Twin Wins for Yamaha YFZ450 ATV This Weekend
Walker Fowler GNCC ATV Racing & Dustin NelsonYamaha / ITP Quadcross

Cypress, CA (4/12/2010) - Ballance Racing’s Walker Fowler and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Dustin Nelson each took prestigious ATV wins aboard their YFZ450s on Saturday and Sunday, April 10-11. In Saturday’s GNCC “Big Buck” cross-country race in Union, SC, Fowler posted his second XC2 Pro Am win of the season on his YFZ450X, topping the field by some 42 seconds. Then on Sunday, YFZ450R-mounted Nelson delivered a stunning 1-1 moto blitz at Arizona Cycle Park in Buckeye, Ariz. The defending series champion rocketed to the holeshot in both motos and was never challenged, scoring decisive wins in both races. Also, in Sunday GNCC motorcycle competition, Am Pro Yamaha’s Thad Duvall and Paul Whibley grabbed podium positions in the XC1 Pro class aboard their YZ450Fs.

This year’s GNCC Big Buck event brought plenty of dust, stumps and roots to challenge the racers. In the four-lap XC2 Pro Am race, Fowler took advantage of a mistake by Joshua Kirkland and a mechanical problem for Brian Wolf to take the lead on the last lap and comfortably cruise to the win. Yamahas also scored well in the premier XC1 Pro and Women’s classes, with Ballance Racing’s Taylor Kiser leading most of the XC1 race before finishing a close second, and Kristen Atwell and Tracy Cecco rounding out the Women’s podium in second and third, respectively. Yamaha joins the GNCC community in wishing Bill Ballance well after a practice crash last week sidelined the nine-time GNCC champion.

Two thousand miles west on Sunday, the Arizona desert MX track proved hard-packed and dusty, developing a blue groove that made finding grip difficult. But Nelson and his 450R handled it perfectly, powering to the holeshot in both motos and literally running away with the ATV doubleheader. “The bike was awesome,” he commented later. “It ripped two really good holeshots and ran fast and strong the whole day. After the first couple of laps I was actually able to ride at a mellow pace!” However Nelson wasn’t the only one putting a blue-and-white machine to good use. Justin Noss went 3-5 for the day to finish fourth overall, while Jason Fife put in 5-6 motos for fifth. Congratulations all!