco, Angel Atwell
and Lexie Coulter all swapped positions in an
exciting opening half of the race. An excellent
fuel pit stop by Cecco vaulted her from second
into the lead, which she held until getting
stuck in a mud hole with just a half lap remaining,
letting Atwell squeak past for the win. But
with two victories and a pair of seconds so
far this year, Cecco still leads the Women’s
championship by nine points over Atwell.
In the premier XC1 Pro class, Brandon Sommers
continues to make waves as a rookie. At the
dead-engine start Sommers fired up his YFZ and
charged toward the first turn in fourth place,
then ran in tight formation with leaders Bryan
Cook and Taylor Kiser for the first two laps.
Like Cecco had done earlier, Sommers benefited
from perfect pit work and leapt from fourth
to second during his fuel stop. Sommers then
took over the lead and held it until Adam McGill
and Cook snuck past on lap three. Though slower
traffic prevented Sommers from regaining the
lead, he was justifiably happy with his podium
finish. “My YFZ450 started quickly and
ran great the whole race,” he explained.
“Both McGill and Kiser had 525cc engines
but I didn’t feel out-motored at all.”
|
2008
GNCC ATV XC1 Pro Points |
4/12/08 |
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Points |
|
1 |
Adam
McGill |
106 |
|
2 |
Bryan
Cook |
75 |
|
3 |
Brandon
Sommers – Yamaha |
73 |
|
4 |
Chris
Borich |
63 |
|
5 |
Bill
Ballance – Yamaha |
62 |
|
2008
GNCC ATV XC2 Pro Am Points |
4/12/08 |
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Points |
|
1 |
Donnie
Ockerman – Yamaha |
92 |
|
2 |
David
Crane |
91 |
|
3 |
Brian
Wolf |
83 |
|
4 |
Joshua
Kirkland |
63 |
|
6 |
Tyler
Lenig |
63 |
|
2008
GNCC ATV Women Points |
4/12/08 |
| Pos. |
Rider |
Points |
| 1 |
Traci
Cecco – Yamaha |
78 |
| 2 |
Angel
Atwell |
69 |
| 3 |
Lexie
Coulter |
65 |
| 4 |
Stefanie
Verkade |
61 |
| 5 |
Jennifer
Albright – Yamaha |
58 |
