Sparta, KY - For Bill Ballance,
taking the win on his home states ground was icing
on the cake and marked his 3rd straight win in
as many races. The Yamaha mounted Ballance bested
21 other entered Pro’s at the Spartan GNCC
to once again climb atop the series points and
sets his sights on his 9th straight GNCC Pro ATV
championship!
|
|
|
Yamaha's
#1 Bill Ballance grabbed the ITP Pro
ATV Holeshot Award while #7 Taylor Kiser,
#14 Jarrod McClure, and #9 Bryan Cook
connect and drop back to mid pack
|
 |
|
#1
Bill Ballance wins 3rd Straight GNCC
race & takes over the Pro points
lead
|
The win did not come easy for Ballance, even though
he was off to the early lead by taking the holeshot.
The Yamaha mounted Kentucky native quickly ran
into problems as his rear brake lever became damaged
and required an early pit stop to repair it. Quick
work by his crew had him back out searching for
the leaders, as he scored the first lap in the
9th position. Ballance wasted no time in pushing
towards the front and by lap 2 was inside the
top 5. By the time the 3rd lap was scored, Ballance
was in the lead by a 4 second margin! The 8 time
champion turned it loose and ran to victory marking
yet another classic victory in true Ballance style.
This win moved him to the top of the XC1 points
and sets him solidly into a situation where he
could easily reach an unprecedented 9th GNCC championship!
 |
|
#784
Brandon Sommers
|
Following his Yamaha factory racing counterpart
across the finish line to claim second was Brandon
Sommers. This marked the rookie pro’s second
visit to the podium this season and marked his
best finish to date. The solid finish came after
the young rider put his head down and pressed
the throttle forward keeping him ahead of stiff
competition throughout the two hour race. Sommers
swapped positions and remained in 2nd and 3rd
as the event wore on. Brandon was there when it
mattered most and finished only 18 seconds behind
the leader.
 |
|
#11
William Yokley
|
Another Kentucky native wanting desperately
to do well on his home turf was the Army National
Guard backed William Yokely. The Honda mounted
rider battled early for the lead, gaining it
on the 2nd lap and relinquishing it to Ballance
on lap 3. This top 3 would also mark Yokely’s
second visit to the podium in 2008 as the veteran
proved yet again he has a lot of speed left
and the drive to get him up front. With a solid
sponsor and a dependable machine, William finds
himself in an entirely new ball game this season
and has only scored 1 finish outside the top
10 in 7 events.
