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Yamaha's
Walker Fowler not only won the 2011 GNCC
XC2 Pro Am Championship, Fowler has won
every round so far this season aboard
his Yamaha YFZ450X ATV |
Cypress, CA (9/26/2011) - Yamaha's
Traci Cecco and Ballance Racing's Walker Fowler
enjoyed a spectacular GNCC ATV weekend by winning
their races and a pair of class championships
in Somerset, Penn. on Saturday, Sept. 24. In the
morning race, Cecco stormed to her sixth win of
the season on her YFZ450X to claim her eighth
career GNCC title - a record for the series. While
Fowler's 10th consecutive XC2 Pro Am win in the
afternoon race makes him undefeated this year.
With just three events remaining in the season,
the YFZ450X ace now has an insurmountable points
lead and captures his first XC2 Pro Am title.
In the premier XC1 Pro class, Taylor Kiser finished
just off the podium aboard his own YFZ450X. He
is now fourth in points heading into the final
rounds.
Plenty of rainfall in the area made the long
off-road course muddy and
slippery in places, resulting in one of the
closest GNCC Women's races in
memory. Cecco trailed season-long rival Angel
Atwell on the first of four
long laps, and then turned the tables on lap
two to take over the lead with
a healthy 25-second advantage. But the race
was only halfway over, and
Atwell rallied to nip past Cecco on lap three,
holding a slim 1-second lead
as the pair flew past the line to begin their
final lap. Riding flat out,
Cecco put in a scorching sub-30 minute lap time
- the fastest of the race -
passed Atwell again, and streaked to the finish
with an advantage of just
1.4 seconds after more than two hours of racing.
"What an amazing
accomplishment for Traci to win her eighth championship
today," said Yamaha
ATV racing manager Donnie Luce. "This puts
her in a very elite group of
GNCC riders while further elevating her racing
legacy on the mighty
YFZ450X."
Although rival Eric Hoyland took the holeshot
in the afternoon XC2 Pro Am
race, Fowler didn't panic. He instead followed
the race strategy that has
proved so dominating this season. Fowler passed
Hoyland for the lead on lap
one, and then proceeded to methodically build
up a gap over his
competitors. Yamaha-mounted Gabe Phillips likewise
passed Hoyland on lap
two, making it a 1-2 Yamaha freight train for
the remainder of the event.
Fowler enjoyed a nearly 10-second lead by the
end of lap one, stretched it
to a minute on lap two, to nearly three minutes
on the penultimate lap, and
then nearly to four minutes by the checkers
to win the XC2 title in amazing
style. "Walker is thrilled with his championship,
and also that he's tied
Brandon Sommers' XC2 Pro Am win record,"
Luce added. "Now he's already set
a new goal of winning every race, which has
never been done before."
Cecco and Fowler weren't the only Yamaha racers
winning in the Pennsylvania woods. In Sunday's
motorcycle competition, Jordan Ashburn scored
his third consecutive GNCC XC2 Pro Lites motorcycle
win aboard his Obermeyer Am Pro Yamaha YZ250F.
Meanwhile 2009 GNCC champion Paul Whibley took
second in XC1 Pro on his Am Pro YZ450F.
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Pro-Am
XC2 Top 10 ATV Race Results & Point
Standings |
| XC1
Pro ATV Race Results:
1. Brian Wolf (Hon)
2. Adam McGill (CAN)
3. Chris Bithell (CAN)
4. Taylor Kiser (Yam)
5. Chris Borich (Suz)
6. Bryan Cook (KTM)
7 Donnie Ockerman (Hon)
8. Kevin Yoho (Yam)
9. Jarrod McClure (Hon)
10. Johnny Gallagher (Yam))
XC1 Pro ATV Point Standings:
1. Chris Borich (246/6 wins)
2. Adam McGill (219/2 wins)
3. Chris Bithell (205)
4. Taylor Kiser (195)
5. Brian Wolf (169/2 wins)
6. Bryan Cook (147)
7. Jarrod McClure (138)
8. Donnie Ockerman (136)
9. Kevin Yoho (126)
10. Jeffrey Pickens (108) |
XC2
Pro ATV Race Results:
1. Walker Fowler (Yam)
2. Gabe Phillips (Yam)
3. Eric Hoyland (Hon)
4. Nathan Thomas (Hon)
5. Aarol Bright (KTM)
6. Matt Hanna (Yam)
7. Michael Lancaster (Hon)
8. Joshua Merritt (Yam)
9. Ryan Ratliff (Hon)
10. Blake Kramer (Suz)
XC2 Pro ATV Point Standings:
1. Walker Fowler (300 points/10 wins)
2. Gabe Phillips (201)
3. Eric Hoyland (166)
4. Patrick McGuire (156)
5. Aarol Bright (149)
6. Matt Hanna (132)
7. Blake Kramer (110)
8. Michael Lancaster (107)
9. Dustin Canipe (98)
10. Parker Jones (96) |
About Yamaha Motor
Corp., U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., (YMUS), a
leader in the motorsports market, makes the
toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and
Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s ever-expanding
product offerings also include motorcycles,
outboard motors, personal watercraft, snowmobiles,
boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines,
accessories, apparel and much more. YMUS products
are sold through a nationwide network of dealers
in the United States.
Headquartered in Cypress,
Calif., since its incorporation in 1976, Yamaha
also has facilities in Wisconsin and Georgia,
as well as factory operations in Tennessee and
Georgia. For more information on Yamaha, visit
www.yamaha-motor.com.
