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GNCC
ATV Racing
Round 6 - "The
Titan" |
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Lafayette, TN (5/2/2009) - At
round 6 of the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series, Yamaha's Taylor Kiser fought the deep
mud of the Tennessee track and constant position
changes to roar into first place after an amazing
battle at the Weekend Warrior Titan GNCC in Lafayette,
TN.
"I just kept telling myself to keep steady
and not make any mistakes," Kiser said.
"I pushed as hard as I could push. I'm
so happy it's unbelievable."
After a day of constant passing and lead changes,
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Chris Borich recovered
after last week's disappointment at Loretta
Lynn's, where he broke a chain, to take second
place, while Kiser's teammate Brandon Sommers
took his second podium in a row with third place.
"I just tried to ride smooth today,"
Borich said. "I was pretty bummed out by
the last one. This is a big confidence booster."
Heavy downpours the day before and morning
of the race cleared up before the start of the
day's races, but the rain still left its mark
on the track and had turned the pits into a
soupy mess. ATVRiders.com -backed privateer
Jarrod McClure started off the race best, nabbing
the $250 MotorcycleUSA.com holeshot award. From
then on, every turn and hill of the race saw
a new line of leaders as each picked on one
of countless lines to choose from.
Can-Am's Brent Sturdivant led the first two
laps, followed closely by Yamaha's Johnny Gallagher
and Bill Ballance, FRE KTM's Adam McGill, Borich
and Kiser. By the end of second lap, Ballance
began to drop back, and Houser Racing's Bryan
Cook was able to catch up to him. Sturdivant,
Gallagher and McGill held the lead right before
the pit stops, when McGill was able to take
the lead with Sturdivant close behind. Meanwhile,
Yamaha's Donnie Ockerman overtook Borich, Gallagher
and Kiser to take the third place position.
Sturdivant grabbed the lead again on the third
lap, and Kiser began making his move to inch
up from second place, followed by McGill and
Borich. Late in the race, Kiser, Borich and
Sommers fought into the top three positions,
and then Kiser and Borich battled wheel-to-wheel
until the finish line. Kiser made the right
moves late in the race to take first, followed
by Borich in second and Sommers in third.
"I tried to ride smart, pick good lines
and all of a sudden I realized I was in third,"
Sommers said
Ockerman held on for fourth followed by Sturdivant
in fifth. McGill came in sixth with privateer
Ryan Lane on Honda coming in seventh. Ballance
fell back to eighth and Cook and McClure rounded
out the top 10 in ninth and tenth places, respectively.
In the XC2 Pro-Am Class, Brian Wolf took yet
another first place position despite his vocal
dislike of the mud.
"I think first off, I hate the mud,"
Wolf said. "The mud slows everything down.
The fans out there though just made me smile,
cheering me on, pointing out lines. I just really
appreciate it."
FRE KTM's Josh Kirkland also nabbed another
second place finish followed by Parker Jones
who made it on the podium for the first time.
"I try to stay on the podium all year
long," Kirkland said.
Dave Phillips started off the race first, nabbing
the $100 Rekluse Holeshot award. Jones was dead
last off the starting line and Kirkland battled
his own problems in the first lap. Wolf started
out in strong fashion and rode to another stellar
finish.
Fourth place went to Gabe Phillips followed
by Craig Bowman in fifth. Jeremy Rice came in
sixth followed by Rob Hertz. Blake Kramer, Eric
Wilezek and Joey Margueria filled out the top
10.
Top Amateur Honors went to Jamie Bithell.
In the AM race, Warnert Can-Am's Bryan Buckhannon
of the 4X4 Open Class took $100 GT Thunder Amateur
Overall Award.
"It's awesome man," Buckhannon said,
who took advantage of four-wheel drive in the
mud. "I've been wanting to get on the podium
all season long. Anytime you can get up here
and win an overall is huge."
Michael Swift came in for second place overall
and a win in the 4x4 Limited Class. Traci Cecco
came in third overall and first in the women's
class.
In the women's class, Cecco was followed by
Jennifer Albright in second and Angel Atwell
in third.
It was going to come down to who picks the
smartest line and who doesn't get stuck,"
Cecco said.
The 2009 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country
Series continues tomorrow with bike racing from
the Weekend Warrior Titan.
The Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series
continues on May 16 -17 with the Geico Mountain
Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania.
