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The Loretta Lynn's
GNCC ATV Race Report by William Yokley
Round 5: Hurricane Mills,
Tennessee - April 26, 2008
Hurricane Mills, TN (4/28/2008) -
William Yokley finished 4th Overall today at Loretta
Lynn’s Ranch. There were 257 total entries
with 23 XC1 Pro Riders. Team Rider Mark Notman
finished 23rd Overall and 10th in the 31 rider
XC2 Pro Am Class.
Summary
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On the starting
line with my Dad Mike and my mechanic
Ronnie
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We raced today at historic Loretta Lynn’s
Ranch in scenic Tennessee. This is the oldest
race on the GNCC circuit, and draws a huge crowd
every year. The soil is sandy with sections of
small shale rock which makes for a very physically
demanding whooped out course. The weather was
perfect for the race with cool temperatures and
a few rain showers the night before.
I was looking forward to a good start, but that
wasn’t the case when my bike failed to crank
when the official threw the flag. I was next to
last off the line, and I knew I had to ride smart
and fast to make something happen. I was able
to pass a few riders as we made our way around
the famed National level motocross track, and
was able to pick my way by some others once we
got into the woods. When I came through the scoring
barrels on the first lap, I was in 5th place,
and things were starting to look up. On the 2nd
lap, I was passed by Adam McGill and Brian Cook;
Adam stretched out some distance from Brian and
me, but we held a nice strong pace throughout
the day.
On the 3rd lap, we had gotten a little closer
to one another to begin a pretty decent battle.
At one point, I looked up to see a bunch of riders
in front of us moving pretty good, and I thought
we had our work cut out for us to get around these
lapped riders. I was surprised to find out that
it was the leaders instead of the lappers! It’s
always a plus to look up and see the lead pack
that you’ve been chasing all day. Going
into the 4th and final lap, the top 7 riders were
nose to tail.
I stopped to get some fresh goggles as mine were
out of tear offs heading into the final lap. I
caught up to Cook again, and we battled it out.
I was right on his bumper going up a steep hill
when I saw a lapper in front of us, thinking to
myself to take another line in case the rider
stalled or got stuck. I didn’t, and wouldn’t
you know, he stalled and there sat all three of
us stuck on this hill. I beat myself up a little
for not taking the other line because that would
have put me in 3rd place. The KTM guys had a bad
run of luck on the last lap with motor trouble
of some sort, and dropped out of the top 10. That
didn’t hurt my feelings though because I
came into the finish barrels in 4th place for
the day!
My teammate Mark Notman got off to a slow start
also as his bike did not fire on the first kick,
leaving him last going into the woods. Mark passed
a lot of riders and was 12th going into the 2nd
lap. He had a nice rhythm going and made his way
up to 8th place going into the last lap. About
2 miles from the finish, while trying to pass
for another position, he hit a tree pretty hard
with the rear wheel. The impact knocked him and
his seat off, as well as injuring his leg. He
put the seat back on and remounted to finish the
lap out in 10th place. Even though Mark was disappointed,
he had a good points day and sits in 6th place
in the Pro Am Class.
This was a tough day as the track became extremely
rough and whooped out, but I was pleased how Mark
and I rode. I want to thank all my sponsors for
helping make things possible as usual. Our team
also received great support from the National
Guard Recruiters and members, we really appreciate
their involvement. We move on to Millfield Ohio
in 2 weeks, see you there!
Yokley Racing Team Sponsors:
The Army National Guard, Rocky Mountain
ATV, Polaris Industries, ITP Tires, Elka Suspension,
Roll Design, HMF Exhaust Systems, IMS/Roll, Tire
Balls, Andrews Cycle, Douglas Wheel Technology,
Baldwin Motorsports, CGR, O’Neal Clothing,
Panolin Lubricants, IMS, Hinson, 317 Graphics,
Intense Fabrication & Design, Tsubaki Chains,
Hardkor, Shoei Helmets, Axcaliber Axles, Streamline
and Powermadd.
www.YokleyRacing.com
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