Yamaha YFZ450X finishes on Top at SnowShoe GNCC
GNCC Racing Series - Round 9- Snowshoe, WV - June 26, 2010

Cypress, CA (6/28/2010) - Yamaha motorcycle and ATV racers had a sizzling June 26-27 weekend, winning many pro and amateur races in Colorado, West Virginia and California. Leading the pack was Josh Grant, who flew his JGR YZ450F to his first moto win of the 2010 AMA Motocross season, and Jessica Patterson, who made her third consecutive WMX 1-1 moto sweep aboard her YZ250F. In GNCC ATV racing, Traci Cecco also raced her YFZ450X to her third win of the year, while Donnie Ockerman and Walker Fowler each took second in their respective XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am classes. Then in GNCC motorcycle competition, Charlie Mullins climbed to second in the XC1 Pro race before jamming his foot and finishing fourth, while in XC2 Pro Lites, Jason Thomas finished second. Yamaha also triumphed in mini racing, as Chris Alldredge won the both 85 14-16 and Supermini classes aboard his potent YZ85s at the annual Mammoth Motocross.

Although Grant was quickest in practice at the AMA Motocross event in Lakewood, Colo., he made only a top-eight start in the first moto. But he soon turned on the speed, catching and passing leader Ryan Dungey before building up an impressive eight-second advantage at the flag. Despite crashing in the first turn of the second moto, Grant rallied again and moved into a top-10 finish for a strong fourth overall. All eyes were on the gate as the women lined up for their two motos, and Patterson simply flew in both, adding to her perfect record of WMX wins this year. Meanwhile, a thousand miles west in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., while young Alldredge was beating all comers on his 85s, Justin Hoeft took second in the 85 9-11 class and Bryce Vallee grabbed a second-place finish in 250 Pro and a fourth in 450 Pro.

Moving to GNCC cross-country competition in Snowshoe, West Virginia, Yamaha ATVs earned an impressive nine class wins on Saturday. In particular, Cecco beat the Women’s field by an astounding 22 minutes in what she later described as one of her toughest races ever. The rough and rocky course created plenty of bottlenecks, and Cecco used the power and agility of her YFZ to get up and over difficult sections when other riders couldn’t. Yamaha ATVs also podiumed in XC1 Pro and XC2 Pro Am with Donnie Ockerman and Walker Fowler, respectively. Yamaha racers likewise grabbed 12 more class wins in Sunday’s GNCC off-road motorcycle events. Big shout out to Mullins for soldiering through the premier XC1 Pro race on his YZ450F despite his foot injury, and to Thomas for picking up his seventh XC2 Pro Lites podium this year. Well done all!